Gift Card Programs: Designing Your Gift Card

Now that you’ve made the wise decision to incorporate gift and/or loyalty marketing into your business, you’ve got a number of decisions to make. One of the first – and most critical – is the decision regarding the card you will offer to your customers. In this article, we’ll examine your options and explore some common design and artwork mistakes and what you can do to avoid them.

Standard or Custom Designs?

Once you’ve decided on a supplier, they will discuss card options with you. There are two ways you can go here – custom or standard. Custom cards are unique to every business. Custom cards incorporate the business’ identity in terms of using their logo and artwork that reflects the business’ look and feel.

Standard designs, on the other hand, are ready-made designs that your gift card supplier has in stock. Many gift card providers have designs that cater to specific categories of business. Therefore, they do not have to be bland. These standard designs also can be personalized by adding your business name, website and telephone numbers and even a logo (but usually in a single color).

Choosing the best option for business takes an understanding of your options. Custom designed cards have several key advantages. You will often see the “big box” retailers use these because they are able to carry their same branding and marketing with a custom design. These custom cards are usually very attractive. An attractive card makes an attractive gift and you can often increase impulse buys with this added eye appeal. Merchants also can try some unique things such as custom die cuts to make specially shaped gift cards. Merchants can use more distinctive materials (such as metallic inks, foils and different card stocks). There are even some cutting edge ideas where the cards have additional digital information or can even play music. The two disadvantages to a custom card design are that the price is more expensive and that the turnaround takes a little more time.

For standard card designs, you can still get some special printing options such as unique die cuts, clear card stocks, and metallic inks. There will be, however, some constraints on how much the card design can be personalized. The overprint type will have some color limitations. The amount of text you can use may be more limited. And the range of standard designs is also limited. On the other hand, there are many advantages because of this. Your cost will often be lower since the supplier has pre-printed the basic designs. You also will get your cards much faster — days instead of the weeks it takes for custom cards.

Creative Considerations

With standard cards, the task is pretty simple — pick a design and choose how you will personalize it for your business. With a custom design, however, you have some additional decisions. Likely, you’ll work with either your existing agency — if you have one – to create your card design, or you’ll work with your supplier. Many gift card companies have their own in-house design departments. Regardless of whom you work with to create your design, you’ll need to give them some direction. In many cases, this means supplying artwork so they can base your card design on something that you already use in your business – for example – your original menu art if you’re a restaurant. You can also submit the files used to create a brochure or advertisement for your business. This will enable a designer to create your card design so it fits into the rest of your marketing initiatives.

Here are some good ideas of things to do and not do when going through this design process:

1. DON’T use artwork from the Internet. Graphics that are used on the web are not of adequate resolution (graphic clarity for lack of a better term) for print use.

2. DON’T supply images that will need to be enlarged. That, in effect, also reduces the resolution and your images will appear fuzzy or out of focus.

3. DON’T utilize previously printed images. Art that has been printed commercially has been converted into small “dots” that create the image. When you reprint these previously printed images, you often get a moire pattern that makes for poor quality images.

4. DO try and use original computer files from which you have printed other pieces. These original files will be perfectly clear and will allow the designer to more quickly and effectively create a quality design.

5. DON’T make the design too complicated. Placing too much info into this small space often reduces the overall visual impact that the card will have. This is a fairly common error people make. Don’t make it cluttered and lose your impact in the process.

6. DO take advantage of your logo. Your logo is a constant branding image that your customers actually expect to see on your various advertising and marketing creative. A gift card or loyalty card is like a pocket-sized billboard for your company. Take advantage of your logo. You want your clients to remember your name.

7. DO coordinate your card with custom merchandising tools. Creating an attractive package with custom designed gift card hangers, card carriers, display racks — all of these tools help not only to raise the perceived value but sell more cards.

Whether you choose to go with a standard card with some personalization and want to begin in a week, or whether you want to go for a full-custom package and coordinate all your marketing efforts, there is nothing like receiving that first box of cards and seeing your attractive, glossy gift cards. Once you start making your customers aware that you offer gift cards, you will also love the increased revenues to your business.

Al Duggan is an expert in custom gift and loyalty cards and is the Vice President of Business Development for Valutec Card Solutions, LLC, the country’s largest supplier of gift card programs to small to mid-sized companies.