The deadline for our August Design Challenge: Cards for Specific Occupations is getting close, so here’s a little last-minute inspiration for anyone still looking for that perfect idea!

Remember, this month we’re not just looking for a card featuring an occupation. Your entry should combine a specific occupation + an appropriate occasion + a pun that fits the profession. The wording and imagery should work together, with great typography and a polished, professional design adding that extra something.

And don’t feel you have to stick with doctors, nurses, teachers and other familiar professions. There’s a whole working world out there waiting to be turned into greeting cards. Think plumbers, archaeologists, baristas, dog groomers, electricians, librarians, mechanics, florists, geologists and beyond.

To get those creative gears turning, here are some occupation and occasion combinations you could play with:

Think Beyond the Usual Occupations

One way to make your entry stand out is to explore occupations that don’t often get their own greeting cards. Consider beekeepers, locksmiths, surveyors, translators, park rangers, tattoo artists, museum curators, piano tuners, crane operators, delivery drivers, crossing guards, dog walkers, window cleaners, zookeepers, undertakers, librarians or archaeologists.

The more specific the occupation, the more opportunities you may find for clever visual wordplay.

Instead of simply creating “Happy Birthday to a Nurse,” for example, look for an idea where the occupation, occasion, wording and image all depend on one another. That’s where a simple pun can become a genuinely memorable card.

Hopefully one of these ideas sparks something, or sends you wandering down an entirely different pun-filled path.

The deadline is almost here, so pick an occupation, put it to work and show us what you’ve got!

Happy Designing!

Corrie