Signs on Postcards
As signs are pieces of art, we often find them on postcards
Businesses and government agencies identify themselves with signage. The best signs use thoughtfully created graphics as a companion to important details such as name, amenities, address. Hopefully the materials used are crafted expertly to last indefinitely, enticing customers and bringing traffic for years. But sun, rain and wind will do their damage, and signs will fall into disrepair. When this happens, the most artistic and imaginative signs may still be appealing. That's why new signs and vintage signs alike make such great subjects for postcards.
Lighted signs are quite the attention getter, which is part of the reason neon signs are so popular. Here's the Spanish word for hello written out in a bold typography and mounted on a brick building. The lights lining the letters probably stay on all day and all night in order to get attention. On a postcard, the colorful lighted ensemble makes a nice cheery way to say hi. By the way, if you are looking for international postcards and birthday cards in many different languages, you can find them easily online. Here's a collection of Spanish gifts and cards you may like.
French subway signs of another era are still beautiful to us today. This Paris Metro sign has lights which may only be used at night and on rainy days. Pretty when lit and when dark, this French Metro sign in the Interwar style would make a nice addition to your collection of architecture or transportation postcards.
Collectors are still in love with Historic US Route 66 and all its vast remaining memorabilia. Known as the Will Rogers Highway and sometimes called the Main Street of America, the road designated by this iconic route number was in service for over half a century. Here's a postcard with a collection of vintage Route 66 Road Signs which still look interesting despite heavy wear and tear. It's a lovely nostalgic piece of art you can send to your Post-crossing friends around the world.
Some of those Route 66 road signs were on display in Sedona Arizona at an antique craft market a number of years ago, along with railroad signs, gasoline station signs and vintage Coke and Pepsi signs. A photograph of a sign display at that event makes a cool option for collectors of sign postcards.
From Highway Postcards to Humorous Dogs and Cats on Postcards
How can we segue from the popular postcard topic of transportation, to the always trendy postcard topic of dogs? This card does the trick. An artist known as Painting Maniac of Santa Fe, New Mexico, painted a Bassett Hound. Poor sad looking guy seems to have been left behind in the desert by a fast escaping vintage auto. The driver of that Chevy Nomad will be back soon to pick up this cutie. (Right???) We can see a cactus on a neon sign in the twilight, advertising the Western Motel with its amenities of TV, AC and pet friendly status. Imagine a motel with television and air conditioning. In the heyday of Route 66, this was a rare treat.
My readers would not want me to mention dog postcards and leave out the cats of the world. I did not find any business sign postcards featuring cats, but I found this comical imaginative offering. The rat on the beach would be okay with the idea of a world without cats. So he holds up a hand drawn sign saying No Cats Beyond This Point!
The world seems different since I was a kid, when many people would have found a neon sign of an unclad lady shocking, risqué and even embarrassing. Now we can turn on the TV and see bare breasts, bedroom scenes, and women sitting on a toilet pretty much any day of the week. I have no idea why it's always females on the commodes, but that's what TV and movie directors think we want to see, I guess: women sitting on toilets. I never think those scenes are the least bit artistic, but this pink neon lady sign is.I saw one of these on the highway recently as I crossed the Delaware state line. Each state seems to have a welcome sign at every highway entrance to the state, some very attractive, with catchy color schemes. There are postcard collectors who want postcards from every state. Here's a great one to fill that slot for Maryland. These state sign postcards would also be good for Postcrossing, when you are sending a card to some distant land. Remember, on the POD of Zazzle you can take a photograph of your own state road sign, or your own state seal, or any landmark from your state, and then upload it. Add some text and you have a great personalized one-of-a-kind postcard you can send to friends and family.
City Landmark Signs on Postcards
Cities and towns will have a few well known signs from businesses or buildings that have been around for years. Here's one from Durham NC. This place was a bread factory, then a car dealership, and now a well known music venue, Motorco Music Hall. As part of the transformation, this attention-getting sign was placed. Any Durham or North Carolina native would be glad to have this vintage looking sign on this postcard. What signs in your town would make a great postcard?
We need more cool sign postcards
When I started my search for Zazzle postcards for this article, I thought I would find numerous signs on postcards, and would choose from multiple options for color, for line, for design, for nostalgia, for vintage. But it was surprisingly difficult to find good examples of sign postcards at Zazzle. Signs on Zazzle postcards is one of those neglected niches Zazzle designers are always looking for. Part of the problem is that most postcards on Zazzle are afterthoughts. They are created from a design that fits well on some other product, and may not look just right on a postcard. An image may have been intended for a t-shirt or a personalized coffee mug or a poster. Then the designer might half-heartedly add the image to postcard as part of the automated batch quick create function.
Not all Zazzle uploaders take the time to review each product to be sure the image fits nicely. That's why you will see many Zazzle postcards which are small images on a white field, and you will see many more in which important elements like pets' paws or angels' heads or the top of a lighthouse or the Eiffel Tower are cropped off. No one wants to buy that. So if you are a Zazzle designer with a camera, provide better options to your customer. Go out and grab a few nice squared up shots of cool local signs. Punch up the photo a little and upload it as a postcard. Take a look at my page about what makes for a good postcard and have fun Zazzling!
Some of the postcards on this blog are designed by me, and others are not. Iff Zazzle should send me a penny or two when someone buys a product I have carefully chosen to display on this blog, the price stays the same. The card costs nothing extra. For the reader, my quest to find and post some nice cards in which you might be interested, adds no expense.
