>corporate sympathy card

I hate to sound morbid, but are you working for a Japanese car company?

I, too, am a bit curious. What is a corporate sympathy card? "Sorry about the pink slip?"

A sympathy card that our company (life insurance) sends out to the family of our policy holder... .aka the deceased....

um, yes it is a bit morbid... which makes the typeface choice very important... and I am stuck!

Annalee

Have by any chance got an image? That will determine quite a bit.

Why not use the corporate font?
It should be suitably understated.
Scripts are OK for personal expressions of grief, but kitsch and phony for a corporate expression of sentiment. After all, corporations aren't concerned with clients' feelings, they are legal entities predicated on profit.
Note that you said the company sends out the card, not an insurance agent.
If an agent is involved, their handwritten note on an ID-compliant card would make a nice contrast.

The corporate fonts seem a bit cold- Helvetica condensed, optima, caslon

here is the other image option, but they will most likely choose photograph

Wow. The illustration is BEAUTIFUL!

> corporate expression of sentiment

I think that pinned down the entire absurdity. I am totally with you here, Nick. No kitsch, by all means. CI in this case must obviously be more than font choice. It's about how these cards are going to be delivered, a question of style and decency. The corporate font of an insurance company should be appropriate enough.

Andreas

The previous posts came in while I was writing the above. IMHO Optima is perfect. I am less convinced about the pics, in particular the drawing.

What sort of image would you suggest Fontgrube?

Can't speak for the typical bereaved, but I would be a bit dismayed by a close-up photo of an erect stamen accompanied by a "warm" script font. These images are too in-your-face and lack the necessary discretion. You don't need to make a loud graphic statement.

I think if their faces are Helvetica-Optima, you should choose a thin and not condensed version of one.

Cheers!

I agree with Nick. I don't know if fading it back would work, but it's too assertive. Adobe Caslon's italic might work well for you, with swashes used discretely. It might be on the right formal/informal line for your purpose.

'lack the necessary discretion'
transparency 70%

The illustration could work if you leave it as is and only place type inside the card. Simple. Clean.

The photo on the other hand...I agree with Nick.

But certainly there are other options???

No, that looks like a sympathy card for the devil.

Cheers!

Could always paint it (Helvetica) black

I know Mr. Clark and Mr. Rapp have some experience with this kind of thing, as do I.

Here are a few ideas, but there are a couple here that you may not want to go with.

Rob

I'll second Optima.

optima it is.

Thanks everybody!

Optima? Really?

> Your husband’s dead
> Who died?

Now THAT would be a sympathy card… “Who died?” on the outside and when you open the card “YOUR HUSBAND’s DEAD”. Oh, and the huge pic of the erect stamen of course.

Optima on a decent paper, without any picture – a small floral ornament at the utmost – would do fine.

I'm with Robert... Optima? Really?

If your company uses Caslon, use that:

Forget any ornaments. And never mind the text here. Use Caslon for your company, and use it well for your self.

Amen Tomi!

When my father died we received a sympathy card from his insurance company, and actually it seemed like a nice gesture. We knew, of course, that it was just part of their regular routine in those situations, but still it was nicer than just getting a check in the mail with no acknowledgement of the sadness of the situation.

>What sort of image?

Easier to say what I don't like than what I'd choose. Maybe none. Our "company" uses this one. The real thing has less contrast and is not quite so blueish. IMHO it's still too much. But we're not an insurance company ;-)

As Nick wrote, the picture (if any) needs discretion and should not intrude onto the reader. Here are some examples of what I have in mind: