When designing Christmas cards there are three key elements which should be taken into consideration. These are, the greeting on the front of the card, the picture and the message inside of the card.

The greeting on the front should be short, and match with the theme of the picture, which will be alongside it. For instance if your card was to be a serious card and aimed at the more mature market, then the picture should be a scene of people in snow, or houses in snow and the greeting on the from of the card could maybe say ‘seasons greetings or Christmas greetings’. If your card was a humorous card then the greeting could be ‘Happy Christmas’ or any message that would not be considered too formal. The picture on the front of the Christmas card (Weihnachtskarten) should stand out and the picture could be a cartoon type picture, with quips at the side of Father Christmas or the reindeer. The card could have Father Christmas stuck up the Christmas tree with his reindeer and presents.

If you were aiming at the standard end of the Christmas card market, and just had the design of a tree or a bauble on the front of the card, then the greeting on the front of the card could simply be ‘Christmas Greetings’ (Weihnachtsgrüsse).

Whatever the choice of the Christmas card, then it is always important to match the outside of the card with the message on the inside of the card. The message on the inside of the card is important, try to keep it short and to the point. Remember your target audience, so if your card is aimed at the mature end of the market, then make sure the words inside the card reflect this. Again with the funny end of the market, the outside of the card should be humorous with the most words on, and the inside of the card could simply say ‘Happy Christmas’.

The outside of the card is usually what the consumer picks first, some consumers don’t even look at the message on the inside of the card when buying them. This should be considered when designing Christmas cards, and the design on the front of the card should be made as appealing as possible to the consumer. The more the card stands out from the crowd, then the more likely it is that the card will sell.

If you are selling from an online shop, then it always good to offer the service of ‘designing your own’, where the customer can design the card specifically to their own taste. They can choose the picture they want on the front of the card as well as the greeting, and the message inside of the card. Usually this is a popular choice around the Christmas period where consumers are looking for something unique to stand out from the crowd. Which ever way you decide to sell your cards, just remember to make the cards stand out and the dsign should sell itself.