In this month's design showcase, we're highlighting some fantastic holiday card samples by two of our lovely ladies of design. These are unusual showcase items since they're not tied to any particular client, but they're also interesting since each one is, by its very unbranded nature, a peek into the designer's unfettered mind.

Our holiday cards, of course, are all completely custom; these designs are merely samples of what our team can do. If you're an Emma customer, you can request your own custom holiday design right over here. Let's bring on some of that holiday style!

Sample: "Welcome to Fall"

This fall greeting card flies in the face of convention, which should be no surprise to anyone who knows its designer. Elizabeth, known around here as the one who rides her Razor scooter to staff meetings, originally wanted to conjure a Thanksgiving feast with imagery of gourds. It turns out, however, that a good gourd can be hard to find. When her search for the perfect photo came up empty, she had to return to the drawing board. Via Razor, of course.

Instead of using typical "fall color" (reds, oranges and browns), she opted for a cool color scheme with hints of warmth for balance. And though autumn designs commonly use textures and typefaces that evoke early Americana, Elizabeth's card summons a different kind of nostalgia: home.

Her font of choice is not quite antiqued Western, not quite Deco, definitely quirky and decidedly vintage. The shapes and textures of the card itself call to mind an aged, clipped coupon and a classic, weathered money-clip made of engraved leather. There's also a touch of natural beauty from the sprig of rowanberries, though it's appropriately and seasonally sparse.

The feeling, then, is the spirit of fall on a smaller scale: familiar objects reminiscent of home, fall shopping with the family and minimalist, natural elegance. The gourds only *wish* they looked this good.

Sample: "A Joyful Thanksgiving"

When it comes to Thanksgiving food, Kelly is all about tradition: casseroles, macaroni and cheese, and all manner of pie. Come to think of it, though, Kelly is really just all about food, regardless of custom or holiday. That's why, I think, we all expected her sample design to be an unabashed tribute to dinner, and I'm still a bit shocked that it isn't.

In the end, though, it's also true that Kelly never fails to surprise and delight, and this card certainly keeps with *that* tradition. In this design, she uses a variety of contrasting textures and styles that still work together to form one cohesive design.

First and foremost, the antiqued "paper" and ship illustration reference the colonial era, as does the vintage font for the header. These more traditional elements, however, are balanced with the more playful turkey handprint, the strips of tape along the top and the line-drawing flourish in the top left corner, all of which allude to grade school crafts for the holidays.

If you look closely at the content text, you'll notice that it sits on top of a background image instead of a solid color. That means that, for this particular design, the text would need to be flattened into the image itself, instead of being highlight-able live type. That's because certain email programs, such as Outlook, do not render background images correctly when they're behind live text (the background images get stripped out).

We could, however, place live type in the middle area if it were expanded. Kelly did a brilliant job of smoothing out the roughed-up paper texture and ripped-edge borders in the middle so that, if needed, the design could expand vertically and accommodate more live text.

Sample: "Merry Holiday Season"

For her sample Christmas card, Kelly wanted something a little more understated and classic. Here, a shiny gold bow and a bit of sparkly wrapping paper transform the card into a gift, and the ribbon even appears to wrap the entire design. The rest of the image gets its depth from the shadowed curve that arcs across the bottom left corner.

Of course, the design wouldn't be complete without a touch of levity. Kelly's goal was really to create something conservative enough to work for a client of more traditional tastes, but still with a touch of playfulness to give the card an extra something special.

To that end, she added in a little paper snowflake, which peeks out from behind the ribbon in the top right corner. It's a subtle, minor addition, but it changes the mood and spirit of the card. It also introduces an entirely new texture, which keeps the eye interested. And maybe even more importantly, it mirrors the color of "Merry Holiday Season," which is the only other true white in the design. The snowflake and salutation work together, then, to make each other pop off the screen, all the while encouraging the reader's eyes to continue moving across the "page."

Sample: "Happy New Year"

The background imagery of Elizabeth's New Year card is intentionally ambiguous, but unmistakably buoyant and celebratory. Those lighter spots in the content area could be the glint of the Times Square Ball, the flashes of cameras capturing the festivities or even a dance of light off a bubbly flute of champagne. The exact source or identity of those floating spots of light is not what's important — it's the spirit of the design, the depth of the field and the unusual combination of colors that still, somehow, feels like News Year's.

In the bottom corners, the shooting sparks of fireworks are softened with a play on blur and opacity. They visually echo and reinforce the circular logos in the *upper* corners, strategically placed on either side of "Happy New Year." Elizabeth brings in contrast with the texture of that banner, as well as the rougher smudging of "paint" behind the year. In the end, it all comes together to make a nuanced but festive design.

And until next time … hugs and holiday cheer from the entire Emma Design Team!