Of the 2 million people in the UK who are registered with sight impairment, only 4% are totally blind. However it helps enormously if writing and images are visually clear.

There are an incredible range of greetings cards for sale. However many are pale coloured pictures with pale or metallic text that is difficult to read.

Working with people who have low vision, I have often visited people in their home. Once I visited a lady on her birthday. She wasn’t seeing anyone else that day. The cards she received definitely had a role to play in keeping her in touch with friends and family. She appreciated every card she had. Yet she couldn’t really see any of them clearly, despite having useful vision for reading with a magnifier. I described the pictures to her, and read the verses. Most of her friends had written clearly so she was able to read their words.

What individuals with visual impairment need is surprisingly similar to what many people. People generally put greeting cards on a shelf or mantel piece, and view them across a room. So the visual clarity from bright images and text benefits the everyone receiving cards.

Choice of font, size of fonts, amount of detail and colour contrast all make a difference in making images visually clear. Get this sorted and greetings cards can bring a smile into peoples’ homes.

This is relevant to designers / illustrators, but also for consumers. Don't opt for fluffy cards with wispily pale designs. Go for colour and contrast.

Need advice? See Vision: Design http://www.createvisionuk.com/modules ... ish/?tac=Vision:%20Design