Create a year of the horse postcard design for 2026 to be printed and distributed.

Emphasize the zodiac qualities of the horse, specifically the strong sense of adventure, courageous tendencies and strong wills.

Research: I started this project off by viewing other designs related to year of the horse and the museum’s 2025 design. I then took note of major colors related to zodiacs and did some background research on the horse and its meaning.

Concept Designs: I decided on using a mountain to symbolize the courage and strong will of the horse while the forest is used to further symbolize adventure.

I experimented with different sky colors and styles; a compass or sensu (Japanese folding fan) at the bottom. Here are the three medium-fidelity concepts I sent for review to allow the representative to choose the direction of the design.

Concept #3

Concept #1

Concept #2

Concept #3

Feedback: The representative favored the first concept and requested the horse kanji to remain emphasized.

Adjustments: I adjusted the kanji size to provide some more space for the mountain graphic and adjusted colors to be in more balance. Added a wave pattern that is commonly used for zodiac designs. Added a background layer to the compass to give it dimension.

Final Polish: Bleed area and cutting marks added, ran through Adobe PhotoShop to confirm CMYK compatibility and sky lightened upon request. Colors tested to work with seven variations of color blindness.