Critique Clinic – July 22-July 24, 2011
The Critique Clinic is now closed! Please read the comments on this post to learn what advice and tips were given, and join us next Friday for a new clinic.
How does it work? For three days a week (Friday-Sunday midnight), I will open the clinic to any artist who wants an honest peer review and critique of a card which gets plenty of clicks but no sales, so something’s probably not quite right, or you’ve got a new design you want to test drive, or you’re unsure about the marketability of a card. Or perhaps you’re a newbie who isn’t sure if a recently submitted card is up to a marketable standard. Anyone is welcome to participate. In fact, I encourage everyone to at least look at the cards in question and read the critique comments – you may learn something. The purpose of the clinic is to help artists improve the commercial appeal and marketability of their cards.
THE RULES
- ONE card per artist only.
- Card must be for sale at Greeting Card Universe.
- We will take an unlimited number of artists, including those who have submitted recently, HOWEVER I reserve the right to close a clinic for the day if the submissions become overwhelming. If the clinic has been closed, and you submit a card, your comment will be deleted.
- To submit a card for critique, post a link to the card’s details page at GCU in the comments section of this clinic post.
- Any artist is free to comment and/or give a critique of a submitted card. HOWEVER, post-and-run comments like “great card” or “you suck” will not be tolerated, nor will abuse. Criticism should be constructive, not destructive. Play nice or you will be banned.
- I also won’t tolerate temper tantrums if you decide your “artistic integrity” is being stepped on because you asked for a critique, and someone told you the photo you’re using isn’t in focus. If you can’t take honest criticism, don’t submit. Once gets you a warning; twice and you’re banned from submitting in the future.
- Artists who critique may do so by giving their opinion, posting an example of another card, or pointing the submitter to a video, on-line article, or other helpful suggestion.
- Don’t forget that artists who are giving you tips and helpful advice are volunteering their time and trouble. Be nice. A link back to their store on your website or blog is appreciated (but not mandatory).
- You are free not to take any advice offered. There’s no guarantee any card will be a bestseller, so don’t come into the clinic with unrealistic expectations.
- Rules may change as we go along and we see how things turn out, okay?
So without any further ado, I declare this week’s Critique Clinic open!
GCU Community 
I’m awake later than usual, and I noticed the clinic is open…so I thought I’d be the first this week (since it might get pretty crowded here soon).
Here’s one of my earlier cards that hasn’t had any sales (other than my own); and since now is the time to clean up (or clean out) the older cards, I thought I’d submit it here to see what folks suggest. I think it’s ok, but unremarkable…and I don’t know what I might do to make it better.
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Thank+you-greeting+card-811396?pid=811396&ref=cb_card_title
Thanks!
Cindy
Hi Cindy! Just getting up here in the Netherlands, but I’ve had my first cup of coffee, so I’m ready to go!
Looking at this card, I”m immediately struck by a couple of things. First, the color scheme of lavender and pale pink is very insipid; nothing pops. I can tell this card is a few years old because of the color as well as the border – card trends no longer include borders or frames. Designers are getting more creative in their layouts, and the trendy colors really zing. I’d redesign the card by making the floral(?) background full bleed (and update the colors to something fresher); and making the central cartouche white.
For color ideas, I suggest checking out design seeds (http://www.design-seeds.com/) or Creature Comforts (http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/home/category/inspiration-daily). The hottest color combo out there right now is light blue, white, and a true red (meaning not orange or pink).
Corrie
LOL! Thanks, Corrie! I will definitely do something about the color scheme…but for the record, (alas) it’s my STLYE that is a few years old–not the card, because I’ve only had my store since April, and that was one of my first creations. I didn’t make this card YEARS ago–but rather, a few MONTHS ago–LOL! I guess I’m going to have to take a serious look at my stye. LOL!!! 🙂
Thanks again for the links and the critique,
Cindy
Ok…I hope this is better. I gave the background a full bleed, took out the pink background behind the text, and changed the colors for a more “red” look. 🙂
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/viewdetails.asp?pid=843441&&aid=152495&ref=cb_card_title
Cindy
Much better!
Corrie
Hi Cindy,
I only saw your original briefly before you changed it, but I do like this one better! It looks less washed out. Good job!
The clinic is an awesome idea and thank you for starting it. I’ve sold greeting card to local businesses for a few yrs now and wanted to venture more to the cyber audience. I’ve been at it for a couple of months now but still no sales. Wondering what I’m doing wrong. Here’s one of my card up for critique…..all advice welcome:)
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/community/my_cards.asp?pid=815130
Sorry, Joann… the link you provided isn’t good. Go to the page on GCU where the card is listed, and give us THAT link, which should be okay.
Corrie
Sorry Corrie,
Try this link:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Blank+Card-Flower-greeting+card-815130?pid=815130&aid=153864&ref=cb_card_title
Joann, I can tell you the photo of the poppies is very crisp and clean, focused, good composition. However, I think it’s being lost in a sea of competition. There are a TON of blank, all occasion cards on GCU. Unless yours stands way out in some way, or is geared to attract a particular niche, you likely won’t see a lot of action. Cards with flowers on them are as generic as you can get.
There are, at present, more than 32,000 cards in the collections – all occasion category. In collections – flowers, almost 7,000. Granted, you’ve got in the poppies sub-category, but your card is still very new, and unlikely to show up on page one. And don’t forget it can take 3-6 months for search engines to index your cards, so patience is required.
Consider giving your card a relevant purpose. Poppies, for example, are a symbol of Memorial Day. You could make a series of Memorial Day cards for relationship specific. Or you could make birthday cards for female relations. i suggest you take some time and go through the information on this blog – the Nuts & Bolts category will be especially relevant, but so will the newsletters and guest blogs. Learn how to leverage your designs. Learn how to promote yourself. Read the GCU Forum, too, where many artists share their knowledge and experience, and the GCU Wiki. The tools you need are there; you just have to take advantage of them.
Corrie
There was a blog post on the meaning of flowers here somewhere, but I couldn’t find it. But this link has flower meanings you might like to incorporate. Poppies can mean consolation among other things… http://www.800florals.com/care/meaning.asp
I thought I’d give this a try. I have gotten a lot of clicks, well a lot for my store, but no sales. So I was wondreing how I could improve it.
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/-lotus+flower,+Andy+Warhol+style+-Happy+Birthday-greeting+card-819262?pid=819262&ref=cb_card_title
Thank you,
Stehanie
Hi Stephanie! Your card is well designed – I really like the way you wrapped the text – and it’s very clean. What may be holding you back is the fact that this is a general birthday card, which makes it one of over 8,000. There are a couple of ways you can stand out from the crowd: either start promoting your cards and your store to get more attention from shoppers, or make relationship or age specific cards. This particular card, for example, would suit female relations specific such as Mom, Sister, etc. To make it easier on yourself, you could remove the “happy birthday” repetition from the center aisle, and substitute the relationship. That may work without too much fuss.
If you choose to go that route, you might want to look at an article I wrote in last week’s newsletter about leveraging your designs.
Corrie
Thank you Corrie, I very much appreciate your feedback. I may try the relationship specific idea, it’s a good one. I actually did read that article, and was woking on implementing some of the ideas.
Again Thank You,
Stephanie
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Valentine-greeting+card-836763?pid=836763&ref=cb_card_title
O.K. I hope I did it right again….Here’s my card…I’m going to read the above comments too.
Thanks ,
Donna
Hello Donna: From a technical stand point – the words seem awfully close to the edge of the card – even if the words aren’t ‘cut off’ or ‘clipped’ I think the final product may look awkward. The title of the card seems a bit weak. The key words – there could be more – I see ‘Valentine’ isn’t included…My biggest issue is while the woman has very clean lines her facial expression and body language do not read as flirtatious or happy – it looks more ‘fed up’ or ‘mad’ – and as a cartoon guy I can tell you it’s not always easy to depict emotions. Hope this helps….
Robert,
I guess this should be a “are you gonna write or what card?” I kinda wanted her to be a little mad, but your right it’s not for a Valentine..I am so new at the keywords too. See I even forgot Valentine. Thank you for helping me see these things..I want to get them right and I am so glad this critique clinic is here. Making the words a certain size is another learning process for me..and sometimes I don’t noticed until it’s printed…
Thank you,
Donna
Donna, I don’t mind the text warping as it’s almost balanced by the hearts on the other side, so well done on the composition. However, what I’m finding is that the woman is fading into the background – her colors are not as vivid as the hearts, so she paling into insignificance next to those red, red, hearts. If you can, I’d choose different, stronger colors for your woman. Otherwise, perhaps softening the color of the hearts might work better.
Corrie
Thanks Corrie,
I’ll soften the hearts… The girl is in water color and the hearts I did in Illustrator and added them. So I’ll be able to fade them out a little in Illustrator..
I LOVE THIS CRITIQUE CLINIC !
It’s so verrrrrry helpful.
Donna
I was very proud of this card when I made it two years ago – I thought to myself – Oh yeah – this will SELL and did it? NOPE! The only copies sold were to me (to send out as Christmas cards that year) and my other half. It’s even in my Zazzle store and not one copy sold there….I’ll appreciate any advice…thanks!
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Snowy+Owl+Holiday-greeting+card-476858?id=476858&ref=cb_card_title
Robert, that link isn’t good, it takes me to the GCU homepage. Is there a better link you can give us?
Corrie
Here’s a link to Robert’s card I think: http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Snowy+Owl+Holiday-greeting+card-476858?pid=476858&ref=cb_card_title
Robert the first thing that comes to my mind (being a parrot person) is that birds don’t hold a twig that far back in it’s beak so to me it looks like its coming out of it’s nose. Birds carry treats like that towards the tip of their beak so they can touch it with their tongue. Secondly the eyes bother me. Owl eyes are very, very ROUND so this just looks a little creepy to me…LOL! Lastly I would not use blue as the inside text color. It does not go with the design of the card.
Doreen
I agree with you, Doreen. The owl looks suspicious with his squinty eyes. 🙂 I also find the card’s background to be kind of dark and dour for a holiday card.
Corrie
Robert,
I think the owl is drawn as a graphic element–the spots are arranged very symmetrically and the shape is a bold block. You could make the owl’s body stand out as it’s own design and try leaving the background a solid gray (same color as the owls gray spots). Or try white and have it blend with the background. Try making his eyes a little more fierce like a real owl–it will help with the graphic element and boldness of the card. And the holly will stand out also as a point of interest with it’s little bit of Christmas color.
Your background, while I understand what it is, doesn’t really make sense with the whole design. It feels like you wanted to have something “real” behind it, but it probably didn’t need a background–it could just be snow! Gotta fool around with that a little and just try different things.
Lastly, the greeting inside is confusing–where’s the magic on the front? Maybe, since you have a snowy owl on the front, you should use some type of snow reference on the inside.
Just my 2 cents–
Good luck to you!
Cindy
Hi- this is my first time doing this so hopefully I’m doing it right. I made this card quite awhile ago – I’ve had over 600 clicks on it but no sales…maybe someone could help enlighten me on how I can make it better. Thanks!
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/-13th+Birthday+Party+Invite-+Pink+Cupcakes-greeting+card-460006?pid=460006&ref=cb_card_title
Hi Amanda! Okay, I had a look at your card… the color is appropriate for a girl’s 13th birthday party. The cupcakes are well drawn (if difficult to distinguish from the background color), the layout is good, the text is good. Perhaps there’s too much pink? I feel like I’m in the middle of an explosion in a marshmallow factory 🙂 The card is very busy as well, making it difficult for the eye to absorb all the elements, and I find the scallops in the top and one side of the border distracting. What if you went for a more simplified design? Background with pattern, the cupcakes and text?
Corrie
What can I say? I do love marshmallows! 🙂 In all seriousness, I appreciate your comments so much. I had a feeling it was too busy as well but it helps to have fresh eyes look at it. Since I have a new computer now, I lost all my patterns and fonts with my other Photoshop 😦 So I made a new background and changed the color scheme a bit. Hopefully it’s a little less marshmallow factory-ish.
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/-13th+Birthday+Party+Invite-+Pink+Cupcakes-greeting+card-460006?pid=460006&ref=cb_card_title
HI Amanda – I find the oval frame in the background very distracting and to me it just doesn’t feel like it belongs there at all. I also feel the balance is off on this card. You have the big cupcakes above and the little cupcakes below. Also, I would go with 3 or 5 cupcakes, stick with an odd number. In general, people’s eyes are pleased with the balance of ‘like’ objects when in sets of odd numbers. It’s a general rule of thumb for balancing composition and their are always exceptions, but for the most part this rule works more times than not.
I like the message on this card and the cat too, I have clicks and no sales but me.
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Write+Soon+I+miss+you-greeting+card-593993?pid=593993&aid=138159&ref=cb_card_title
Thanks, John 🙂
I agree this is neat. I also agree the swirls are a tad loud and distracting from the center. If you don’t want to remove them maybe you could fade the colors to something more subtle or color them more like the swirls at the bottom which are a lighter shade of the cat.
I definitely can sympathize with this issue. I often have trouble getting that fine line between an interesting background without distracting from the main focus.
Well…I’m definitely in the minority, John, but I LOVE the swirls! It makes total sense to me: swirls…hypnotic. I just think the ones that are predominantly blue should be changed to a more greenish hue to compliment his eyes. When I was choosing cards from your store to display on my blog recently, that one was one of my favorites (and the swirls had a lot to do with it). 😀
Cindy
So, it sounds like the general consensus is that the swirls, as is, are to distracting. I want them to stay in some form but, I can see what everyone is saying. I think I’ll try to lighten them up and see if I can make them a little more subtle. Thanks for everyones input! I really appreciate the help!!
John
I’m late to the discussion, but yes, I agree with the others–if the swirls were faded out the focus would be more on the cat and a little easier for the eye to take it…though I can see where you were going with it.
Hi John – I love the cat too and the idea for a card is brilliant. The only thing I can suggest is I think the small pastel swirl circles that surround the cat are too much. If you could remove those, then we’d be able to see the great illustration and the wonderful movement of the timepiece. Otherwise I would just tell you it’s lost in a sea of missing you cards and you need to promote it!
Doreen
Okay, I’ll grit my teeth and have a go with this one:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Black+Appaloosa+Horse+Miss+You+Sister-greeting+card-520529?pid=520529&aid=138640&ref=cb_card_title
Horses are my specialty and I’m looking to satisfy all those horse lovers who have such a hard time finding any animals but dogs and cats. This appaloosa mare is also available with different backgrounds on items in my Cafepress shop. So I’m especially curious as to what you might think about her surroundings. I don’t want them cluttered, but I don’t want boring either.
Just for background comparison here’s something with the same horse on another (newer) background: http://www.cafepress.com/starhorsecreate.286302816
I find the background of the card kind of stark; on the shirt example you gave, the background sky is cloudy, and rather than distracting from the horse, it adds to the atmosphere of standing on a cliff. At the moment, on the card the horse seems like she’s standing on a heap of dirt because there’s no context for the blue. Also, “Missing You Sister” is a bit awkward phrasing for what is, after all, a personal and emotional moment. “I Miss You, Sister” might be a better phrase.
Corrie
I agree with Corrie on this one. I do like your rendition of the Appaloosa, however, I also feel that when ever you have an animated character as the main element in a card design that it’s important to consider which direction it is facing. Our eyes (at least here) naturally want to read from left to right, and I feel that your horse element would play out better if you flopped it and had it face to the right. I feel the composition flows much better that way. This is particularly important on a vertical format card.
Thanks! I hadn’t thought of the right to left thing. I did realize the background needed something. I just had a difficult time figuring out what wouldn’t overwhelm her on a card’s size. Hopefully I can find the file for the newer one and edit it for the card.
Hi John, I really enjoy your caricature Cat along with the message. Perhaps if you removed the border swirls which feel a bit too busy and compete with your main subject, and put just one of the larger swirls just very subtly behind your copy. I understand why the ‘swirly’ since it represents a ‘hypnotic’ trance inference. ‘Less’ will make it more appealing.
Sincerely, Betty
this card is for muslim festive season had lots of clicks but not a sale
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Selamat+Hari+Raya-greeting+card-658966?aid=139596 had 245 clicks
The sentiment you used on the front is Malaysian, so right away you’re targeting a specific, possibly very small niche (unless you’re out there promoting such cards to the Malaysian community). I’m not wild about your color combinations – red text on a green background isn’t the most attractive (why is a corner of the card white? It looks incomplete), and your font doesn’t really suit a festive card. I’m not entirely sure what your drawing is supposed to represent – some symbol of Malaysian Islam?
To be honest, I’d scrap this card and start over with a fresher background and better font.
Don’t forget to include the translation of any foreign words in your Artist’s Notes. We’ve found many people buy foreign language cards to send to relatives back home, but may not necessarily understand the meaning of the card themselves.
Corrie
thanks corrie for the feedback the symbol used infront is the ketupat a malsian delicacies for the festival …. i think ill redesign this new and see how it looks… thanks a bunch
Hi there, as everyone I hope to do it right.
Following card gets a lot of clicks but it wasn’t purchased, yet. I’m wondering if the inside verse is too nice and people a looking for something more ironic for their ex-friends….I did sell the same style card twice for other relationships….
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/community/my_cards.asp?pid=811054
gerda
I guess that was wrong…sorry guys…
I try again…
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Happy+Birthday+Ex-Boyfriend+Confetti+and+Scissors-greeting+card-811054
I’d say you’re probably right on the money, Gerda… sometimes an image and/or a sentiment doesn’t really suit ALL relationships. Granted, some people stay friendly with their ex’s… could be there’s just not a huge demand for such cards. I think the design itself is fine.
Corrie
Hi Everyone,
Again, I may not be doing this right, but the card I am including has had 250 views, with no sales. Yet, I had a similar card, same design, different color, for a different purpose, that I just sold 10 of. http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Name+Change+Announcement,+Colorful+Orange+Digital+Design-greeting+card-646511?aid=136698 Rosie Cards
As far as the design goes, I think your orange box is huge considering the size of your text. Having said that, I wouldn’t expect a card for this purpose to be selling in the hundreds, either. How often does a person need a name change announcement card? That may be why you haven’t seen any sales.
Corrie
Hi Rosalie, I’m not good when it comes to key words and I didn’t look for another name change category, but what if you added something in the artists notes about this being a great card for announcing that you’ve got a new married name verses maiden name?…Just a thought…
Hi Everyone,
I hope I’m doing this right…
I have a quite a few to either do something with or delete so I thought I’d start with this one. No sales, unless I have purchased it on my own and hardly any clicks.
Jane, you didn’t include a link to the card you’d like reviewed.
Corrie
Corrie, I had that feeling – thank you. Hopefully this works 🙂
Jane, couple of things – I see you’ve chosen a black frame to make the color pop on the photo, however black does have the tendency to make the design heavy (and black edged cards signal mourning and funerals to me). I can see the sort of 3D-ish effect you were going for, but because the flowers in the box are smaller than the background photo, it’s not quite working. And such heavy shadow may not print properly. Don’t forget that just because an effect looks good on your computer doesn’t mean it will print as well in the world of paper and ink.
I don’t know if you can do a full bleed on the photograph at this point or not, but it would look better if you got rid of the frame altogether. And if you can, tone down the shadow. A subtle edge will print better and look better.
Corrie
Here is a link to the card. Jane…just copy the URL at the top of the website page in your browser when looking at the ‘normal’ view of the card. Copy and paste
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Happy+70th+Birthday,+Orange+Tulips-greeting+card-817558
A little late but thank you for your time and information. I will definitely take your advice and go with it. Have a great Sunday,
Joann
Hi Corrie,
I’ve been looking through my cards and I have quite a few that I could submit, that only have a few clicks and no sales! Spoilt for choice! However, this card I always liked, but has never sold and has only a few clicks. I know it has a border….maybe that’s part of it, but I’m now seeing it has two different birthday categories and neither of them are astrology!? Is that the problem? I have just added two keywords which weren’t there before, “water sign”, and “astrology”, but I did have “Pisces” in there before…the only reference to the sign (going to add zodiac too I think). What do you think about the card otherwise? Thanks for any help. 🙂
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Happy+Birthday-Boat+on+Ocean+Pisces-greeting+card-606883?aid=134613
Avis, I think what’s holding this card back is 1) the categories – you should go ahead and change the general category to Birthday > Star Sign/Zodiac Specific > Pisces (we can’t change categories ourselves, but an email to the card review team (cardreview@greetingcarduniverse.com) asking them to move the card to a more appropriate category is the usual way., or you can delete the card and resubmit (but you will have to wait for approval); and 2) Your keywords should also contain the words zodiac and horoscope.
Corrie
Hello,
This card was an experiment I was trying, but I don’t know if it’s ridiculous or not? It was fun, but not my usual style…
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Hello+-+Giraffe+Looking+Through+Window-greeting+card-827988?aid=152843
To be honest, Tracie, I don’t see anything wrong with this card. The photo’s good, the composition’s good, the text is good, the inside verse is good. You may have to give it some time to be picked up.
Corrie
I like it~
Thank you, Corrie…I’ve been worried about it because I pasted 3 photos together and wasn’t sure whether I should have done that or not…
Thanks Corrie,
I thought that the categories were the problem mainly, and I’ll add those keywords…thanks for the help, and now I’ll look for some other cards that need help!
Here is a revision on my design with lighter swirls, is it enough? Does it help to focus mor on the cat?
Thanks,
John
This is much less distracting. I like it a lot better, personally.
I like it better than first one too! Now the focus is definitely more on the cat!
Thank you Corrie, I will redo – I always save my originals and rework. Now that you say it I can see the dreariness of it and too much shadow. How is this one?
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/community/my_cards.asp?pid=817558
Sorry, that link’s to your manage cards, and there’s nothing to be seen. We need the URL of the card page to see your new design.
Corrie
I hope this one worked – http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Happy+70th+Birthday,+Orange+Tulips-greeting+card-817558?aid=144775
Yes, that looks MUCH better!
Corrie
Thanks Corrie and Tracie for your good points. I will do some changes and see what happens.
Thanks everyone for their help, I think I’ll update my card with the lighter swirls and we’ll see if that helps with sales! 🙂
John