8 Design Tips for Personalized Valentine's Day Greeting Cards

Every Valentine’s Day, nearly 1 billion dollars are spent on cards alone, not to mention all the candy, flowers, and jewelry. How often do you come across a card that seems really special, that really connects to your special relationship with your loved one? Often Valentine’s Day greeting cards seem a little shy of the mark, never really capturing how you really feel.

No matter how big your budget is, creating a personalized card, like a handwritten letter, is the best way to connect with your recipient. Even when paired with an expensive gift, a personalized greeting card can speak volumes about how you feel about them.

If you’re not usually a crafty type or if you’re looking to up your game a little, you might need a little guidance on where to begin. Whether you’re designing by hand or digitally, try out one or more of these design tips to spice up your next Valentine’s Day greeting card.

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Go Vintage With Your Valentine’s Day Greeting Cards

Design inspired by vintage or classic designs has been a go-to for creating charming greeting cards for a number of years. If you happen to like the kitsch of 1950s style cards, you’ll find yourself on top of the current trend in the handmade and personalized market.

Take a look at the old script typefaces you find in classic signage for inspiration. Try to do a send-up or an homage to a font style you like from that era.

When choosing colors, muted tones are the best for this look. Pastels like a soft faded pink or a pale yellow can set a great background for a vintage personalized Valentine’s Day greeting card.

When adding text, make it slightly curved or angled. This will give a sort of authenticity to your retro design.

If you choose block letters, add some dropped shadows to make your letters stand out. Put text on banners and ribbons to accentuate the style.

If you’re designing digitally, try out some different textures and filters. A paper texture or a faded filter can make the card look authentically aged.

When planning out your text, write down what you want to say on a separate piece of paper or in a different document. Try to make it short and sweet for the best results.

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Modern Love

There’s nothing wrong with love in the modern world. Whether you and your partner got together on Bumble or Grindr or while waiting at the Genius Bar, revel in how contemporary your romance is. This concept can be highlighted in a number of modern or tech-inspired designs in Valentine’s Day greeting cards.

Take a look at how your favorite apps display information and think about communicating your feelings with a similarly engaging design. You can create cards that are fresh and discard with traditional binaries if that’s your style.

Modern design doesn’t have to be cold, metallic, and gray. Try out some bold primary colors or the look of a fun grid. Colorize some of your favorite moments together and make them pop.

If you and your loved one spend lots of time communicating over text with emojis, don’t be afraid to add some to your personalized card. If you have an inside joke with a particularly funny or non-sensical emoji, use that in your card design.

Modern Valentine’s Day greeting cards should eschew the kinds of billowy fonts used by more classically “romantic” designs. Find something clean and simple. Sans serif fonts are the best.

To get the most out of your design, don’t be afraid to use a white background. That will allow a few words or colors to say a lot without fighting against any interference.

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Paint Digitally

If you’re not a great painter, don’t worry. While the nostalgic charm of a card that’s hand painted or has some cute sponge painted techniques is nice, not everyone is so crafty.

Thankfully there are plenty of tech solutions.

If you find a great little image or a photo of your loved one, you may not want to drop it in as-is. Thankfully just about every digital tool has the ability to help you manipulate the image.

Look for a filter that can blur or digitally alter the image so that it looks painted. This way, your image will look more handmade and personalized. You can even change the colors through filters to make it brighter, bolder, or with a strong illustrated look.

Rather than letting yourself feel limited by your artistic challenges, try different approaches to making Valentine’s Day greeting cards handmade. Even when you’re using digital tools, you can still add a personalized touch if you get to know the capabilities of your favorite photo editing program.

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There Are No Rules

You might expect that everything related to Valentine’s Day needs to be drawn in bold and deep red tones. But trying a different color can have a strong impact on your recipient.

Don’t be afraid to go with a mostly white and black palette for your next card. Use a little bit of gold to accent your images or text, letting your loved one know they have serious value. A little bit of metallic foil could go a long way.

Also, if you’re good at origami or building things, don’t be afraid to try out something bold that pops up when you open the card. Making something 3D will make your card memorable and stand out from the rest.

Going minimalist can be great because then your little accents will pop. Abstract photography works as well. The best Valentine’s Day greeting cards stand out by being bold and different.

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Pink Is Universal

If you want to communicate all of the ideas that a bold red card communicates without going over the top, try pink. Soft shades of pink are non-binary and will work in just about any design for Valentine’s Day greeting cards.

Pink will go well with other pastels, white, and gray. If you want to jazz it up with ornate borders, pink will welcome those kinds of flourishes.

Avoid the hot pink colors of Suzanne Summers’ workout clothes and think something a little closer to a soft rose in a French garden. Before you start designing, think about your overall color palette.

Find a color wheel that will show you complementary colors so that you design can really stand out.

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Remind An Old Flame Of Young Love

If you’re with your high school sweetheart after a number of years, think about giving a nod to where you first met with a chalkboard design. Romance can be simple and youthful, and a chalky font could look really nice.

Even if you don’t want to directly reference chalkboards, off-white dusty fonts over dark backgrounds can give a cool aged or vintage feel. Think about something that brings to mind handwriting on glass or carving your initials into a picnic table.

There’s something romantic about these organic textures, fonts, and styles. Valentine’s Day greeting cards should have a personal touch that underscores the special relationship between you and your loved one.

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Try An Invitation

Whether you’re in a new relationship or you’re looking for new energy for your long-time love, think about something other than a card. Why not make an invitation to a romantic date?

Even if the location is your shared home, invite them to come to a dinner you’re going to prepare or for a glass of wine. Better yet, invite them to a special place they’ll come to right after work and make it feel like a first date.

You’ll feel butterflies even as you design your card in the style of an invitation.

This can be assertive, so make sure you know that your date is planning on showing up before you put yourself out there. Be bold and explore a fresh take on Valentine’s Day greeting cards.

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Try a Postcard

If you and your loved one have a shared love for a foreign country or met in a far away city, take them there with a romantic postcard. Even if you don’t have those grand designs and both just enjoy curling up to fantasy movies, send them something from your favorite Tolkien or George Martin set.

Make your design approximately 4 inches by 6 inches. Add a graphic border and don’t forget to add a line on the back to write your address into. Include some vintage or real stamps if you decide to send it out for real.

Be sure to send it far enough in advance of Valentine’s Day mail traffic so that your loved one gets it.