Nuts and Bolts: Word Clouds are Fun!
November 9, 2018
Nuts & Bolts – Word Clouds are Fun!
We are pleased to bring you a guest post by GCU artist Liz Van Steenburgh of Starstock Greetings.
Liz shares the fun and creative process of designing word cloud designs for greeting cards.
Liz shares …
A few weeks ago, we received an edition of Nuts & Bolts about creating word cloud greetings. I was intrigued by the post and decided to try my hand at a few of them.
Where to begin!?
The first obvious step is to decide on the theme or occasion for your design. Any occasion, holiday or
even relationship can make a great word cloud card. Once the theme is established, you can gather a
list of words that compliment the theme. I found a few interesting resources for coming up with words
when I needed to expand on what I already had.
There is a tab for “Subject Word List”. You can find a word list for just about any topic.
Here you would add your term to the search to find a word list for the topic you need.
Let the fun begin
Next, I added the main word to the center, choosing an appropriate font and color. From here decide on
a second and third font (if wanted) and a color scheme. The fonts should compliment each other and
the words should be displayed in various sizes and directions. You can add as many words as you’d
like, but I tend to prefer a more minimalist look. I tend to only choose two fonts and two or three
colors. Balance of fonts, colors and placement is key on these designs.
I like to add my own personal style to these cards to distinguish them from some of the other great
word cloud greetings already on GCU. On my cards, I like to add some type of background and a few
graphics to help illustrate the occasion.
The possibilities are limitless
There are so many fun ideas for this type of greeting, and when I get in a designing rut, I now make a
vocabulary list and create something new! I find them a ton of fun to make and kind of cathartic too.
I’m thankful that I gave this style a try and plan on making many more of them.
Thank you, Liz for giving this style a try and adding some fun new designs to GCU holiday categories.
The difference is made in the details!
Mindy
GCU Community Manager
GCU Community Manager
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GCU Community 
Great cards, Liz! Thank you for sharing your great tips with all of us. 🙂
Yes, thank you, Liz! Great examples.
These are beautifully done. Thanks for sharing!
Love the Halloween theme! Great post!