A postcard lands harder when the flyer, the poster, the email and the social posts all carry the same picture and line. We design the set from one brief, so anyone who sees it twice recognises it. For an event, the card should match the website, like the one we built for Roar Entertainment. Print design lists the rest.
Postcard design
One picture, one line, one offer.
Postcard design has one job: to be read before it is binned. We design mailers, event cards and inserts that earn a place on the fridge.
Uses
What are postcards good for?
Postcard design for mailers and events is the most direct print there is: no envelope, no fold.
Mail
Direct mail
A card lands open, so it is read before an envelope would have been opened. Estate agents, dentists and local services use them to reach a street or a postcode.
Events
Save the dates and invitations
Launches, open days, exhibitions and reunions. A postcard is easier to pin up than a folded card and carries the date where it is seen.
Parcels
Parcel inserts
A thank-you card in every online order, with a code for the next one. A simple way to turn one order into two.
Sizes
Postcard sizes and postal limits
Postal services set the sizes their rates cover. Royal Mail treats anything up to 240 × 165 mm and 5 mm thick as a letter; the USPS charges its lower postcard rate only up to 4.25 × 6 in and has its own rules for every-door mailings. We check the size against the service you will use.
| Size | Dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A6 | 105 × 148 mm | The standard postcard in the UK and South Africa |
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | A large postcard; still Royal Mail’s letter size |
| DL | 99 × 210 mm | Fits a rack or an envelope; good for parcel inserts |
| US standard | 4 × 6 in | The usual card at the US postcard stamp rate |
| US large | 5 × 7 in; 6 × 9 in; 6 × 11 in | Letter or flat rate; 6.25 × 9 in and 6 × 11 in qualify for every-door mailings |
| Stock | 300 to 400 gsm; 14 to 16 pt cover | Stiff enough to survive the post without a sleeve |
What works
What makes a postcard work?
One picture, one line, one offer. The front is a single strong image or a bold headline, never both fighting; the back carries the detail, the offer code, a map or a QR code, and leaves room for the address. If people need to respond, make the response obvious: a code to quote, a date to keep, a number to call.
Track it. A code or a web address used only on the postcard tells you what the mailing earned. A card with a reason to be kept, such as an offer with a date, a calendar or a map, stays on the fridge, and that is the point of the medium.
Included
What comes with a postcard design
- Both sides designedThe front to stop them, the back to inform them, with the address side laid out to postal rules.
- A clear address zoneSpace for the address, the postage mark and the sorting machine’s clear zones, with a mail-merge version from your list if the cards are addressed by machine.
- Print-ready PDF3 mm bleed (0.125 in in the USA), CMYK, 300 ppi, to your printer’s template, with the back left uncoated if it will be addressed by hand.
- Digital versions and source filesThe same design sized for email and social posts, and the editable files, so the next offer is a text change.
Print & design
Related services
Questions
Questions about postcard design
Question not here? Send it to us and we will answer it directly.
Ask a questionHow do we order postcard design?
Use the project form or email hello@redfoxbranding.com with what the postcard is for, the size, how many you will print and whether they go in the post, in parcels or on a counter. We quote a fixed price in GBP, USD or ZAR. If you have a mailing list, tell us the format and we set the back up for it.
Which side should be laminated?
The picture side, with a gloss or matt laminate, and the address side left uncoated or given a writable varnish, because ballpoint ink and the postal service’s own marks do not take to a laminated surface. If a mailing house will address the cards, confirm their printer can print on the stock you choose; most prefer an uncoated back.
Can you design a postcard for door-to-door mailing?
Yes. Unaddressed door drops run through Royal Mail’s Door to Door service in the UK, local distributors in South Africa and every-door mailings through USPS, and each sets its own size and weight rules. We design to the chosen service and keep the offer and your name readable even when the card lands face down on the mat.
What is the best size for a parcel insert?
A6 or DL in the UK and South Africa, 4 × 6 in in the USA, on 350 gsm or 16 pt card. They fit a small box, cost little to print and sit in the hand like a real card. A code for the next order, a request for a review and a line of thanks are all it needs. If you print a loyalty card or a voucher as well, we match them.
Part of a bigger campaign?
Get a quote for postcard design
Tell us what the postcard is for, the size, how many you will print, how it will reach people and the date it has to land. Send your logo and any photo you have in mind. You get a fixed quote and a list of the files you will receive. That is how every postcard design starts.