With all the pressures of deadlines and budgets these days, it’s easy to forget just how fun and rewarding it can be to design items purely for the joy of it. This is something my good friend Dganit Dahan often reminds me of with creations like these laser-cut greeting cards, which stand proudly as they display the sender’s handwritten message beneath 1 of 6 animal silhouettes.
When she’s in the early stages of designing a new 3D object or calendar for her studio Sabai Sabai Design [projects / website], Dganit begins with a sketch of the sideview. And sometimes those profiles take on another life as a greeting card.
Here, American Bristol C1S paperboard was digitally printed CMYK by Ilan Print to create 6 different cards, each in a different color.
The recipient simply follows the illustrated instructions to fold it into a standing position and secures it with the rubber band provided. The uncoated front side gives the sender ample room to jot down a personal message.
At the top of the card, a unique animal shape has been laser cut just enough to make it easy to pull away the surrounding paper, after which voila: the silhouette of the card’s creature emerges from the rest of the card!
I especially love the subtle way a second color is worked into the front of the card, be it the red bird perched on the back of a hippo, or the green tree beside the fox. (And if that fox and tree look familiar, it’s probably because you caught a glimpse of them in a previous Sabai Sabai calendar.)
At a time when personal notes in the mail have taken on an even greater significance after years of social distancing, these greeting cards feel even more impactful. That’s especially true thanks to the way they can stand on your desktop, showing off the personal message and eye-catching creature – be it a bear, moose, hippo, fox or cat – for months or years to come.
The lesson Dganit learned from this project? Always be flexible. You never know when your ideas might take on another shape!
