Penpod Italy insights
For our first approach to the Italian Penpot community, we wanted to do something in a dndg. way: useful and visually curated.
We asked ourselves: how can we bring attention to a product without simply explaining it? The answer was to use it. So we created a digital summer greeting card to send to our clients, readers and community. Since the card was meant to stay digital, Penpot felt like the right tool to explore.
The project was not meant to remain a single static image, but to become a family of digital graphics: banners, social posts and thematic variations. We imagined three summer scenarios: the mountains, represented through geometric shapes inspired by the profiles of the landscape; the sea, with graphic elements recalling fruit, sun and beach umbrellas; and the countryside, built from shapes inspired by a flower field.
The project was also a chance to work with tokens, using them to keep the visual system consistent and easier to manage across the different formats and variations. Even for a small seasonal asset, tokens helped us think more systematically about colors, styles and dimensions.
Through this small project, we showed a bit of how we work: the kind of aesthetic we like, the care we put into visual communication and the way we try to turn even a simple seasonal message into something designed with intention.
Things we learned
- Small projects can open conversations
A light seasonal asset can be an effective way to introduce a tool without making the content feel too technical. - Using the tool is better than explaining it
Penpot became part of a real communication need, helping people understand its value through a concrete output. - Tokens are useful at any scale
Even for a small greeting card, tokens helped us work more systematically and keep the visual language coherent.
Areas to improve
- Show more process
We could have shared more behind-the-scenes material, from the first ideas to the final design decisions - Invite participation
Next time, we could involve the community more directly, for example by inviting people to remix the card or create their own version.
Notes for future viewers
- Start from a concrete need
A greeting card, invitation, social asset or small campaign can be a good starting point to explore Penpot. - Think in systems, even when the project is small
Reusable styles, tokens and shared visual rules can make even a simple asset clearer and easier to manage. - Document the decisions
Future viewers will benefit from understanding not only the final output, but also why certain visual and technical choices were made.
Photos, videos, links
Read the Blog post on our website here
