Artist cards: from Impressionism to the modern era

postcard's inception, this medium has been favored by artists. While modern technology has reduced the number of postcards sent, the creative aspect has gained considerable importance. The exciting thing is that today anyone can easily become a postcard artist.

The history of the postcard

It remains controversial to this day who invented the postcard.

While the first known correspondence card was probably sent in Austria-Hungary in 1869, the Germans played a pivotal role in the invention of the picture postcard. Correspondence cards were indeed used only for what their name suggested – correspondence. They were unadorned. One side was used for the message, the other for the address.

But just a year later, the design changed. Pictures and drawings were added. The first postcard was probably sent in Germany by the bookseller August Schwarz . In 1870, he sent a so-called correspondence card, which was printed with a small picture.

The popularity of postcards increased rapidly. By 1879, around 120 million postcards were being delivered annually in Germany. Among them were some particularly elaborate designs.

On June 11, 1880, the German Imperial Post Office forwarded the first so-called artist's postcard . It featured a watercolor drawing by the artist Philipp Franck .

At the beginning of the 20th century, an increasing number of artists turned to designing postcards and picture postcards. The artists' group known as "Die Brücke" (The Bridge) . Its members included Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Max Pechstein, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. These creative individuals drew, painted, or printed small works of art onto the postcards. Some of these works have survived to this day; for example, they were exhibited at the Brücke Museum in Berlin in 2012.

Computers and social media: the death of the postcard?

While postcards were the medium of the day in 1900, this has changed drastically over the last 120 years. Postcards used to be considered fast and reliable. However, they can't compete with a modern text message or WhatsApp message. Even though postcards were delivered within just two hours in Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century, an electronic message arrives today within seconds.

Have postcards therefore become extinct? In fact, in 2019 only two out of ten Germans sent a postcard from their vacation. The rest send a digital greeting to their loved ones.

Fortunately, the digital age hasn't dealt the card its death blow. Many Germans still choose postcards or folded cards – especially when an important occasion is approaching. Invitation cards are sent for weddings , baptisms, and birthdays. People also still like to use cards to convey congratulations and condolences.

Modern technology: Everyone becomes a card artist

The fact that cards still have their place today is due to several factors. For one, they feel much more personal than an electronic greeting. On important occasions, it's therefore considered good form to present a physical card. Imagine receiving condolences via messenger after a death in the family. Such a message offers neither comfort nor reassurance. On the contrary, it can easily offend older people.

On the other hand, it's important to stand out from the crowd when designing cards. Invitation, greeting, and congratulatory cards are now only sent to select individuals for specific occasions. They no longer serve everyday communication. Off-the-shelf cards often appear unimaginative. That's why many people opt for customizable designs.

Blank cards for painting or decorating can be purchased at stationery stores or online. However, those who lack professional skills with glue and scissors often end up with a result that looks like a preschooler's craft project. This usually doesn't achieve the desired effect.

Thanks to modern technology, this can be avoided. Several card printing companies offer their customers the option of designing their own cards. They provide a user interface and card templates for this purpose. The basic designs can be transformed into unique cards with the customer's own images, preferred colors, and favorite motifs. This eliminates the risk of two people sending cards with the same design.

The profession of card artist doesn't seem to be dying out either, as a glance at the marketplace of meine-kartenmanufaktur.de shows. There, creative individuals offer their card designs for sale. While the modern designs aren't hand-painted, they are created using the latest technologies.

Artificial intelligence for postcard design

Speaking of the latest technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) n't go unmentioned. It can actually be used to create stunning artist cards.

In this context, the keyword Midjourney be mentioned. This text-to-image tool is on everyone's lips among graphic designers and creative people worldwide. Midjourney is an artificial intelligence that specializes in creating images from text. To create an image, users feed the AI ​​commands. The more sophisticated the command, the more breathtaking the results. Fascinating works of art like Jason M. Allen 's Théâtre d'Opéra Spatial have already been created with it.

Users can guide the artificial intelligence and later have the results printed on postcards.

AI can also be used for the text on stationery. For example, ChatGPT fed a prompt describing the desired content. The AI ​​then creates funny, thoughtful, or profound content for the card based on these instructions. This ensures that there will be no more boring postcards with reports about the holiday weather and food from the 4-star hotel .

Time cannot be stopped – but it can be used wisely

Life on our planet is characterized by constant change. This applies to nature as much as to art. While some mourn the past, others embrace it. Old artist postcards, for example, can be valuable rarities. Franz Marc 's "Green and White Horse" for €781,000 at auction, making it one of the most expensive postcards in the world .

No one knows which things of the present will appreciate in value lucratively in 50 or 100 years. But perhaps artist-designed cards from the early days of AI will be among them. Therefore, it can be worthwhile not to ignore new technologies, but to use them wisely.