Print-related Celebration Days to Look Forward to in 2021

With the uncertainty, fear and occasionally terminal-seeming boredom of ongoing lockdowns seemingly not packing in any time soon, we could all do with a few things to look forward to. In lieu of things like physical contact with friends, family and pubs, we’ve put together a list of national days to celebrate for print lovers and design nuts. Who cares if many of them are likely created by brands with the not-so-subtle aim of selling more stuff? We all need reasons to be vaguely cheerful, and we all definitely need as many markers as possible to try and work out what day of the week/month it is at the moment. Each of these days sounds pretty ridiculous, but honestly, h o n e s t l y they all exist, at least according to National Day Calendar and Days of the Year.

23 January, National Handwriting DayWe’re sure you’re all probably still recovering from the hangover of last weekend’s National Handwriting Day, widely known for its wildly calligraphic after parties and its no-holds-barred enabling of manic doodles for days. Falling on 23 January, the day was chosen to fall on the birthday of John Hancock, an 18th century U.S. merchant who was president of the Continental Congress and the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence. He’s known for his massive signature (its size was so that “someone can read my name without spectacles,” he apparently said.) Moleskine created a charming 60-second video titled What Is Handwriting To You? to mark the absolute belter that was Handwriting Day 2021.

Inspo: Oli Frape, lettering artist

7 February, National Send a Card to a Friend Day If you’re concerned that you’re going be feeling extra heartbroken, lonely or sexually frustrated this Valentine’s Day, celebrate a week early with the much more democratic “National Send a Card to a Friend Day.” Crank up the riso printer, grab your squeegees and get busy making special missives for friends, the family you choose for yourself (or because they happened to live in the same area and were in your year at school, if you’re still hanging out with people from year 9). National Day Calendar has offered this helpful advice on how to celebrate: “Send a card to your friends,” it states, insightfully. “You can buy cards at a store, or you can make them yourself. Whichever way you choose, set aside a few minutes to write a short note or a long note in a card and send one to make a friend’s day!”

Inspo: BananaPost ’89 artistamps by Maril Artist Anna Banana, 1989

2 March, National Old Stuff Day We’d assumed this was all about celebrating all the gubbins you’re not sure why you’d picked up from various charity shops back in the day when you could go to them. But no! Apparently, it’s loftier than that: National Old Stuff Day “gives notice to all that old stuff and encourages you to try something new. Well, maybe not ALL the old stuff, but some of it. It’s a day to break out of the old routines and experience new ones.”

What does that really mean? Try switching up your creative process. “This is the day to do things differently,” apparently. “Take a moment to recognise the things that you do each day. Is there a better, more efficient way?…Evaluate how you fold laundry. Perhaps there’s an improved way of cleaning windows.” Sounds like an absolute blast, doesn’t it. Fitter, happier, more productive.

Inspo: Stanley Donwood’s sleeve design for OK Computer

 4 April, National Hug A Newsperson Day (formerly National Hug a Newsman Day) Sadly not one for 2021, probably, but something to look forward to in the future. National Hug A Newsperson Day has been observed since at least as early as 1998, and “encourages appreciation for the people reporting the news”. As print lovers, it’s worth showing some love for the news industry once in a while, if only for its cheap paper and the legacy of editorial design, or something. We’d wager it was dreamed up by a “newsperson,” but can’t be sure. Still, don’t hate on all journalists (don’t hug them without asking them either.)

Inspo: Richard Turley, Civilisation print design

30 May, National Creativity DayWe know, we know—for People of Print readers, every day is National Creativity Day! Still, it’s nice to feel recognised for your innate creative brilliance once in a while, or at least once a year, at the end of May. Pat yourselves on the back, pat your peers on the back, and thank the lord for Hal Croasmun and ScreenwritingU, who founded National Creativity Day in 2018 “to celebrate the imaginative spirits everywhere and to encourage them to keep creating.”

Really, sometimes it’s nice to tell people you’re into their work, and you’ll feel all the nicer for being so nice.

Inspo: Brian Eno Oblique Strategy Cards

9 June, National Donald Duck DayWhile Walt Disney was certainly a problematic figure in many ways, it’s hard to know what the landscape might be like for illustrators and animators without his wildly popular cartoons that are as famous today as back in the 1930s, when Donald Duck was born. 

Some DD facts for you: 

– Donald made his screen debut on 9 June 1934 in The Wise Little Hen.

– He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character. 

– In 2002, Donald was named as one of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time by TV Guide  

– His middle name is Fauntleroy. The name means “child king” and is derived from Old French.

– Mickey Mouse was introduced to audiences during Donald’s second appearance on screen in Orphan’s Benefit. Donald’s girlfriend, Daisy Duck, along with his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, were introduced shortly after that.   

National Donald Duck Day was first proclaimed by L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley in 1984 on Donald’s 50th birthday.  

Inspo: Daniel Johnston, Space Ducks

14 July, National Nude DayFor anyone in print, design, art or illustration, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the joy of just drawing—those GCSE art exercises where your long-skirted, slightly unhinged, gargantuan colourful earring-wearing art teacher made you draw with your eyes shut, the “wrong” hand, in a continuous  line, with two hands at once, while reciting Kate Bush’s Army Dreamers, etc. If you want to celebrate National Nude Day in your birthday suit, we ain’t gonna stop you, but we’re taking the angle here that it’s a nice reason to get back to drawing nudes and shaking off the fear of being shit at drawing hands/proportions or whatever else you think you’re terrible at. 

Inspo: Mike Perry, Get Nude Get Drawn

12 August, National Vinyl Record DayIt’s probably rarer to find a graphic designer who didn’t learn at least a few of the ropes through something music related—flyers, posters and record designs (whether commissioned, speculative or self-serving, as in, designers designing their own tapes). Nevlle Brody. Tibor Kalman, Paula Scher… and obviously the likes of Malcolm Garrett and Peter Saville all went on to have wildly successful creative careers having worked on record sleeves in their early days as designers. 

Couple that intrinsic link between art and music with the fact that generally, print lovers like stuff—tactile stuff—and National Vinyl Record Day is as much about images as it is about sound. Sure, you’ve more than likely never heard of this annual celebration, but it’s a nice excuse to pore over some gorgeous gatefolds if ever there was one.

National Vinyl Record Day was started by Californian Gary Freiberg, who chose 12 August to commemorate the day Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877. “Freiberg encourages everyone to remember fond memories and the good things in life, especially vinyl records,” apparently.

Inspo: Barney Bubbles, Hawkwind

22 September, Business Women’s DayWe’re not advocating for yuppies or hideous expressions like “leaning in” and “low hanging fruit” by any means, but there’s always a good reason to celebrate women in design. It’s been said before but it bears repeating that despite its progressiveness in many areas (or so we’re told), the design industry remains not-great when it comes to gender equality: 2018 analysis by the Design Museum revealed that only 22% of those working in occupations associated with design were women, despite the fact that at A-Level, girls made up almost 70% of entrants for design-heavy subjects.

The first ever Business Women’s Day was celebrated in 1983, and is said to “celebrate the contribution that women make in the business world” and focus on ways to give women more equality. 

Inspo: Femme Type

28 October, Animation DayInternational Animation Day began life in 2002, and was founded by The International Film Association, an organisation started in France to champion moving image arts. We’re, obviously, big fans of animation too; and thought this might be a nice opportunity to have a look at a few unusual historical precedents from outside of the UK and the US: Poland has a rich animation history, for example, with the likes of 20th century artists Walerian Borowczyk and Jan Lenica; as does Czech Republic (Jan Švankmajer); and of course Japan, as anyone who’s ever seen a Studio Ghibli production will testify.

Inspo: Jan Švankmajer, Little Otik

30 November, National Personal Space DayIt’s colder, it’s darker, it’s more depressing. Leave off. If you love 30 November for its celebration of the joys of everyone leaving you the fuck alone, rejoice in the potential that every day this year might be National Personal Space Day! Two metres away please.  

Inspo: How Have You Been?, a film by Polly Nor & Andy Baker Studios

Alternatively, you can celebrate…

10 November, Sesame Street Day

Sesame Street day was initiated in New York in 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the show’s original broadcast. There’s absolutely no better day to watch Kermit the Frog’s turn as Talking Heads icon David Byrne. If only every day could be Sesame Street Day.

15 December, Cat Herders’ Day

It’s nearly Christmas. Chase your invoices.