“The basic premise is a 'year in review' in a Where's Waldo type style game where you can try to figure out what all the different drawings are.”

-the original prompt for the card

Overview

Starting in 2021, I was contacted by WHiRLED Interactive LLC to design a holiday card to be sent to clients. The cards were both printed physically and sent digitally, the digital versions often containing light animation to bring the cards to life. The scope and inspirations change every year, and the game grows stronger and the clues become clearer with each iteration. I was contacted again in 2022, 2023, and expect to do this year’s card as well.

The 2021 Card

This was my first holiday card I designed for WHiRLED. The prior year, they used a different artist to create a card featuring a dozen or so hidden references to the past year. They wanted the same premise for the new card, but with key differences: they wanted it in color, with more detail, and a lot more clues to guess. In addition to designing the card, I was also tasked with compiling a list of clues to be used, collaborating with the creative team at WHiRLED to not just capture the year, but the personality and achievements of the company. Featured among the general pop culture clues are references to their successful ad campaign for #TeamSeas.

The 2020 card designed by another artist. WHiRLED wanted the new card to show the same scene with updated clues

The 2022 Card

The second iteration of the card was a big expansion of the original concept. Instead of having an outdoor scene, we decided on a smaller indoor scene—a bedroom laced with objects to represent the year. This presented a different challenge. I couldn’t just depict a popular figure, but had to find bedroom objects to depict memorable events. The challenges didn’t stop there: the team at WHiRLED wanted the card animated for the online version.

The animated digital version of the card

Another new introduction for the yearly card: an answer key. They wanted to make sure players knew what it was they had to guess to make the game clearer and more enjoyable. I took my original files and removed all color layers, leaving the ink outlines.

The 2023 Card

For 2023, we started the process a little later than we had the year before, but with similar goals. WHiRLED wanted to refine the concept, improve the game, and make this year’s card stand out from the prior years. Like the year before, I would animate the card for an online version to be sent over email, and provide an answer key for the back of the physical card.

On a call, we decided on an approach to differentiate the new card. It would be vertical—portrait as opposed to landscape. Instead of using objects to depict events, we would strictly use people. They wanted the design to be more cohesive, the elements all combining into one piece of art. The inspiration came from Mad magazine covers with a collage of pop culture caricatures. It was my task again to compile the list, but by this point I knew what to look for. For the design, I used caricatures to form a giant Christmas tree, all wrapped in twinkling lights and garland.