Postcrossing Blog

… and so it starts again! 😊

We’ve been working behind the scenes on this year’s edition of the World Postcard Day, and today we’d like to announce one of the most exciting parts of it: the graphic design competition to find the official postcard of 2021's events! Last year, we tested by running the contest in Portugal only, together with our friends at Finepaper, a neat printing and design company based in Lisbon. This year, and in the global spirit of postcards, we’re extending the competition to the whole world. So no matter whether you’re a student in Bangladesh, an artist in Argentina, or maybe just someone who really likes drawing, crafts or design — you can participate too!

This year’s theme is “Around the world on a postcard”. The ability to transport us to far away places through the image and words is a really nice characteristic of postcards, and we would like to see this facet featured on this year’s official postcard. How you will choose to make that work is up to you — illustration, photography or some sort of mixed design approach are all valid approaches to the topic. The sky is the limit!

Will there be prizes? You mean, besides worldwide recognition and the immense satisfaction of seeing your design traveling all around the world? 🤪 Naturally! They’ll be announced on the World Postcard Day contest page soon, along with the rules and juries of the contest.

Digital design submissions open later this month, but we are giving postcrossers an early heads-up so you can start working on your proposals. Gather your pencils or fire up Photoshop, and tell your friends to participate too! The contest will run for around 2 months, and results will be published on the World Postcard Day page (and here on the blog) sometime after the deadline closes. We are really looking forward to seeing your creative ideas pour in!

And if, like many of us, you don’t have a lot of creative bones in your body, this is a good time to start making plans and think how you’ll celebrate this year’s event. While we’re busy poking post offices and big postal museums, you can get in touch with your local libraries, museums, schools or other organizations and invite them to commemorate this date as well! Share your ideas with others in the comments below or in this forum topic — now’s the time to start creating some buzz and prepare to make October 1^st the best day in the year!