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Valentine's Day Hearts

ProMax

This is the design language of the Victorian paper valentine — die-cut lace, embossed hearts, and the whole vocabulary of the love letter rebuilt as an interface. It draws on the assembled valentines Esther Howland glued together in Worcester in the 1850s and the chromolithographed cupids Louis Prang printed by the millions.

Everything sits on a soft pink page — the color romance actually blushes — with white doily cards floating like pressed petals and raspberry-red hearts doing the accent work. Script type carries the sweet-nothings; a clean serif keeps it legible. It feels handmade, a little overwrought, and unapologetically fond.

Learn more about the Valentine's Day Hearts style

  • OriginEngland (London) and New England (Worcester, Massachusetts)
  • Period1840s–1900s (peak valentine boom 1850s–1870s), mid-century American revival 1910s–1950s
  • DesignerEsther Howland · Louis Prang · Kate Greenaway · Raphael Tuck
  • MovementsVictorian sentimentalism · chromolithography · paper-lace die-cutting · Romantic illustration

Web examples

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Slide examples

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