HBD Darling

HBD Darling puts four words across four lines and lets a checkerboard do the rest. The front is ruled into large squares of red and pale pink, and happy bloody birthday darling runs across the middle in a rounded lowercase in bright orange, each line ranged slightly differently so the text moves down the card rather than sitting in a block.

The orange is the point. On a red and pink ground it should clash and instead it sits somewhere between the two, warm enough to read clearly and close enough in tone that the whole card holds together. The letters are drawn with a soft outline that lets the checkerboard show faintly through, so the type feels printed onto the pattern rather than placed on top of it.

Printed on a heavy uncoated stock, matte, with a bright orange envelope supplied that continues the lettering colour rather than the background. The tone is affectionate exasperation, the way close friends actually speak to one another on birthdays.

Blank inside. It suits birthdays for a close friend, a sister, a partner, or anyone for whom a formal card would feel like a step backwards. Send it with something with colour rather than something restrained. Browse all notecards.

The card is A6 folded with a blank inside page. It is sent flat in a protective sleeve, and the bright orange envelope is unlined so it takes handwriting cleanly. When ordered with an arrangement it travels alongside rather than inside it. If the birthday is for someone who will keep the card, the stock is heavy enough to stand on a shelf without curling.