Card design and how cards work guides

How to design a card, printing, sizes and the craft behind the range. There are 11 guides in this section, all free to read and copy from.

Every one is written for a specific moment rather than in general, so pick the closest fit and take the lines you need.

• How to design a greetings card
  The full guide to designing a greetings card: sizes and bleed, layout, type and photography, from a UK studio that prints its own range.
• Greetings card layout: composition, grids and white space
  Grids, margins, focal points and white space: how to lay out a greetings card so the idea lands in the first second.
• Greetings card typography: fonts, sizes and pairings
  Font pairing, sizes, spacing and hand-lettering: how to set type on a card so it reads from a metre away.
• Photo greetings cards: choosing and preparing images
  Resolution, cropping, colour and print-safe editing: how to pick a photo that survives being printed on card.
• New Year explained: the date, the traditions and what to send
  What New Year is, how it's marked across the UK including Hogmanay, and what to write in a New Year card.
• What is Father's Day? The UK date, where it came from and what to send
  Father's Day explained: the UK date, its American origins, and what to write in a card for dad, grandad or step-dad.
• What is Bonfire Night? The story behind 5 November
  Bonfire Night explained: the Gunpowder Plot, why we burn a guy, and how the night is marked across the UK.
• What is Thanksgiving? The date, the meal and sending a card from the UK
  Thanksgiving explained for a UK audience: the date, the traditions, and how to get a card to America in time.
• What is Burns Night? The date, the supper and the poetry
  Burns Night explained: the date, the supper, the address to a haggis, and how the night runs.
• What is St Patrick's Day? The date, the saint and how it's marked
  St Patrick's Day explained: the date, who St Patrick was, and how the day is marked in Ireland and the UK.
• What is Easter? Why the date moves and what to send
  Easter explained: how the moving date is calculated, the bank holidays, the traditions and what to write in an Easter card.

Other guide topics

• Best of: cards and gifts
• What to write in a card
• Messages by recipient
• Sorry, etiquette and awkward moments
• How much to spend
• Jokes and humour
• Puns and wordplay
• Rhymes, poems and quotes
• Riddles and quizzes
• Games and activities
• Party planning
• Decorations and how-to
• Fancy dress and themes
• Celebrations
• Work and colleagues
• Speeches and toasts
• Cheering someone up
• Feel-good reading
• Christmas and seasonal
• Secret Santa
• Festivals and world celebrations
• Christenings and faith milestones
• Charity and fundraising
• Badges and pins

Back to all guides

Where to shop next

• All guides
• Card ideas
• Browse all cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Gifts to make someone smile
• Thinking of you gifts

Frequently asked questions

How many card design and how cards work guides are there?

There are 11 in this section, and the full directory has 267 guides across 25 topics.

Are these free to use?

Yes. Copy any message, joke or checklist straight into a card or a party plan. You do not need to buy anything.