The shaped cards in the collection are inspired by Chinese scrolls and paintings.  The title of each design is in fact, also a new year greeting as are the rest of the Chinese characters in smaller font.  Even the red seal stamp is a well-wishing message that otherwise would have typically been an imprint in the calligrapher's name.

Featuring in the designs themselves are some of the all-time favourite symbols of Chinese New Year.  Together, the koi and peony respectively symbolise the wish for Abundant Prosperity.  The tangerine stands for Auspiciousness as the word "tangerine" is a homophone of the word "auspiciousness" in Mandarin.  A Happy New Year is attended by the ever popular pair of golden boy and jade maiden who usher in the new year with sparklers.

The importance of prosperity in the hearts of the Chinese is once again exemplified in the design of Heralding Prosperity.  This time, the peony which is a symbol of affluence, takes centre-stage.

If there is prosperity, there must be an abundance of it.  As the saying goes, the more, the merrier.  The word "fish" in Mandarin is a homonym for the Chinese word "abundance".  As such, the fish becomes synonymous with abundance.  In Heralding Abundance, the combination of a boy, lotus and fish stands for having an abundance (of wealth) year after year.

In Wealth, the goldfish represents one of the three themes, prosperity, as it is a symbol of wealth in Chinese culture.  Prosperity is one of the treasured hopes of the Chinese so this is definitely a theme not to be missed.

The theme of happiness is expressed through the design of Joy.  The joyous announcing of spring, or Chinese New Year, is depicted by the black-billed magpie and plum blossoms because the magpie is regarded as a harbinger of glad tidings while the plum blossoms symbolise spring.  The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival and is therefore partly (because there are a few other reasons) celebrated in rejoice that the cold winter is over.