Rose Day Business Card Design
For Positive Options, I was asked to create three card designs for Rose Day, a community event where volunteers hand out roses with a Positive Options business card attached to local college students. The intention behind these cards was not to push a mission or political position, but instead to share encouraging quotes or phrases in a youthful, aesthetic way. The hope was that students would want to keep the card, and in doing so, also have Positive Options’ contact information available on the back if they ever needed it. The goal was to create two designs that leaned more feminine and one that leaned more masculine.
For the first design, I chose a Louisa May Alcott quote, drawing inspiration from the resurgence of interest in Little Women. To match that classic yet trendy aesthetic, I hand drew the border and floral motifs, digitized them in Illustrator, overlaid them on a textured paper background, and paired the artwork with the quote in a rough typewriter font.
The second design centered around an encouraging Booker T. Washington quote. This piece was designed with a more masculine aesthetic, featuring a red and blue palette and a mountain graphic as the focal image. I hand lettered the quote, refined it in Illustrator, and arranged the lettering to fill the negative space across the mountain backdrop, creating a bold and dynamic composition. Strategic color placement within the type ensured readability while keeping the design youthful and engaging.
For the third design, I created a positive and conversational piece featuring the phrase “you can totally do this.” To balance the flowery design surrounding the text, I selected a color palette that avoided feeling overly feminine. I hand lettered the phrase and illustrated the surrounding vines, then digitized and colored them in Illustrator. A simple paper-textured background with added grain gave the design a subtle vintage feel.
Together, the three Rose Day designs balanced timeless quotes with modern, hand-crafted design elements. Each card provided students with a meaningful message presented in a visually appealing way, while subtly keeping Positive Options’ contact information accessible. The result was a set of designs that felt uplifting, relevant, and worth holding on to.
