POSTCARD DESIGN
Role: Graphic Designer
DURATION
2 weeks
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop
TYPE
Postcard
TOPICS
Texturing
Typography
Sketching
Mockups
Mood Boarding
Photo Editing
OVERVIEW
I always had a fascination with postcards especially since I love traveling! I wanted to create my own design of postcard that would be memorable for travelers. The country I chose was my mother's country, Colombia. I has spent a whole summer there observing the culture, customs, and architecture of Colombia. I wanted to capture all of this in my design.
PROJECT DETAILS
Colombia is filled with diverse terrains that tourists and travelers can visit. The location I chose to base my design off is an old town in Cartagena. The architecture here is heavily influenced by Spanish Colonial which is rich in history of Colombia. This contrasts the modernism in cities. I decided to follow the vibrant colors that paints the walls of Cartagena and include textures of long use to represent old history.
MY TASKS
Observing the different styles of design and architecture.
Working between Photoshop and Illustrator to give the illusion of used paper.
Finding an image that best captures Cartagena.
Reading reddit comments to understand users interests in postcards.
GOALS
Capturing the rich culture of Colombia through Cartagena.
Tourists can have something to remember from their travel.
Promote tourism by showcasing a part of Colombia.
Sending a message home with a physical piece of their travel.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The tourists, airports, and local stores. Some tourists, like myself, may want to bring a piece of Colombia with them. A postcard is a popular choice for many. Airports are always filled with goodies and souvenirs for those who may want to purchase something before returning home. Postcards are a staple. Local stores are found throughout Colombia where they sell many souvenirs including postcards.
CLIENT ANALYSIS
I would like to curate my design for my clients who are mainly the tourists. I read through a forum on reddit titled, "Share why you enjoy sending / receiving / collecting postcards!" I gained many insights of users who expressed emotions of connection, excitement, and blissfulness. I wanted to reflect these same emotions for my postcard to encourage these positive feelings and connections.
Reddit comments
"It's a tiny moment of connection between two strangers from totally different walks of life, and I think that's a beautiful concept"
"I get super excited to see a handwritten/personalized postcard among all the junk mail, and I love reading the kind messages and connecting with someone"
"I love that for five-fifteen minutes I can totally 'check out' from being needed by everyone for everything and share nothing but whatever is on my mind. It's bliss for me"
Attitude
The postcard must translate these emotions felt from the users. The postcard should not only reflect the travel location but allow users to have the space to leave personal messages. These reflections of thoughts seem to create deeper connections with others. The colors and imagery should tell a story alongside these messages. This allows the users mind to disconnect and fall into a state of bliss.
DESIGNING THE SOLUTION
To evoke these emotions I will story tell through the use of imagery, texture, and typography without taking away the focus of the user's messages. The design will include the following:
Use texture of crumpled paper
Included fun elements of cocoa beans in the typography
Separation of colors to allow the back to be text focused
Green colors to represent the rainforest and nature found in Colombia
Editing the image's saturations and opacity to follow the postcard's theme.
Sketches
1
2
3
4
I wanted to incorporate one of Colombia's most popular cultivation, coffee. The coffee would be poured in the background but this seemed to distract the image ¹.
The back of the postcard had to follow the theme of the design while remaining simple. A different iteration of the image was my idea that I did use for the final design later on².
Here the text is standing in front of the image. I was very close to pursuing this idea but realized the image was lost from the text³.
Included a fun take of the back of the postcard where viewers could scratch and sniff the coffee beans. Unfortunately, this could wear down the card overtime⁴.
MOOD BOARD
After looking for postcard inspirations, I chose two that captured my design idea the best. The chunky bold letters against the blue background successfully pairs with the image. The other postcard is a drawing with added noise for texture which adds a vintage touch. The rest of the mood board are references for my design.
Color Palette
Typography
Body Font: Olimpico
Title: Bely Display
Title
Final Design
Front
Back
CHALLENGES
Searching for a font that was playful yet classic to follow the theme of old style.
Toning down the visual design for the back of the card without losing the overall aesthetics.
Balancing the vibrant colors of the image with the bold text.
Iterating different edits of the image to have the lamps feel like they were glowing. Viewers would feel immersed in the image, almost as if they were standing in it.
TAKEAWAYS
It's important to broaden our perspective of design from various cultures and their history. There are many interpretations of it that can help us create unique design solutions. I have always admired the rich culture of Colombia. This project was the perfect opportunity to learn to capture its essence. From drawing inspiration of elements like Spanish Colonial architecture to the weathered textures of their walls.