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So every year, we send out a holiday card. This isn’t an original idea, I’m sure you receive a couple holiday cards every season. But when you think back to last year‘s haul... is there one card that still stands out?
Well, this year, Thysse‘s goal was to be that card. To be the most beautiful and unique card to land on our clients’ desks. Every company has probably had this same goal at some point. Whether for a holiday card, a direct mail piece, product packaging or even an in-store retail experience. You wanted to create something that people would remember, something people picked out from the group, something that delivered that ‘wow’ factor and sparked conversation.
For the holiday card, we kicked things off like we always do—sketching, pulling together mood boards, throwing around ideas as a team. We explored color, texture, format and then settled on a concept that felt timeless, elegant, and just… next level.
There are a few aspects that really played a role in elevating this year’s holiday card. To start, this card isn’t just something pretty to look at, although we’ll talk about that in a second. It’s designed to unfold like a story as you open it, like stepping into a warm, happy memory that invites you to resonate with the design.
The couple ice skating on the front of the card is a nod to one of my personal favorite winter activities, and I’m sure a favorite for many others as well. I also infused a little company personality, or Thysseness as we like to call it, by featuring an illustration of our headquarters behind the skaters. This helps to bring Thysse intothe scene and adds a branded touch.
I chose a unique duplex paper for the card. Duplex means it comes black on one side and white on the other. This duplex stock allowed for a rich, elevated black exterior while still allowing for those bright pops of color on the inside. It’s not a stock you come across often, and the quality of the paper is something you notice the second you pick it up.
Now, let’s talk about the finishes that really make this card stand out. I designed a custom diecut window that reveals part of the inside of the card from the front to complete the snow globe look. It adds dimensionality and gives the card that one-of-a-kind look you just can’t replicate.
Instead of using a standard deep yellow gold for the illustration of the snow globe base, I chose a metallic gold ink. It not only elevates it, but printed over the black paper, it gives this faded, nostalgic, almost vintage feel.
I selected two different foils to fill in the rest of the illustration: a shiny silver foil featuring a frost pattern for the ice, and an iridescent opal foil for the snow. The opal foil is used again inside the card to create the effect of falling snow, visible through the die-cut, like a snow globe that’s just been shaken.
Finally, I chose to emboss the “Happy Holidays” text and the ‘Thysse’ nameplate to give the warm message and our company name prominence while adding to the overall tactile and dimensional experience.
Every decision, from design to materials, was about creating an unforgettable, tactile experience. And then, we brought it to life right here at Thysse. Everything was produced in-house from printing, foiling, embossing, die-cutting and folding. This gave us full control over every last detail and the quality of the finished piece, which is something that really matters when you’re working with specialty finishes.
When the final cards came off the press, they looked… show-stopping. It was exactly what we envisioned. That’s the power of craftsmanship. When design, craft and going the extra mile with specialty finishes come together, the result resonates. It gets noticed. It’s remembered.
