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Nuts and Bolts: Custom Request Design Change.

April 27, 2018
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Nuts & Bolts – Custom Request Design Change

 

Be sure to keep an eye out for custom design change requests.  Here is a look back at some good tips to not miss any shopper requests.
 
Custom design requests can be a wonderful source of new card ideas.  So although you may submit the shopper’s final card as a private card, consider making it fitting for other shoppers and submit it to the public gallery.

We’d like to share a recent example by GCU artist Barbara Schreiber.

From the shopper:
Would it be possible to replace the word golden to silver,and the glasses from gold to silver please?

 

As usual, well done, Barbara!  A great new take on her April 2016 Design Challenge winning card.

 

Note: if you submit a  new card that is a variation on a card or variation on a card series be sure to include in the Note to Reviewer the pid# of the original card it is based on for easy and quick review.  If it’s for a custom request, be sure to also include this in your Note to Reviewer.

 

The difference is made in the details!

 

Mindy
GCU Community Manager
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Wanted New Cards: Thank You Hospitality

April 26, 2018
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Wanted Cards – Thank You Hospitality

One good turn deserves another. So many acts of kindness, gracious gestures, generosity and hospitality that GCU has just begun to scratch the surface.  A thank you card for someone’s hospitality is always appreciated.

 

Here are some specific areas of hospitality in need of new cards:

 

>> Brunch
>> Hosting Speaker
>> Lunch
>> Shabbat Hospitality
>> Weekend
Note: GCU allows up to 3 different wording variations within the same category, feel free to explore different expressions like “great weekend”, “memorable weekend”, “wonderful weekend”, “unforgettable weekend”, “epic weekend”, etc.  OR make a custom front design so the shopper can add the superlative that best fits their weekend!

 

Specifically:
Wording Variations meaning essentially the same thing using the same image/art will be limited to 3 times when in the same category.  For example: Friend, Buddy, Pal, My Bud, Ole’ Partner, BFF, Best Friend, etc.  Only 3 of these would be allowed as they would all go into the same subcategory >> For Friend.

HOWEVER if subcategories exist for any of these specific terms it is an exception to the rule.  For example: If there are subcategories for >> For Best Friend and >> For Friend then “BFF” and “Best Friend” are allowed in >> For Best Friend AND 3 others can go into >> For Friend.

Another similar example: Mom, Mommy, Mother, Mama, Mum, Mummy.  Only 3 of these would be allowed as they would all go into the same subcategory >> From Mom / Mother.

HOWEVER if subcategories exist for any of these specific terms it is an exception to the rule.  For example: If there are subcategories >> For Mum and >> For Mom / Mother then “Mum” and “Mummy” are allowed in >> For Mum AND 3 others can go into >> For Mom / Mother.

 

We’d like you to create at least one card for these categories using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.

Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive,  be clever, be creative. Go for it!

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Freebie Wednesday: Amazing Poppies Watercolor Set.

April 25, 2018
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Freebie Wednesday:

Creative Fabrica has a nice Freebie for your design arsenal – download this creatively beautiful Amazing Poppies Watercolor Set (this pack includes a free commercial license as well).
Grab your copy today, but hurry because it will only be free for 2 more Days!

 

This pack contains:

Frames | Borders | Patterns

All illustrations are highly detailed. Aquarelle elements could be used for background, texture, pattern, frame or border. Ready to print or use for anything you want. Full editable (size, colors, etc.). The possibilities of use are endless!

Elements are painted by hand and every image is a separate file. The graphics are a PNG file, 600 dpi, without background. Patterns JPG size 5000x5000px.

 

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from → Fonts, FREEBIES

Rainbow Connection: Hot Tropical Palettes

April 24, 2018
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Hot Tropical is all the rage this year. Lets have a look at some vibrant color schemes:

 

 

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from → Rainbow Connection (Colors)

Nuts and Bolts: Fortifying Meta-data – Gender.

April 20, 2018
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Nuts & Bolts – Fortifying Meta-data – Gender
 
Consider adding additional descriptive terms to your cards’ meta-data to help searching shoppers find EXACTLY what they want. By card meta-data, we mean card title, keywords and Artist’s Notes. Shoppers shop via categories, onsite search and also search terms within category. Sometimes that is not enough especially as GCU grows with more and more cards in each category. We need to offer shoppers ways to narrow down their choices quickly and accurately so they can find the perfect card!

 

The better and most accurate description you give your card, the best chance of it being found by a shopper. Believe it or not, as specific and refined our categories are sometimes it isn’t granular enough. Think about including terms specific to your card as they relate to: age, gender, tone, style

 

Here is some food for thought on Gender.

 

Designs for a general audience (not relationship specific) still speak to a female or a male audience.  Birthday for Her and Birthday for Him are relatively straight forward and have their own sub-category.  It seems a natural practice to specific in these cards’ terms to identify what gender the card is intended for.

 

Below are some good examples by GCU artist Sharon Dominick Photography:
Here is where it gets a little trick and you have to put your thinking cap on. Consider cards for a gender neutral relationship like Cousin.  If the design is gender specific, have you added the terms to help shoppers find the cards for a male cousin (“male, him”) or female cousin (“female, her”)?  It would help shoppers a lot!

 

See the 2,122 Birthday cards for Cousin.  At a glance there are clearly some for female cousins and some geared for male cousins.

 

Below are some good examples by GCU artist Judy Adamson:
Similar to cousin, gender is NOT implied in other relationships like friend, neighbor, boss, babysitter, teacher, co-worker, etc.  Is your design gender neutral?  Or is your design for a female or male?  If the latter, be sure to specify as such in your meta-data.

 

NOTE: if the design & verse are gender neutral do NOT use both gender descriptive terms in your meta-data (him, her).  That defeats the purpose of helping shoppers narrow their choices with specific search terms. GCU has always emphasized in the review process to submit your card for what it is, not what it could be. 

 

The difference is made in the details!

 

Mindy
GCU Community Manager
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Wanted New Cards: Anniversary Meanings / Symbols.

April 19, 2018
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Wanted Cards – Anniversary Meanings / Symbols
 
A shopper has asked for the following on one card …
“with most of the anniversary years with a description. 1 paper 2 cotton 3 leather etc 25 silver 45 sapphire and so on.”

 

If general, these cards would go here:
 
Otherwise they would go in their specific category accordingly if you choose to make year, relationship specific, etc. designs.

 

Please also consider year specific anniversary cards that reflect the year and meaning / symbol.  These would go here accordingly:
There are many opportunities for meaning specific year cards in most of the Year subcategories. For example, there are none for 13th / Lace, 8th / Bronze or 14th / Ivory just to name a few. 
 

 

We’d like you to create at least one card for these categories using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.

Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive,  be clever, be creative. Go for it!

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Font Frenzy: Spring Kit – Lettering and Clipart

April 18, 2018
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The Hungry Jpeg has this lovely Spring Kit – Lettering and Clipart on offer for you for just $1,00
Lettering set includes traditional quotes . This product includes 48 Isolated Hand Lettering Quotes and 92 clipart elements (it comes with complete License).

 

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from → Fonts

Nuts & Bolts: Manage Cards Usability.

April 13, 2018
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Nuts & Bolts – Manage Cards Usability
 
As your store grows, you will notice that navigating cards in your Manage Cards page becomes more difficult.  Sometimes it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.  Note some tools to find cards more quickly.

 

1. Tile View vs List View – tile view will show you more cards per page and help you locate a card by eye more quickly.  Cards in tile view have a rollover for more details. Lastly, you can click on a card in tile view to expand that card to full view.

 

2. Find Specific Cards by – you can filter your cards you preview by many different filters like:
– Product Id – you can enter multiple product id numbers
– Keyword
– Status
– Card Front – Standard, Custom, Stock (BigStock)
– Uniqueness – Unique, Very Unique, Not Unique (this filters Approved cards only based on uniqueness of the Artist’s Notes field)
– Category (Approved cards only)

Note: GCU has done some fine tuning and you should notice that the Manage Cards page loads much more quickly. We hope our artists with super large stores are enjoying this improved performance!

The difference is made in the details!

 

Mindy
GCU Community Manager

 

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from → Wanted: New Cards

Wanted New Cards: Mother’s Day Incarcerated Mom.

April 12, 2018
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Wanted Cards – Mother’s Day Incarcerated Mom
 
GCU recently had a request for birthday cards that incarcerated moms can send to their sons and daughters.  There are many agencies and support groups for incarcerated moms and dads to keep them connected to their children and strengthen their role as parent. Fostering the parent child relationship and the family unit while a parent is behind bars is done in the best interest of the family unit.

 

Children with an incarcerated parent experience a range of emotions – fear, worry, confusion, sadness, guilt, isolation, anger, embarrassment and more.

 

Please consider creating Mother’s Day cards from a child to their incarcerated Mom / Mother.

 

Also, please consider a range of ages of daughters / sons in your designs and verse.

 

In the same light, we have also created a new sub-category for Father’s Day:

 

We’d like you to create at least one card for these categories using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.

Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive,  be clever, be creative. Go for it!

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(Almost) Freebie Wednesday: Flower Set and Patterns $1

April 11, 2018
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(Almost) Freebie Wednesday:

The Hungry Jpeg has a nice $1 Flower Set for your design arsenal – download this creatively beautiful  (this pack includes a free commercial license as well).
Grab your copy today ($1 only for the Month of April 2018!

 

You will receive:

– 24 clip-art (png) – 24 floral elements (ai,eps) – 12 patterns (ai, eps, jpg)

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