a change of season
School’s out, work days are shorter, and your calendar is marked with upcoming vacations, barbeques, and weddings to attend. Summer’s officially here, and along with the beach hats, flip flops and ice creams cones, it’s time to get your hands on some stationery to match the summertime buzz.
Just as the colors and styles of clothing collections change according to the different seasons of the year, so do those of stationery. The changes are subtle, but in terms of functionality and appeal, very important.
Themed greeting cards are the most obvious example of seasonal stationery items. If you’re the owner of a boutique store, you won’t be stocking cards with snowflakes printed on them in the middle of July. And if you’re a stationery designer, you might want to start working on your ideas for a wintery-themed card now, but wait till the end of summer or early fall to begin pitching your new product to stores.
(above: Whimsy Press’ you are my sunshine giftwrap, and Dog and Pony Show’s blue starry feeling notecard)
Things to keep in mind when conjuring up a card or notebook design for a particular season: the colors, the texture, the subject, the uses. Just like the way we choose clothes, people seem to have an affinity for brighter, lighter and more colorful cards and papers when the weather’s warm, and tend to go for deeper, richer shades and patterns when it’s chilly outside. Paper weight and texture also play a part in the design process. Translucent vellum and handmade papers embedded with seeds and dried flowers are popular during the spring and summer months, while thicker, heavyweight cardstocks seem to be the papers of choice for cold-weather designs. Besides the actual design and paper choices, there’s the functionality of the item. Notecards and invitations go a long way during the summer months, as do journals, scrapbooks and photo albums since people do quite a bit of traveling during this time.
A good way to see how the seasonal stationery market looks is to pay a visit to some boutique stores and paperies in your area. Look at what’s on display, what items have been marked for sale, and work on your peripheral vision and hearing — keep an eye and an ear on what items other customers in the store are asking for and purchasing. Put yourself in their shoes (or sandals), and ask yourself, what would you buy?