Celebration creates connections, and connections give us reason to celebrate.
This is why people give greeting cards.
It’s a small gesture that can carry myriads of meanings, but behind every greeting card is a message of connection. Humans crave connection and seek it out through so many means in 2021. This desire for connection has manifested itself through a lot of unique trends. One trend is a new resurgence of stationery and cards. In this digital age, people are getting tired of screens and are seeking tactile ways to rekindle connections. Cards and letters are timeless and perhaps carry more meaning now than ever before because of how digital the world is.
Across the spectrum is another unexpected trend: avid social media users have taken to sharing posts celebrating new or obscure national holidays. Sharing posts for things like “National Avocado Day” or “National Sister Day” creates a sense of camaraderie. When everybody is talking about the same topic – and often sharing personal experiences along with it – we begin rooting for each other. It builds common ground which fosters trust and strengthens connections.
Given the growing trends of giving cards and observing obscure holidays, I was surprised by the sparsity of cards for virtually every holiday that isn’t found in a standard calendar. If it stepped too far away from Christmas, Easter, or Mother’s Day, it wasn’t likely to be found. And the few collections of cards that fell into the realm of “obscure holiday” were usually dated and tacky. I set out to infuse 2021 sensibilities into each of these holidays by producing a series of greeting cards that combined the pun-ridden humor that these holiday observers love with quality design work.
Over the course of 21 days, I set out to design 18 unique greeting cards for 18 obscure holidays. The hypothetical premise of the project is that Hallmark, the most well-known greeting card manufacturer, has teamed up with familiar brands to create the Hallmark Holiday Collection greeting card line. Each card is designed in partnership with one of these brands and is designed to appeal to that brand’s target audience.
This approach serves to achieve several objectives. foster friendships and relationships through meaningful messaging, raise awareness of obscure holidays, and increase brand awareness through partnership In order to achieve these objectives, I developed a clear plan for how each card would be structured and which elements to include.
The message
Each card would be communicating a clear message, either a friendly greeting or a simple joke. The aim of each card’s message is that it can help foster relationships and connect to the theme of the holiday. The design The design of each card aims to capture the essence of the holiday within the context of the brand, and in a way that effectively communicates the intended message. The holiday Given that it’s a holiday greeting card, the most important factor is the holiday itself Each card would include a clear greeting, identifying which holiday it was for. The brand By pairing a partnering brand with each card, it narrows down the potential target audience of the card and impacts the messaging in some ways. Each brand has connection to the holiday that’s often illustrated on the card.