Forget chocolates and roses. This Valentine’s season, let’s design something with a little more personality—custom game cards for couples. Whether it’s for date night or a playful way to spark new conversations, these cards blend nostalgia with a modern twist, featuring hand-drawn cherubs, vintage-inspired typography, and thoughtful prompts.
Ready to design yours? Let’s break it down step by step.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
1. Set Up Your Document
Open Adobe Illustrator or InDesign—whichever software fits your workflow. Create a new document and set the dimensions to 3.5 x 2 inches (51mm x 89mm). If you prefer a slightly less narrow layout, try 55mm x 85mm.
For print-ready cards, set your color mode to CMYK and ensure a 0.125-inch bleed to avoid cut-off edges during printing.
2. Gather Inspiration
Head to Creative Market and explore assets using keywords like Valentine’s Day, Vintage Love Script, or Cute Valentine to spark ideas. Collect references that fit your vision, from soft, muted palettes to intricate hand-drawn details. Our Valentine’s Day Finds Page is also packed with curated product collections and inspiration.
For this tutorial, we’re using the Amourette Hand-Drawn Cupids Clipart set (available here), which features delicate, hand-inked cherubs—perfect for that nostalgic greeting card aesthetic.
3. Choose Your Color Palette
Your colors set the mood. In the tutorial, we leaned into a soft, romantic palette with warm reds, muted pinks, and ivory whites. To keep your shades consistent, use the Swatches Panel in Illustrator or InDesign and save your chosen hues for easy access.
4. Add Your Text and Artwork
Start by selecting a question or prompt for your card. Here are a few to get you started:
- What’s one word to describe your first impression of me?
- What do you remember most about the first time we met?
- If you had to give our love a theme song, what would it be?
- What’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever done for you?
- If our relationship was a movie, what would the title be?
- Which one of us is more likely to start a food fight?
- If we had a secret handshake, what would it look like?
- Where should we go on our dream vacation together?
- What’s one thing you hope we’ll do together this year?
- Which emoji/color best represents our relationship?
- If we had a pet together, what would we name it?
- If our love was a dessert, what would it be and why?
- Who’s more likely to survive a zombie apocalypse—and how?
- If we opened a small business together, what would we sell?
- What’s one tradition we should start as a couple?
Using Real Love Wedding Font Duo (get it here), place your text in an elegant script. Pair it with Evergreen Font (available here) for a balanced, hand-lettered look. Adjust kerning for visual harmony.
Now, position your selected illustration on the card—cherubs, floral accents, or subtle flourishes work well. Scale proportionally and align for a polished feel.
5. Frame Your Design
Enhance your layout with a frame illustration or a decorative icon at the top of the card. Use the Stroke Panel in Illustrator to refine line weight, keeping details delicate and cohesive.
6. Design the Back of the Card
Don’t leave the reverse side blank. Add an illustration, a small logo, or initials for a personal signature. A monogram or repeating pattern keeps the design refined and unified.
7. Final Adjustments and Mockups
Before exporting, check alignment and spacing. If printing, export your file as a high-resolution PDF with bleed settings intact.
For social sharing, showcase your designs using a mockup template like this Tarot Cards Mockup set. Layer your design in Photoshop for a clean, professional presentation.
Enjoy Your Custom Game Cards
Whether you’re using them for a cozy dinner or gifting them as a personalized surprise, these game cards are a simple yet thoughtful way to add something memorable to your Valentine’s plans. Now, it’s your turn—get designing!
Download these worksheets and start practicing with simple instructions and tracing exercises.
Download now!
Designer at Creative Market. I truly enjoy branding, typography, packaging, layout designs, and drawing funny-looking animals.
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