Designing Gratitude

So much of graphic design has been created to communicate, market, and sell. Without abandoning these core principles of our field, Atelier Ravel strives to add more virtue to all of our projects, mixing in artfulness, humanity, and wellness. We believe that by promoting these values, we offer a new way of seeing—and being—within and beyond the advertisements that surround most of us in our daily lives.

It is our conviction that by making our designs more human focused, we change the graphic landscape, offer a healthier perspective, and foster a more specialized product for our clients that perpetuates an incredible brand loyalty. We have seen that the consideration of these traits, not necessarily inherent to graphic design otherwise, does not distract from its other roles, but instead does quite the opposite: audiences are drawn to these unique designs that speak to them as more than just consumers.

A custom thank-you card designed for the author of Fundamentals of Typography. To see how this design aligns with the branding for the book and its collateral, click here.

One of the simple ways we effectuate our values is through the basic thank-you card. We encourage all of our clients to include a thank-you card in their branding packages, and often we’ll tailor a special complimentary version for the artists and writers who are not necessarily creating elaborate branding campaigns with us.

We feel that there cannot be enough gratitude in our increasingly atomized, politicized, and commercialized world, and that feeling appreciated is central to the sense of worth of all human beings. This is why we love the thank-you card, as just one way of showing that appreciation. And, sometimes, we’re even honored to receive a special thank-you in return.

A handmade thank-you drawing from the illustrator Violainne Varèse, featuring her charming “Little Girls.” See more of the design projects we did together here. Her greater body of work can be found on her website.

We were delighted to find in our letter box this wonderful thank-you drawing from the illustrator Violainne Varèse, sent as a token of appreciation for the work we did for her website and related branding. Gratitude is truly infectious. We’ll close here by thanking you for reading this article.

To consider more ways to create appreciative graphic design, please contact us here.