You would think that the topics of Christmas and New Year's greetings would be exhausted. Seriously, how often can you vary Santas, Christmas trees and snowflakes or come up with something really new for the new year? Well, surprisingly often. Our editorial team always receives lots of wonderful greetings cards at the end of the year and we are always surprised at the great ideas and designs we receive. Here we would like to present a kind of "best of" of the design cards we received for Christmas and New Year.
How can you vary the Christmas card theme? Well, for example, by not designing a card, but a poster that is beautiful enough to hang on the wall, but which can also be used as wrapping paper. Beautiful and sustainable - the team at effektiv Druck have shown how it's done.
Christmas is also a time to come together, perhaps especially in times of pandemic. The gestaltig office has illustrated this beautifully with its Christmas card, not only by creating a tapered fanfold, but also by presenting Christmas traditions from different parts of the world. Everything is visually framed by a cosmos illustration that says: We are all different and yet part of a common whole.
The j-x-albrecht office uses the famous scented tree as a symbol and adorns it with the slogan: "Agenda 2022. Making smells like wanting, only stronger." Even if the card itself doesn't smell, you can hang this "Machen tree" on your rear-view mirror with a clear conscience.
And who says that greetings always have to be sent in card form? Pascal Kress from The Floor Show simply put handwritten greetings on a Post-it notepad and stuck his business card in between. That's cheating, some of you might think. No, it's clever, firstly because it's surprising and secondly because it's practical.
Of course, participation is always a good idea. Studio Bob from London has been coming up with the craziest things for Christmas for years and you can tell that the creative minds had at least as much fun coming up with the idea as you did unwrapping the card. This time it's about making a pompom yourself, and the designers have appropriately included the wool and instructions. It's nice when the idea can then be turned into a funny name, as with the "Bob Bobble". As great as Bob's ideas are, they are not easy to implement - we in the editorial team have already fiddled, fiddled and cursed. But the great concepts always make up for it and if you spend hours working on a Christmas greeting, then the designers have obviously done something right.
Of course, great productions always impress, such as the card from artbastard, which is made of pressed wood fibers, is laser-engraved and contains tags that can be pressed out and hung on the Christmas tree. Very graphic and clean, yet in keeping with the theme. The designers from Constance wish you a wonderful Christmas.
Santa Claus and marketing experts know what works: Presents, presents and more presents. When you not only receive a card, but also a pair of funny socks, you can't help but be happy. And what can't be written on feet and socks? New year, dress warmly. Off on an adventure, but warm and dry and don't forget to put your feet up. Christmas mailings that tell stories are not only more exciting, they are also more memorable. A great example from the design agency KD1.
Greetings from loved ones are of course always a highlight, regardless of whether the cards are self-designed or bought. We are particularly pleased when our ex-interns think of us.
Christmas cards can also be used to draw attention to your own work. Format Design, for example, deals with artificial intelligence in design and, in addition to a card, has also designed a calendar that illustrates these explorations.
The designers at Joseph & Sebastian not only understand design, but also illustration and create a new, beautiful motif every year. The risograph print gives the small card even more charm.
And once again Bob, but from Germany. The design studio B.O.B. is expanding its network and locations and is using a greetings card not only to usher in the new year, but also to draw attention to the new team. Great motif, letterpress, unusual shape and appealing motif - you can tell right away that someone here knows something about print and design.
And when the new year comes around, horoscopes are studied, whether you believe in them or not. Stober Medien, Printmedia Solutions and gggrafik wish you a magnificent start to the Year of the Tiger. Beautifully printed and finished, something like this is always a pleasure. At etcorporate, we prefer to take the future into our own hands and invite you to a good old lead casting (without poisonous lead, of course). The cast figures can be interpreted with the help of the oracle. Is it a sock, a comet or rather spit-out chewing gum? Regardless, the beautiful design and fine embossing show that the new year will be very aesthetic.
Opatz & Opatz focuses on minimalism and the special color silver, whether you see trees or snow-covered mountain peaks is up to you. Zweifel is an office for critical design and invites you to doubt, ask questions and give space to nonsense with a newsletter. Undoubtedly strange, but somehow also stimulating.
Lorenz Boegli calls himself a screen printer, but his art has long since moved miles away from actual screen printing. He no longer prints with colors, but with light. You have to hold his cards in your hands to really appreciate how the pigments capture and reflect the light. This is truly great printing art and you feel honored to be sent a card like this.
And just when you think you've already received and seen the most beautiful cards and gifts, the letter carrier brings another highlight. The Christmas greetings from planet vista beamed out at us in beautifully crafted packaging with elegant dark green foil embossing and a blind embossed greetings card. Handmade chocolates in the shape of planets, each one more beautiful than the next, works of art that you would never want to eat, that's how beautiful they look. Of course, you can also do it this way, send a greeting that simply leaves you speechless.
