About the project
In this RMIT self-directed project I created the brief and produced a Christmas greeting card based on a vintage poster from a previous project. Below you see the finished artwork, followed by documentation of my design process, resources and reflection.
Brief: To revisit a previous project and translate it into a new medium which retains its aesthetics and has a function for the end user. The outcome must incorporate sustainability.
Front
Back
Inside
How
My starting point is a vintage poster based on a photo of Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. This I created in a previous project.
Image by Oleg Ilyushin from Pixabay
Vintage poster created in a previous project
I looked for inspiration in original vintage Christmas cards and in newer interpretations of the vintage style. I particularly found the colour scheme of Vissevasse refreshing.
Vintage Christmas card from 1946
Vintage 1940s Christmas Card Angel Warming Hands over a Lit Candle Flame Whit. O-1219B
Greeting cards by Vissevasse
Design process
I did some quick sketches of what the Christmas card could look like and explored potential elements that could be added. Reworking the vintage poster in Illustrator, I of course wanted to retain the aesthetics, but also explore a different colour scheme, experiment with the level of detail and add Christmas elements to a new version of the artwork.
Solution
I found that framing the castle allowed me to replicate the vintage style and elegantly add Christmas elements like snowflakes and snow. I chose a hand-lettering/calligraphy styled type which I think evokes nostalgia and authenticity. The text colour is red because it aligns with the season, highlights the message and it breaks the wintry colour scheme.
I came up with four different versions showed below. Based on feedback from my peers, I chose to proceed with the version to the right. I added red text colour to 'Rosenborg Castle, Denmark' and to the text on the back of the card to tie it all all together.
Sustainability
The card (dimensions W11.7 x H18.2 cm, folded) will be printed on recycled mat paper by www.vistaprint.dk. During my research, I found this provider to be a reasonable compromise between quality, cost, shipping footprint and meeting the criteria of sustainability.
colour version white
colour version green
colour version blue
colour version gradient
3D
I used Adobe Dimension to create a 3D representation. First, I created one on a photographic background, but it displayed the artwork too small. Therefore, I created another 3D representation that could present the details of the artwork differently.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
CREDIT AND THANK YOU TO
Tutorials
dagubi (snowflakes)
LayerAce (snow effect)
Adobe Dimension tutorials (3D mockup)
Font
Gioviale designed by Laura Worthington. From Laura Worthington Type
Avenir Next Condensed designed by Adrian Frutiger and Akira Kobayashi, published by Lino Type, 2003
Images
Image by Oleg Ilyushin from Pixabay (Rosenborg Castle)
Annie Spratt on Unsplash (photographic background in 3D representation)
3D mockup
Striped candy cane by adobestock3d, #210882356
Upright card with envelope by adobestock3d, #208142481
