Nuts and Bolts: Change or New Submission
Nuts & Bolts – Change or New Submission
GCU needs to maintain consistency of design to the product id #, it should reflect the same card over time so shoppers coming back for a specific card can find that design. Minor improvements and edits are acceptable and encouraged but major design changes will cause confusion for shoppers and may result in lost sales for repeat orders.
We encourage you to create new designs. This expands your opportunity for sales, you will have established designs available for repeat orders and new designs will offer further sales opportunities!
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Wanted New Cards: Lost Sock Memorial Day – May 9
We have a new categorie that needs your attention:
At the moment there is only 1 card in this category.
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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Tips and Tricks: Tutorials
Tutorials
Photoshop, GIMP, PSP, Corel Draw—these graphics editing programs and others like them are complex, capable of really great things provided you know how to use them. Rather than single out one trick, we’re listing here some of the sites offering tutorials for you to check out.
If you know any other resources you’d like to share, leave a comment! 🙂
PSDtuts
Whether you’re just getting started or an old hand wanting to learn new tricks, this is the place for Adobe Photoshop users.
GIMP Tutorials
You’ll find good stuff here from beginner to advanced instruction.
Photoshop Tutorials on YouTube
If you want some visual aid.
700+ Free Photoshop Tutorials
More tips and tricks than you can shake a stick at!
GIMP-Tutorials.net
Plenty of resources here including text to path, making patterns, etc.
Paint Shop Pro Tutorials
This learning center offers tutorials through PSP 9 + user forums.
20 Photoshop Elements Tutorials to Try
Some basic techniques you’ll likely need.
Free Tutorials: Photoshop Elements User
Looks like plenty of video tuts and information for artists using Elements.
Corel Draw Tips
Tutorials and more for beginning and advanced users.
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Rainbow Connection: What Your Color Choices Say
Rather than bring you a color palette or two today, I wanted to talk about color as a whole. Did you know the color choices you make in your designs can have an effect on a shopper’s decision to buy or not to buy?
For example, what color would you choose for a four year old girl’s birthday – black, lavender, or soft yellow? If you picked black or lavender, you probably won’t sell very many of these cards.
Below, you’ll find a brief chart outlining some of the meanings of basic colors that can influence shoppers. The colors you choose in your designs are just as important as the designs themselves, so I hope this will help you make appropriate choices for the message you’re trying to send.
Have fun!
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Dash of Inspiration: Fun Font Finds
At least once a month, this Font-a-holic simply must pass of some great font finds, so here you go …
This is a great grab, with some delightful fonts, only $20.00 for a limited time and comes with CU License.
The Handlettered Fontbox by Nicky Laatz at Creative Market
Next, this is a really good font for certain types of card designs. Light, fun, humorous, these are all themes which are well-matched to this font. 30% off until May 2nd!
TRANSMOGRIFIER by PintassilgoPrints at My Fonts
Here are a couple of FREE Commerical Use friendly fonts for download you might not have:
Also found this useful Dingbat font which should spark your imagination!
Enjoy!
Remember this is the last week to get your submissions in for April’s Dash of Inspiration Design Challenge!
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Nuts and Bolts: Homework Always Pays Off
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Wanted New Cards: Good Luck Tryout / Audition
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: Eraser Font
Font Squirrel is a great source for 100% free fonts. Eraser font by David Rakowski is a perfect fit for all those trendy blackboard designs. It’s casual, all caps, distressed and grungy.
Eraser comes with no licence so it’s free to use commercially.
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Rainbow Connection: Exploring Palettes on Pinterest
Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration and can also be an excellent source of new color palettes to use in your design work. Here are a few places we recommend featuring colors. Don’t forget, if you’ve got a Pinterest account, you can Follow any of these boards and be notified of changes/additions.
Summer Color Palettes
Get inspired for Summer.
Color Palettes
Mostly pictures with very fresh color schemes.
Perfect Palettes
Some very trendy color schemes going on here.
Pins From the Perfect Palette.com
A collection of trendy wedding palettes
Have fun and happy designing!
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Dash of Inspiration: Custom Card Updates
When you create date-sensitive greeting cards, you do so knowing that in order for those cards to remain marketable from year to year, you absolutely MUST either update them annually to show the current year, or use a year well in the future so potential customers realize the year can be customized.
If you choose to be lazy and tell yourself, well they’re custom cards so the customer can just change the date, but the card reflects a past year – I can almost guarantee you, sales won’t happen.
If you do the following EVERY new year you’ll see those sales:
- Update standard cards to the current year.
- Custom front cards should be updated to reflect the current year or a future year (like 2025).
- Change all Card Titles, Keywords and Card Descriptions (Artist Notes) to reflect the current year or remove the year reference entirely.
- Always check the inside verse, some of you enter the year there as well.
If you didn’t see Mindy’s post, your cards have already been or soon will be taken offline if you don’t update them. Update Graduation cards to 2016 by 4/15/16
And, Corrie’s Nuts and Bolts from April 8th: Graduation 2016 from 2015
A brief look this morning suggests many of you will have your cards taken offline just when the sales for graduation is beginning.
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So until next week … Learn … Create … Inspire!
And, don’t forget there is still time for the April Dash of Inspiration Design Challenge!
GCU Community 