QSL Card Design

From as far back as I can research, one aspect of Amateur Radio has always been the QSL card.  It identified you as a station and also as a person.  In many QSL cards, you can see a little of the operators personality and other interest.  Searching the internet, there are several formats and options for cards and designs.  Having a moderate amount of experience in graphic design, I took it upon myself to design my first QSL card for a trip to Haiti!  Then came Jamaica and then the home call sign.  I then began to receive request from local clubs and friends for designs for their own cards.  Below are the cards that I have in my design portfolio.  Every one of them started with an vague idea and progressed to the final product.  If interested, contact me and we’ll get started on your design!

Personal Cards

 HH2_K4NHW This was my very first attempt to design a QSL card.  I participated in a mission trip to Haiti!  I took a portable setup down to Haiti to test out communication back home in the event of a disaster.  This was my very first experience operating amateur radio from outside of the US.
6Y5_K4NHW

 My Haiti trip really opened my eyes to operating from outside of the US.  When the YL mentioned about going to Jamaica for vacation, I started investigating the rules/procedures to operating from that country before we even settled on our exact destination.  (This was popular with the YL… hi hi.)

I definitely enjoyed the pileups and have learned a lot about portable setups.  This particular trip taught me the hard way about RFI.  I was getting RFI into my CAT connection that eventually popped a fuse in my 857-D.  Although it didn’t disrupt my trip that much, it was indeed a lesson learned.  Changes have already been made for next trip!

 6Y5_K4NHW BACK
 K4NHW

 I eventually got around to making one for my home call sign.  Before, I was just using LOTW; but then I started chasing my DXCC.  I found that many people didn’t use LOTW but were glad to exchange cards via mail and the bureau.

This was a very simple card to make, yet it was very fitting for my first QSL card.  This is a very familiar view of the hometown skyline.

 K4NHW back

Designs for Friends

 K4RGK

A very good friend of mine whom I met over a local repeater, asked me to help design a card for his home station.  He is obviously into satellite work and lives in an area of town where the familiar Crabapple silos are located.  In fact, he snapped this awesome picture specifically for this card.

I was honored that I was able to assist him with his card.  It was the least I could do since he allowed me to use his station for my first satellite contact!  What an awesome experience.

 K4RGK Back
 K4UPI This is another card I helped design for the YL of K4RGK (the card above).  She was interested in getting her own card as well.  As with K4RGK, this was a picture that she took from the bow of a cruise ship, Titanic style! (El Arco de Cabo San Lucas)  She was very excited to use the picture but wanted to make some minor modifications to it.  We adjusted the color of the sky and of the water.  After those colors were decided upon, she was very happy with how it turned out.

13 Colonies (K2G)

 K2G 2014 During the week of the 4th of July, there is a week long special event that honors the original 13 colonies and celebrates our nations independence since 1776.  Each year, a theme is assigned for the QSL cards.  The theme for 2014 was “Revolutionary War Era Colonial Currency”.   I had the privilege of designing the K2G card for Georgia.
http://www.13colonies.info/
 GA2015QSL
 I was honored to be asked to design the QSL card for K2G again for 2015.  The theme for 2015 is “Founders and Patriots of the Republic”.  A founder/patriot was assigned to each of the colonies for the event.  Georgia was assigned Benjamin Franklin.  Not knowing exactly why, I definitely learned a lot on my research for inspiration for the card.  What an interesting way to get a history lesson!
http://www.13colonies.info/
2016 K2G coming soon For 2016, I was designated the Georgia State Manager for the 13 Colonies Special Event as well as the club manager for NFARL (the QSL manager for the state).  In keeping up with the previous 2 years, I remained the designer of this years K2G card.  This years theme is the “Soldiers of the Revolution.”  After research on Georgia’s part of the revolution, I found a very interesting story about a fort located on the states coast.  More to come!  In the mean time, visit http://www.13colonies.info/