One-of-a-Kind Cards

How fun is it to make your own card for a special occasion? Here are some baby cards I’ve designed for new parents lately. I’ll give you a view behind the scenes in how to turn a few ingredients into a customized and unique card!

Step 1: Strategy
Most of the time you may already have an idea of specifications for a design, which is also helpful for determining the time involved in the project. In this case the client gave me the following specifications:

– Hedgehog
– Elephant
– Flag of the Dutch province Noord Brabant
– Flag of the Dutch province Friesland

Step 2: Concept
It’s time to brainstorm and make quick and simple sketches! This is a good way to show the client some ideas and to find out if you are heading in the right direction without spending too much time on design.

This is, for me, the most interesting and creative part of the design process. I love to brainstorm about new concepts, “to give a design a story”.

Right away I was struck by the red shapes in the Frisian flag. “In Frisian, the term pompeblêd is used. The name is used to indicate the seven red lily leaf-shaped blades on the Frisian flag. The seven red “pompeblêden” (leaves of the yellow water-lily and the European white waterlily) refer to the medieval Frisian ‘sea countries’: autonomous regions along the coast from Alkmaar to the Weser.” ¹

In this project the pompeblêd (leave of the yellow water-lily) became the catalyst for my design process.

Final Concept Card 1: Family Flag Girl

Final Concept Card 2: Family Flag Brother

Step 3: Design
The actual design phase of the graphic design process starts now. This phase takes the most part of the time. After the client has selected a sketch model or a mix of sketch ideas, I translated the final sketch ideas in a graphic design using Adobe Professional Programs (Photoshop and Illustrator).

Design Card 1a: Family Flag Girl

 

Design Card 1b: Family Flag Brother

 

Some of my other baby card designs

Design Card 2: Boat and Girl

 

Design Card 3a: Fuchsia Girl

 

Design Card 3b: Sister and Little Brother

Interested in one of these cards? Feel free to contact me for more information at simone@simoneli.com. And curious about what buttons have to do with the Dutch Master painter Johannes Vermeer—stay tuned!

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Footnote

1.  Pompeblêd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeblatt