Postcrossing Blog

Ooooh! I like it! It gives me vintage EPCOT vibes.

Oh I absolutely love the style of this card, and the black/white version for coloring is amazing!!! cannot wait to print and send these

Ooooh an Oce design! 😎

Congratulations, Oce!!! Your talents are endless!!!

I love them, colour and w/b versions 😍

Yay oce congrats 🎉

Thanks for sharing your besutiful dedign!

I love the idea that postcards are like paper bridges - it's actually pretty clever! However I'm not fan of the design, I enjoyed 2025 postcard much better ;)

Beautiful work, Oce! I love it.

A postcard as a bridge between two people - it is a wonderful idea!

What a gorgeous design! I love how the paper heart bends through the 'A' in day.

Yaaaaaaaay Oce!!

Designed by Oce! Woah, I know that guy! Awesome card, what a great design for this celebration.

What a beautiful design and what a good metaphor.

Great. Love it

It is not a bad card but I prefer that it have a country flag at one end of the bridge maybe a globe at the other end . Then each one you get from around the world is different.

Amazing, Oce! Congratulations!

I like the idea of having one people can color in. Kids will love that, too!

So excited to be a part of WPD for the first time! Cant wait to print these postcards out

I like this design much better than previous designs, but I'm still hoping for photographic art in the future..

Looks amazing, thank you Oce! I am excited to get some of these printed.

Nice!

I'm having trouble finding a place where I can get the front and back printed with a low minimum in the USA.

Beautiful design! ✨

On October 1st, somewhere in the world, someone will be sending or receiving a card. 💌

I love this design, Oce! It's a great addition to your other beautiful designs. Keep knocking your designs out of the park and off the page! 😄

Love this!

love the theme, and I plan on having fun with the color your own version! Thank you, Oce!

I ordered 8,000 4x6 postcards of the official design for North American Postcrossers. Each card costs $0.05 to you. Mailing rates yet to be determined. I strongly encourage WPD meetup hosts to order bulk from me so the shipping costs are drastically less.

Love it!

Super cool!

My favorite things about this postcard are the orange sun, the clouds and the heart. :)

Incredible design done by an incredible artist! Congratulations, Oce! What a super star!!!!!

I’m new to Postcrossing and I don’t understand what it means by “every postcard posted on October 1st counts as a World Postcard Day card”. Posted as in registering a postcard? Posted (post marked) by the post office? Or simply writing one on Oct 1?
Thanks in advance for helping me understand!

I love the idea of the postcards being paper bridges but this design is honestly not great in my opinion. But I can see a lot of people like it so I hope everyone has fun sending it around :)

@Teryan Welcome to Postcrossing! We just mean any postcard you send on October 1st (whether through Postcrossing or to a friend or family, whether this design or any other postcard you like) is a World Postcard Day postcard to us! The important thing is to celebrate postcards. :)

Love it; can't wait for October 1st!

Not for me this year

I love it! I've been a fan of all his artistic projects.

These fonts were a choice. I find it difficult to read, and English is my first language and I don't have vision impairments that aren't fully corrected. I think this was a great idea, but the execution got in it's own way this year.

An unfortunately bland design, looks like it could fit any conference on any topic 😕

Beautiful design!

I like the concept behind the card, but not a fan of the design, maybe if it was actually showing postcards being the bridge between two people that’d make more sense.. It’s a bit too abstract for me.. 🤔

Teryan, for a postcard to be a ‘World Postcard Day’ card in Postcrossing, you need to go in to your account on 1 October and register to send a postcard on the actual date. Once it’s posted and then received by the sender, and they register it, you’ll then get a little badge on your profile showing you’ve sent a postcard on World Postcard Day. So make sure you save a few spots in advance so you’re able to send a few cards on 1 October (if you’ve sent all your allocation of cards then you won’t have one free to send..). Hope that makes sense! Welcome to Postcrossing! 🙂

Love the design!

Looking forward to WPD already!

I love the simplicity.
Congratulations to the designer. Job well done!!!!

I have to say I’m disappointed with this year’s World Postcard Day design. It feels very text-heavy, and at first glance it looks more like AI-generated graphic art than something celebrating postcards. One of the things I love about postcards is the imagery—beautiful places, artwork, culture, or illustrations that inspire people to send and collect them. This design doesn’t really capture that spirit for me, and if I saw it without the title, I wouldn’t immediately associate it with postcards. I hope future designs focus more on the joy and visual appeal of postcard collecting.

Another great theme has been chosen this year, hasn't it!
The city where I live has a thriving paper industry.
I think I'll come up with a new WPD postcard design again this year.

I wonder how many Paper Bridges will find their way to my House this year. Can't wait to find out. Nice theme.

Oh, that is just lovely <3

To break the ice build a paper bridge. An opportunity on WPD to connect all around the globe. WOW, what a theme.
Let's write postcards 2gether guys. Happy WPD in advance !!

A wonderful theme that ties in perfectly with the "Postcrossing" project, but the execution was rather bland and hard to read. A pity!

I didn't like the card at all. I don't want to send or receive such a card.

I don't like the design. I find it impersonal and lacking in warmth, which is a shame for a postcrossing activity. I think I'll use the black-and-white version so I can personalize it with the colors of Belgium.

You should consider creating a black-and-white coloring template featuring your logo emblem, which people could use throughout the year.

I love it! Congratulations Oce! Job well done. Thoughtful theme, “Paper Bridges” is creatively visioned in this postcard. I look forward to October 1st and hopefully make a few “paper bridges” of my own.

Not for me this year

I like the idea of " bridges" but to be honest don't like the this year's design. So I will pass this year!

I don't like the design either and I won't be sending any of them.

I love celebrating WPD and can't wait!
But I don't like this year's official postcard; I'm not feeling it at all. It's unreadable to me. If the goal was to tell me what I should see and how to understand it, that goal has been achieved. But I still don't see anything here that connects with this beautiful WPD day. I hope there will be many more colorful and enjoyable individual editions of the WPD postcard :)

Great news!
I love celebrating World Postcard Day and can't wait!
#Congratulations to Oce (aka ohhsayy) on the design.
Even though it might not resonate with everyone, I personally like it.
For six years now, I have truly enjoyed participating in this event by sending postcards dedicated to WPD!

So counting :) 69 days 11 hours 8 minutes 17 seconds to go

:) xoxo
:D :)

I'm excited for WPD but I'm sorry I don't like the design.. It looks like AI generated designs (it is not AI most probably but it reminds me..) I will send my own postal theme postcards this year too 🌸

I love this design! 😍

Thank you! I will try the textured paper.

I don‘t like it either

Congratulations, Oce!
I look forward to sharing your art for World Postcard Day!

Glad to have a local designing the official postcard--yaayy OCE! Looking forward to a meetup where I can some to send out! I love your premise of "Paper Bridges".

Sorry but I don't care for this design.

Love theme, Oce's design, idea of painting postcard. You do create every year even more reasons for us to send postcards. Huge thank you.

I am truly disappointed with this year’s World Postcard Day design. It feels like someone just phoned it in. While I am thrilled for the artist and the exposure it will give the artist AND I am very happy for those Postcrossers who DO find this design appealing, this year's postcard is just bland and did not feel "World Postcard-y" to me. I didn't understand the bridge reference until I read the explanation. WPD postcards should have a postal theme and should immediately evoke the joy of mailing a postcard. This made me think of ribbons at first glance, and the font for the "2026" is terrible. It just didn't evoke the joy of sending postcards for me. I'm hoping for more creativity (and more of a postal theme) next year. Thanks.

It’s completely fine if a design isn’t everyone’s personal style — artwork is subjective. And one of the nice things about World Postcard Day is that people can use any postcard to celebrate it: the official design, handmade postcards, other World Postcard Day themed designs or any postcard at all!

That said, please keep comments kind and constructive here. This year’s postcard was created by a member of our community and is being shared freely for anyone to use. It is a lot of work and it is offered in the spirit of a gift to the community.

Saying something isn’t your style is one thing... dismissive or hurtful comments about the artwork are another, and will be removed.

Excited to get the postcard printed! Thank you for organizing these free designs for us!

@sonataca....I sent you a message yesterday about the postcards...

Love this design. Especially the B&W design. Very cool!

My favourite still remains the postal hugs theme. Excited for WPD keeping my slots free until then yay.

I love the line art version for coloring in! What a fun idea.

Disappointment again. It gets worse and worse every year. It's a pity.

Design feels cold. Anti-climatic.

I’m so excited for this design! I love the idea, paper bridges, and as a fan of origami it really evokes a feeling of connection for me! I make paper cranes to share with others and really postcards to share too. I love this and can’t wait to share with others!

The theme of paper bridges is great but the design.... Hard to read even for one who is familiar with latin alphabeth and I couldn't read 2026 out of the "numbers" on the bottom.
Will go inactive around the time again to hopefully prevent me from getting any of them

The idea is great and the result quite appealing. I only have trouble reading the 2026. However, thank you for the free download. I'll be using the card and it's my very 1st year.

Not entirely my style, but not a complete miss either. I kinda like the Oriental vibe the card gives me.

The theme "Paper Bridges" is ok, but I don't like the design of the card. I'll send some other cards on Oktober 1st.

What a beautiful design! This will be my first year, so I'm very excited! Definitely will be using!

Aww, this is so lovely! For several years now I've been collecting postcards featuring bridges, and in my Postcrossing profile I even write that a postcard is like a bridge connecting us, Postcrossers. Thank you for taking that idea and elevating it to a whole new level. I'm sure we'll have it printed for our Slovak Postcrossing group as well.

Amazing! What beautiful art

Amazing ! I'll use it !

This year's card is a big disappointment for me. I agree that it would be a great logo for a conference, but not for a postcard. Last year's cards were great. This year I'll print a few of them so as not to break tradition, but I'll be careful who I send them to.

I love bright cards. Unfortunately, the design is boring, and the numbers are really hard to see. But everyone has different tastes! The theme: paper bridges, sounds great! I wish everyone a pleasant anticipation and a happy October 1st. This will be my third year.

It looks like opinions are split, and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this ☹️ way.

❤️!
Looking forward to WPD2026!

I made a comment on the day this was released and I just came back by to see what others have said. What a lesson. I'll never ever ever comment negatively on another person's art going forward. I don't think I ever have. But, for sure I won't now. Because I know this artist and I have seen (on his Instagram) the pencil-lined drawings and the work that went into the card, I love it for that reason. This was designed with heart and not with AI. Also, the artist is not just a member of the Postcrossing community. He hosts many meetups and spends a lot of his own time and money on each event. He graciously designs and prints a lot of our cards. He secures the locations. He's a fabulous host. I could go on and on... all this to say, I am crushed on his behalf for every rude comment. Why not say nothing? Let the art speak for itself and believe that the artist gave of themselves to share something with the world. This card may be a piece of art you don't want to send and receive due to your own preferences, but believe me when I say this postcard is a reflection of a good person. Every artist, every year, deserves the same courtesy.

I'm not a fan it's kinda boring to me if i compare it to the previous cards 🙄❤️ no offense... tastes are different 🙏🏻 but I prefer cards with more details...
People shouldn't feel offended if other people don't like a card...all humans are different and I think it's a great thing that there are many different tastes out there! It would be boring if all people like the same things and kinda wrong to shut them down! It's allowed to dislike things and an artist can handle such a situation

Oce, Really beautiful and creative. I love the flow to the card. It makes me travel from one side to the other, as if I am traveling with the card. I can't wait to connect with you to get your autograph on the postcard. Not to send to anyone, for me to keep. I will put the explanation with it as well. Thank you so much for sharing your talent and passion with every Postcrossing card you design.

As someone who always knows Oce personally, I concur with the above comment from KoolAidSmile.

No one gets paid to design meetup cards, host meetups (including traveling to host them!), and create pictorial cancellation marks, and Oce has shared his time and creative talents with the community again and again, all driven by his passion to bring the community together and bring joy to everyone around the world. He even designed last year’s WPD cancellation marks and a whole set of pictorial cancellations that were used for the World Stamp Show in the US this year, and consistently hosts first-day-of-issue stamp ceremony meetups, which historically have very tight timelines - it’s a mission to not only host them but create art for these meetups as well.

I personally think this year’s design is fantastic, and it’s clear that a lot of thought and care went into it with a lot of hidden symbolism, classic of Oce’s designs. Every single element is paper-related, including the color scheme, the way the letters fold onto themselves, and the way the bridges weave in and out like paper motions. To me, the way the clouds rise in the background is reminiscent of lightbox paper cut shadow boxes, kirigami techniques (paper cutting in Japanese culture), paper cut techniques seen in various Asian cultures for paper lanterns during the mid-autumn festival, or even a little of papel picado (paper art originating from Mexico), showing that the design literally bridges multiple cultures and traditions.

The blog mention that this postcard would be nicely printed on textured paper was also a huge clue. For those of you who have ever written on seed paper or postcards, for instance, this is a rare chance to experiment with different cardstock that normally would not fit other designs, like hemp, recycled paper, and bamboo, all sustainable materials - another important aspect in keeping the stationery/postcard community alive.

For those of you who are posting unnecessarily negative comments, I want to implore you to consider that WPD is one of the biggest holidays in Postcrossing and a reflection of our usually friendly and generous community. No one is asking you to like the design but it is not necessary to dogpile or post unkind comments that you don't like it - do you do the same to senders when you receive a card you don't like in the mail? Let’s not burn bridges when this year’s theme is “paper bridges.”

I love this! What a fantastic design! I'm so excited to share these on World Postcard Day.

I don't understand why some people here complain when someone else doesn't like the design.Everyone is different, and criticism is part of art.I always think it's wrong to try to silence another person's voice.None of the comments attack the artist personally as a human being.It is okay not to like something and to communicate that; in today's society, that should be accepted.That's my opinion...

Thank you, Oce, for a very distinctive artistic contribution to World Postcard Day. Your personal design is very “2026” and as unique as each member of our Postcrossing community and as is each message connecting us to one another. I also appreciate the thoughtfulness and effort made towards this year’s theme. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Congrats Oce!!
It's so surreal to go from "it's Oce from the Postcrossing meetups" to "it's Oce who designed the official WPD card!"
Going to order a bunch this year :D

I like the theme of paper bridges to symbolize our connections. It's a thoughtful concept. But then I had to laugh a little, because out of the few postcards for sale where I live, about 90 percent of them show the Golden Gate Bridge. Year round I'm mailing bridge postcards. Does it mean I was ahead of the trend? I was hip for the first time in my life?

For me, conceptually, i like the idea, but had i not known the concept before seeing the image, i don't think I would have been able to interpret the image to get there. i suspect I lack the visual imagination to make the leap. i did not see a bridge. i do find the choice of font for the date exceptionally difficult to read.

That said, as a poet, i feel like I have a deep understanding of the level of effort and craft it takes to take an idea from a concept to a finished piece of work, and i applaud Oce for their efforts. i also know that every person who takes in a piece of art experiences it through their own set of filters, developed over a lifetime. Any piece of art is not just one stand-alone thing. It is an interactive experience between the artist and the person that experiences it, regardless of the medium in which it is presented. When you see Oce's work, or you read my poem, or you listen to Beethoven's music or you look at, or even touch a sculpture by Rodin, that experience will be unique to you and the artist. It may touch on some universal human theme, and perhaps you respond in a similar way to others. That is why some pieces of art endure; they speak to a lot of us.

So thank you, Oce, for your efforts, and thank you Postcrossing for sponsoring them. I like to think that in the end, I did kind of get it. These words, in this comment about Oce's work, are the bridge between us. They were inspired by Oce's effort to create that bridge.

Am I the only person who thought it was a bra at first glance? 😅

Congratulations, Oce! I love the bridges theme this year and the way you created a bridge that looks like paper to symbolize our paper connections through Postcrossing! Bravo!

Have some respect for ths artist, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything ar all.

I love it; the bridge seems ethereal, suspended in the air. The logo colors and the year are perfect.

Thank you Oce!

I like it! I can't wait for October first....

I don't like it at all.

The beauty of WPD cards is that they are different every year. Sometimes they are cozy, sometimes very modernistic, sometimes simple and sometimes filled with teeny tiny details. Not every card might "spark joy" so to speak, but nobody's standing with a gun pressed against your head. You do you, use this design if it appeals to you; make your own or use something else if it doesn't.

This particular design is not particularly my thing but I will use it anyways because it's a WPD special edition and it's so very different from other WPD designs of previous years. I think it is a great manifestation of how really and genuinely (not to check out the boxes!) diverse the Postcrossing community is.

Cheers to the designer and thank you for your contribution!

That's such a wonderful, fresh design. Will have to look up postcard printing services in my area... I'm not missing this one!!

Unfortunately, I don't like it; I won't be getting any postcards printed from it this time. It's a shame, but tastes differ, after all.

I'm loving the colours and the font, cool design!

If you can't say anything nice about a person, you can kindly say nothing at all. If you can't say anything nice about a piece of art, you can kindly say your opinion of it. Art is subjective and it's interesting to hear the perspectives of all art viewers.

I LOVE the simplicity of this image! For me, it makes the symbology and message even deeper. Gifted artist!

One word - Awful
Two words - Horrible and Awful
Three words - not needed , two are enough !

Love it! Thank you, Oce!!

Thank you Oce for gifting us your time, creativity, and talent- the paper bridges concept is beautiful, and your design is strikingly original and thought-provoking - I spent ages looking at it just now! I will definitely be printing a set.
As a designer and maker myself, I know from experience how one negative comment can outweigh thirty positive ones- please please just focus on the positive ones here, if you can xxx read them over and over!

Love this year's design, sharp, crisp, sleek. Don't get it why it got criticized so much.

US folks who want to get a few of these - Zazzle.com is super simple to order/upload and you don’t need a large minimum order.

I just ordered a few and it was easy peasy.

Looking forward to my First World Postcard Day. 🤩

I loved the postcard, I just don't understand one thing: I don't know why it was so criticized. I think I'll print it and send it to record the event, maybe even with a photo.

Hooray! I love the design and coloring is a cool idea, too.

Thank you for all the work this takes.

I don't intend to spam, but I can't find a way to add to my earlier post. It just occurred to me to suggest that people in the US try to get Postcrossing international stamps for these. They are still available on the USPS website, but I don't know how long they will remain.

Also, I agree on Zazzle as being a great printing site, whether you want just one or many.

Thank you for the free design :)
I'm looking forward to being able to participate this year. Last year I was too new and didn't "save" a card to request on Oct 1.
Would it be a software nightmare to allow people to request just one extra address on Oct 1 for this special day?

WPD is the perfect opportunity to bridge the gap between our worlds, Oce saw that concept and gave us his heart entwined within the design. The 2026 is so clever! Be kind Postcrossers, and start designing a 2027 design to enter…you’ll see how complex a journey art design is. Thank you Oce, I will treasure your design if I (hopefully) received a WPD postcard this year.

while I don't care for the card design (I find it hard to read) others will like it and I hope to receive 1 to add to my collection

How beautiful and thank you for including the line art so I can add personalised colours and other touches for people who have very specific preferences, I will be sending lots and I'll be over the moon if I receive one too.

Your PaperBridges postcard is Lovely, Oce!💌

I just like the idea of white and black, but not paper bridges

I love it! Thanks for doing this.

such a creative design - 😍 I LOVE IT
& thank you very much for creating and sharing this art. I can’t wait to celebrate the 2026‘s #WPD with this pretty postcard!!

Thank you for the gift of this work. It would be interesting to see and read other works by our fellow postcrosser on the Blog.

Is it alright to colour in the blank design digitally, then print it out?

it's a really beautiful design btw! i hope i get to use it for my first world postcard day

I know that there was a scandal previously in choosing a WPD design, but I think it’s time that we get back to holding a contest after a chosen theme is selected. I think that it’s something that the community should also be able to VOTE on. Otherwise, people feel very detached from what is selected and the design might not necessarily reflect what the community wants. Just my two cents, and is in no way a commentary on this year’s design or artist.

Thank you, Oce! -- for a stellar design. Also, umm.... CONGRATS!! Thrilled you got to design for this year's WPD. It has truly been a honor partnering with you to provide so many creative and cheerful meetup card designs to our stateside Postcrossers. Cheers!

Wonderful Design. I just printed 10 copies with stamps using individual postcard printing service from Deutsche Post. The result looks amazing.

Sooooo excited to send some of these out!!!

I’m thrilled & excited to know this year’s WPD theme; which very much alined with my theme of collection i.e. BRIDGE…

I agree with blueridge_snail - please consider making a contest again next year. If not open to the public, what about asking 3 designers to enter a design and let people vote between those? That would make designers consider what people want to see.
About this year's design, it's very well done and I agree with people who said it's a great design but not necessarily for a postcard, more for an event or a company. I wonder how many people would buy this postcard if you saw it in a shop? I do see and appreciate the work that was put into the design.

Providing the black-and-white postcard is a brilliant idea💡. Unfortunately, I couldn’t manage to colour it in. The design is very complex to colour by hand.

Beautiful and minimalist postcards! I´ve already had several of these postcards printed. That way I´m well prepared for WORLD POSTCARD DAY

I will send some card.
But not this boring design. Looks like ai is unreadable and bland and for me nothing to do with connecting with other cultures/people around the world.
Hope next year there is a contest again for designing. All is AI nowadays.