Showcase of 15 Inspiring Postcard Designs

There’s more to postcards than sending a quick “wish you were here” to the folks back home. Postcards are also an effective and affordable marketing tool. Whether it’s to drum up new business, promote a new service or product, or raise awareness of your brand, printing postcards can be a brilliant way to get your details out there and bookmark your brand in people’s memories.

Here you can see a collection of beautiful postcard designs. Many take a playful approach, looking for ways to make the postcard more interactive and engaging. Several simply rely on the power of beautiful design and imagery. If you’re looking for some design inspiration for your next direct email campaign, the humble postcard is a good place to start, take a look and see what we mean:

This collection of Russian postcards entitled Anfisa and Animals, tell us about the grisly adventures of an animal-loving little girl. Made for children by the creative agency BARBA, the beautifully illustrated postcards feature wickedly humorous copy, as the example below roughly translated confirms: “The snakes think Anfisa is a tyrant because she is making a cardigan out of them.”

This collection of stickers and postcards were created for a class project that all graphics students took part in at Southeast Tech. Students were asked to design, print and build marketing collateral to promote their 2012 showcase. This winning entry combines a vintage-retro feel with clean and clear typography.

This clever concept for Greenpeace introduces an interactive element into postcard design. Like a lottery scratchcard, people could use a coin to remove the oil stain to reveal a text panel with the line: “Any coin will help us clean the victims of oil spills.” A smart way to help people visualize the impact their donation could have on the cause.

No concept and no unexpected quirks, this beautiful postcard achieves its objectives though the classically understated approach of powerful photography and emotive copy.

In contrast to the previous example, this postcard is both highly conceptual and interactive. It’s a ‘do it yourself yeti’ postcard, with easy to follow instructions to help you build your very own Himalayan monster.

How about a living postcard that actually grows? That’s just what British design outfit A Studio for Design created with their Postcarden. The idea is simple enough; growing cress on card. Yet it’s the slick execution that really makes this piece stand out. The postcard has space for you to add your own personal greeting and it can be sent easily through the post. It neatly folds out to house a mini salad garden and with just a sprinkling of water it starts to grow. The Postcarden is even available in three different designs.

Polaposts is a fun, personal and affordable way to send photographs through the post; a more low-fi approach to photo sharing! Polaposts take traditional Polaroid snaps and fit them into a retro frame complete with a writable reverse for adding your personal message. These can then be posted anywhere on the planet, and when your photo arrives at its destination it will have the well-traveled and authentically-aged effect that the Hipstamatic can only ever dream of achieving.

This postcard pop-out aeroplane has been made from balsa wood so it’s super-light to send through the mail. It’s easy to assemble and is a clever way of making sure your postcard is kept and cherished instead of landing straight in the wastepaper basket.

The Shoe Chronicles is a postcard collection and retrospective autobiography of the creator’s favorite footwear. Each postcard represents a year of their life and the shoes that carried them through it. A touching idea, however it’s the cool lace-up opening that catches our attention; a simple, decorative touch that adds so much personality.

There’s a lot to  be said for cutting to the chase when it comes to direct marketing and this example wastes no time in introducing itself. Charming, effecting and refreshingly simple.

This is a guest post contributed by Neeru, who loves everything about design. She enjoys writing about it, reading about it and working on her website.