Gift Cards are a powerful force for retailers to engage with customers. When creating a gift card, it's important to put some thought into how your brand and gift card system will appeal to customers, drive engagement and therefore drive sales. Major brands such as Starbucks and Target are two key examples of brands who are doing it well.
Consider pairing a highly engaging and photographic or illustrative look with a small, reference to the brand logo. The idea is to offer the thrill of a gift while subtly suggesting the gift card is for a specific brand. Additionally, consider the theme of the gift card - for example, creating it before a holiday or special occasion can add to the excitement of the design. Remember, a well-thought-out gift card can be just as meaningful as a traditional gift so design with the mindset of delight and dazzle.
Starbucks is a great resource for gaining a sense of how to craft an excellent design. Here is a link to their current offerings--here
The clever core of Starbucks is illustration. Also, notice the real estate of the logo space and consistent placement. It is easy to identify this gift card as a Starbucks card and as the viewer/user scrolls through they can pick from an array of options.
Target is another big player in the gift card space. If you review their site --here-- the design strategy is similar to Starbucks in that they lean into illustrative concepts and consistent logo placement. Target has clever integrations for the target logo in the art.
here are some easy tips & tricks for creating a gift card program for your company.
Create an array of designs that express delight in imagery, include seasonal + holiday themes, and have sentimental messaging similar to a classic greeting card. Think of it almost as standing alone in its style.
Place the brand logo in a consistent place at a smaller ratio in one of the corners (or weaved into the illustration itself). Do not scale to a larger or smaller size from design to design. If you are working with other designers make sure to communicate that as well.
Create on-brand designs and break outside of the brand colors and create off-brand designs. Offer a lot of choices.
Think of the customer experience more than what you think will sell more. The sales of gift cards are part of the marketing program—email, social, etc. The design of the gift card should 100% be customer focuses. The customer needs to feel as if they are getting a present!