5 Tips to Elevate Your Holiday Graphics This Season

The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year, and it always seems to arrive faster than expected. With that comes the annual challenge of planning your holiday campaigns and designing graphics to go along with them.

Many organizations struggle with how to make their holiday graphics feel festive while still staying true to their brand. By following a few basic guidelines, your holiday marketing can be both effective and festive.

Here are five quick holiday design tips to keep in mind.

1. Keep It On-Brand

First and most importantly, don’t abandon your brand guide when Q4 rolls around. From your colors to fonts, visuals, and even your tone of voice, consistency matters.

When designing for the holidays, use your existing branding as the foundation, then layer in some thoughtful seasonal accents. This helps your audience recognize your brand, even when your graphics have a holiday twist.

Take a look at these Apple gift card designs. Notice how it’s still undeniably their brand, but it also feels festive with subtle seasonal accents. That’s exactly what you want to achieve.

https://9to5mac.com/2022/11/04/apple-holiday-return-policy-2/

2. Prioritize Readability

Holiday designs tend to get busy with graphic elements, patterns, textures, and more. An important rule to remember is to make sure your text is easy to read. Stick to high contrast color combinations, clean fonts, and readable layouts.

Take a look at Starbucks’ newest homepage hero for the holiday season. With a clean design and clear hierarchy, it makes for a festive yet effective layout. If your audience can’t quickly understand the message, the design isn’t doing its job.

https://www.starbucks.com/

3. Use Inclusive Imagery

Not everyone celebrates the same holidays or traditions, and your graphics should be mindful of that. Instead of leaning only on visuals specific to one holiday, try to highlight universal themes like gratitude or giving. Also, using more generalized imagery such as candles, snowflakes, or gift boxes can feel festive without excluding anyone.

Dunkin’s latest holiday gift card designs are a great example. This approach makes your graphics feel more inclusive and ensures they resonate with a wider audience.

https://www.dunkindonuts.com/en

4. Add Motion

As holiday marketing ramps up across every platform, static graphics can easily get lost. Utilizing simple animations, like twinkling lights, falling snow, or animated text, can instantly make your graphics stand out.

As an example, we used motion in our virtual holiday card last year. Adding subtle interactivity can elevate your design and keep viewers engaged.

5. Get Creative

Lots of brands lean into the traditional holiday look this time of year, and while that can work, it’s also what everyone else is doing. By taking a more creative approach, you give yourself the opportunity to truly stand out.

FedEx did a great job of practicing out-of-the-box thinking (pun intended) in this example, turning their everyday shipping boxes into a playful graphic that’s both festive and unexpected.

https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/holiday-92f25d40-2c0a-4b7a-ac0a-d5c057ae2647

Designing for the holidays doesn’t need to be complicated. By following these tips, you can create holiday designs that both stand out and get your message across. Reach out to us if you need any assistance with your marketing – no matter the season!