Everyday life and emotions as an inspiration source (Part I)
At the heart of every greeting card lies a connection – a bridge between the sender and recipient that expresses an emotion, marks a moment, or conveys a meaningful message. As greeting card designers, we have the powerful ability to transform the seemingly ordinary experiences of everyday life into extraordinary visual celebrations.
The richness of the human experience provides an endless well of inspiration to draw from. It’s in those very personal, relatable moments and emotions where some of the most resonant greeting card designs can emerge. Let’s dive deeper into tapping the poignant, the celebratory, the humorous, and more within the cadences of daily life:
Capturing Special Moments
- Birthdays and anniversaries
- Weddings and new babies
- Graduations and new jobs
- Farewells and fresh starts
- Overcoming challenges or illnesses
Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, graduation or other milestone, greeting cards play a vital role in honoring and commemorating life’s most cherished occasions. These moments deserve to be celebrated in all their joy and significance.
Birthdays offer a chance to shower loved ones with vibrant designs full of cheerful wishes and reminiscing about shared memories. Whimsical cakes, colorful balloons, and personalized touches can make the card as unique as the birthday person.
Anniversary cards are the ideal canvas for romantic illustrations and heartfelt sentiments that reaffirm an enduring love story. Vintage-inspired flourishes, elegant calligraphy, and classic motifs like hearts and roses can beautifully capture the aura of devotion.
Graduations mark major academic achievements and the start of new chapters. Bold, uplifting typography combined with cap and gown imagery conveys pride. Include motivational messages or representing the graduate’s chosen field through symbols or scenes.
Other milestones worth commemorating include new homes, job promotions, retirements, or overcoming health battles. The design approach depends on the tone – celebratory for achievements, serene for new beginnings, or representing joy after adversity.
No matter the occasion, these special moment cards should radiate positivity and serve as cherished mementos of important events in the recipients’ lives. The right color palette, imagery, and words elevate the design into a symbolic treasure.
Expressing Love
- Romantic love between partners
- Familial love (parents, siblings, children)
- Friendship and platonic love
- Self-love and body positivity
From romantic partnerships to familial bonds and deep friendships, love takes on many forms – each one deserving to be expressed and celebrated through beautiful, heartfelt greeting card designs.
For romantic love, the canvas is ripe for portraying an air of enchantment and intimacy. Soft, warm color palettes like dusty roses and rich burgundies set the mood. Illustrating romantic scenes like dancing under the stars, sharing a tender embrace, or cozying up by the fireplace captures the passion and closeness between lovers. Sweet sentiments and poetry can adorn the designs, but minimalist approaches allowing the imagery to speak volumes can be just as impactful.
Familial love bonds could be reflected through vibrant, joyful scenes of quality family time – baking together, playing in the park, snuggled up reading books. Using portrait-style illustrations of the family members adds a personalized touch. Multi-generational representations project an enduring legacy of love passing between parents, children, and grandchildren. Affirmations of unconditional adoration make ideal message companions.
The unique love between friends is cause for celebration with lively, cheerful, and fun-spirited designs. Funky, modern color palettes and illustrated friend groups exuding upbeat energy bring a youthful dynamism. Humor through relatable inside jokes or iconic pop culture references can spark smiles. Authentic sentiments of gratitude for being present through life’s ups and downs reinforce an invaluable bond.
No matter the relationship, a thoughtfully crafted design has the power to make recipients feel the love radiate off the card itself. By connecting with the core emotions unique to each loving connection, greeting cards become cherished reminders of the irreplaceable human bonds that matter most.
Gratitude and Appreciation
- Thanking friends, family, coworkers
- Appreciation for teachers, mentors, service workers
- Gratitude for nature, life, health
Recognizing the people, experiences, or simple joys that enrich our lives is an essential practice in cultivating happiness and fulfillment. Greeting cards provide a delightful canvas for conveying sincere gratitude and appreciation in a thoughtful, visually compelling way.
When expressing thankfulness for friends, family members, mentors or colleagues, the tone should exude warmth and heartfelt admiration. Consider incorporating sentimental photography or illustrated portraits of the recipients themselves. Including shared memories or inside jokes adds a personalized touch they’ll instantly connect with. Messages can highlight how their support, guidance or acts of kindness have positively impacted your life.
For major life experiences like travel adventures, realizing personal dreams or overcoming challenges, striking landscape imagery or symbolic representations capture the essence of those enriching journeys. Use the design to highlight meaningful souvenirs, memorabilia or milestone markers with handwritten reflections surrounding them. Don’t be afraid to get poetic and philosophical with your phrasing.
Celebrating and giving thanks for simple joys allows designers to get whimsical and depict life’s sweet pleasures through metaphors and clever visuals. A steaming cup of coffee and a emphatically scripted “Thanks a latte!” conveys gratitude for life’s daily pick-me-ups. Nature-inspired details like flowers, leaf patterns or sketchbook doodles of birds pair beautifully with thankful musings about life’s natural beauty.
No matter the recipient or occasion, the most effective gratitude-themed designs are those that feel straight from the heart and sincerely representative of the warm appreciation you wish to express. Through compelling visuals and authentically crafted words, your greeting cards will become cherished emblems of life’s heartening moments of gratitude.
By transforming the everyday ordinary into the extraordinary through clever, heartwarming visuals and messages, your greeting cards will serve as cherished reminders to embrace the magic of life’s seemingly small yet indelible moments.
Join me for part II next week!
Happy designing!
Corrie
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Crafting Heartfelt Cards for an Unexpected Pregnancy
Circling back to yesterday’s Wanted New Cards I want to give a few tips on how to go about designing cards for this subject.
Finding out you’re expecting a baby can bring about a torrent of emotions, especially if it was an unplanned surprise. A tender card can provide so much comfort and reassurance to those parents-to-be as they navigate this major life change.
If you’re creating a card for someone experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, there are a few compassionate approaches to consider for your design and messaging:
Validate Mixed Emotions
An unexpected pregnancy can feel overwhelming, with a rollercoaster of feelings like shock, anxiety, excitement and everything in between. Avoid messaging that assumes pure bliss or joy. Instead, use language that validates the spectrum of perfectly normal emotions they may be feeling like “Though this news may be surprising…” or “As you navigate this unexpected journey…”
Focus on Unconditional Support
More than anything, expecting parents need to know they have a solid support system during this transition. Your card’s words and imagery can reassure them that you’ll be there no matter what. Consider including a heartfelt note about being present to listen without judgement or offering any help they may need.
Inspire Hope for What’s Ahead
While being careful not to minimize any apprehensions, your card can also gently instill hope about the beauty and profound love that awaits with a new baby. You could incorporate symbolism of growth, miracles, and new beginnings. Or include a warm message about embracing the journey together and finding strength as a family.
Use Humor Cautiously
For some recipients, humor and playful puns may provide well-needed levity when processing an unexpected pregnancy. But err on the side of sensitivity – sillier tones can easily fall flat or come across as flippant during complex emotional situations. If using humorous elements, balance it with equal amounts of compassion.
No matter the design approach, the most important thing is crafting your unexpected pregnancy card with authenticity, empathy and love. Taking the time to create a truly heartfelt keepsake can mean the world to those parents-to-be.
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Wanted Cards – Unplanned / Unexpected Pregnancy Encouragement
Finding out there is a baby on the way is not always an expected or planned event. It will take a while for the parents to be to resolve their mixed emotions and probably surprise and disappointment about the new little one on the way.
Please consider creating new cards for this new category. Consider cards for both parents to be, as well as for the mom to be and dad to be. They should go here:
Occasions >> Encouragement >> Pregnancy / Expecting >> Unplanned / Unexpected cid#37904
Note: cid# is the speed entry method of adding a category to your card via category id number (cid#) vs using search terms or click and hunt. See here on the blog:
To expedite the review of these cards, please check Fast Track Review on the card image details page when you create your card and add a Note for Reviewers like “for BLOG– Wanted Cards”.
Consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly. These cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track. Remember, when you’re submitting your new stock card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers.
Mindy Rosso
GCU Community Manager
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Be sure to review the Chinese New Year specific rules on Change or New Submission.
Not only should images be updated but also card titles, keywords and artist notes. This even applies to custom front designs to make them more marketable and avoid shopper errors.
Create new cards for 2025’s year of the Snake:
Mindy
GCU Community Manager
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Wanted – P/T Customer Support Representative
A little bit of a different “wanted” request this week.
GCU is looking for a part-time customer support representative. Remote / work from home.
This is an independent contractor position (1099 employee) at $16 – $20 / hr.
Responsibilities:Answer
customer support phone calls, online live chat, and emails for order status, order details, assistance using the website to place an order, etc.
Required Skills:
Must possess solid computer usage and phone skills, reliable, comfortable answering questions and a clear and effective communicator (spoken and written).
Standard hours:Monday thru Friday – 9am to 11am PST
Additional optional hours:Non-business hours, weekends and holidays – 1 to 2 hours a day responding to calls and customer support emails that are received during non-business hours. These hours are flexible and can be set by you based on your availability.
Additional hours available during busy holidays.
Due to the investment in training we’re looking for someone who is committed to the position on a long-term basis.
Interested? Want to learn more? Please contact us at Jobs@GCUniverse.com
Mindy Rosso
GCU Community Manager
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Rainbow Connection: Dopamine Design Trend
What is Dopamine Design?
The dopamine design trend is a recent aesthetic movement in graphic design, fashion, and interior design that emerged in the early 2020s. The trend is characterized by the use of vibrant, saturated colors, bold patterns, and playful, asymmetrical shapes that are intended to evoke feelings of happiness, energy, and optimism.
Key features of the dopamine design trend include:
- Bold, contrasting color palettes: Think neon pinks, electric blues, sunny yellows, and bright greens, often used in unexpected combinations.
- Retro-inspired elements: Drawing from 70s psychedelia, 80s Memphis design, and 90s pop culture.
- Irregular shapes and patterns: Squiggles, blobs, abstract forms, and imperfect geometrics.
- Maximalist approach: More is more—layers, clashes, and busy compositions.
- Nostalgic motifs: Stars, smiley faces, rainbows, and other symbols associated with happiness.
The name “dopamine” refers to the neurotransmitter in our brains that plays a key role in pleasure, motivation, and reward. The design trend aims to visually stimulate this “feel-good” chemical, providing a burst of positivity and excitement through bold design choices. This trend emerged partly as a reaction to the minimalist, neutral aesthetics that dominated the 2010s, and partly as a response to global stressors like the COVID-19 pandemic, with people seeking out visually uplifting content.
The trend spans various fields:
– Graphic Design: Posters, packaging, branding
– Fashion: Colorful prints, mismatched patterns
– Interior Design: Bright furniture, funky wallpapers
– Digital Design: Websites, apps, social media graphics
Critics argue that the trend can be overwhelming or kitschy, while proponents see it as a much-needed burst of joy in challenging times. Whether it has lasting impact or is a fleeting trend remains to be seen.
You want more dopamine? I’ve got some interesting links for you:
Join Sarah from Floella Interiors as she dives into the world of dopamine interiors and dopamine decor! Expected to be one of the biggest interior design trends of 2024, Sarah dives into how you can add lots of colour, pattern and scale into your home to give that dopamine feeling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dNkszWB2o
Move over Barbiecore! Dopamine Decor is the new playful trend.
Martha Stewart about Dopamine Decor.
https://www.marthastewart.com/dopamine-decor-ideas-8630791
Homes & Garden: Dopamine decor is the latest feel-good interior trend for 2024 – how to level up your happiness at home
https://www.homesandgardens.com/interior-design/dopamine-decor-ideas
Forbes Home: Dopamine Decor: What Is It And How To Incorporate Dopamine Decor At Home
https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/design/dopamine-decor-ideas/
Adentity: from dopamine colours to artsy fonts
https://adentity.se/graphic-trends-expression-colours-and-fonts/
Dopamine Design on Pinterest
https://nl.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=dopamine%20graphic%20design&rs=typed
Spoonflower – Dopamine Color Design in Fabric, Wallpaper, and Home Decor
https://www.spoonflower.com/en/shop/dopamine-color
That’s it from me for now.
Happy designing!
Corrie
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Time to dazzle us with your creativity this month!
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Theme: Blending a Message with the Stock Image
Requirements:
- Create a new stock card for any category that has an amazing pairing of the card front text and verse with the image you choose. Judges will weigh heavily on how well your words/category fit the image. We want that WOW factor from your creativity this month. Added value is KEY here.
- ONLY Big Stock cards will be accepted in this challenge.
- The judges will be looking for professional quality text layout, typography placement and font combinations in addition to a unique and captivating message that tells the story of the stock image you choose. Your added value needs to wow the judges!
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Entry Deadline: Sunday, June 30th
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How to Enter: Post the PID (card number) and the URL (public storefront link – please WAIT for the card to be available in the public marketplace, please DO NOT post a link to your Manage Cards area) as a post in the challenge blog. We’ll forward your entry to the jury.
NOTE: Submissions will appear immediately in your Private gallery as they await review. If approved, the reviewer will move them to the public gallery – they will then become ‘live’ in the marketplace within 24-hours or so just like regular submissions. Be patient and wait.
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Category:
Choose any category well-suited to show off your message and image pairing.
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Rules:
- Submission must meet GCU’s Submission Guidelines and be Approved through the usual Review Cycle. Big Stock creations are automatically identified as Fast Track – please add in the Notes to Reviewer: June Stock Challenge Submission here is the link to the blog post: (include THIS blog post URL)
- Only ONE card per artist per challenge.
- Submissions must be NEW, no existing designs.
- Your entry must meet the Challenge Requirements and Theme or it will not be included in the challenge.
- Big Stock Card Creations ONLY will be accepted.
- Your designs should differ from those already offered in the categories above to offer shoppers a variety of choices, not more of the same.
- No BLANK cards will be accepted.
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BLIND Judging: We hope each of you enters every month. Entries are submitted anonymously for judging by the GCU Challenge Jury which means that before and during the challenge, judges do not have any way of knowing what artist is behind each entry. This eliminates any and all concerns with ‘favoritism’. Results will post on the Community Blog. The jury will judge the entries on the following criteria:
- How well the card meets the Challenge Requirements and Theme.
- How well the card speaks to the Category the artist chooses for the card submission.
- Creativity, Execution and Marketability. Your overall ‘added value’ determines this.
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Winners: 1st Place:
- The winning designer’s card and store will be featured on the GCU Public Blog – the blog which customers view and follow.
- As well as featured on the GCU Public Facebook Page – nearly 58,000 followers, now THAT’S exposure!
- The winning card will be Design of the Day following the announcement of the winners (within 48-hours).
EXCEPTION: Horizontal (landscape) cards may not be featured as DOD due to GCU Home Page space restrictions. In these cases, GCU will choose a different vertically oriented card from your store to feature as DOD. Thank you for your understanding and apologies for this limitation.
- The winning card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board – currently GCU’s Pinterest Page followers: 12.9K!
- The winning card, should the artist choose, may be referenced in a new series by the winning artist and he/she may Fast Track all cards in the new series (being sure to give the Challenge URL and winning card PID in your Notes to Reviewer for each card in this series).
- Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
- GCU will create a Meet the Team board for the winning artist under the Pinterest GCU account where the winning artist will be able to pin and promote her own storefront and all that makes them a unique card designer and one of GCU’s artistic community team member.
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Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 2,000 followers and counting!
- GCU will create a Meet the Team board for the winning artist under the Pinterest GCU account where the winning artist will be able to pin and promote her own storefront and all that makes them a unique card designer and one of GCU’s artistic community team member.
- 10 free greeting card credits added to your GCU account. Apply them at checkout and they never expire.
- A Design Challenge GCU digital award for 2024!
2nd Place:
- Your submission will be Design of the Day the following week of announcing the Challenge winners (within 7-days).
EXCEPTION: Horizontal (landscape) cards may not be featured as DOD due to GCU Home Page space restrictions. In these cases, GCU will choose a different vertically oriented card from your store to feature as DOD. Thank you for your understanding and apologies for this limitation.
- Your card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board.
- Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
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Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 10.8k followers and counting!
- 5 free greeting card credits added to your GCU account. Apply them at checkout and they never expire.
- A Design Challenge GCU digital award for 2024!
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Tips:
- Visit all the available tips, tricks and guidelines offered on the Big Stock Creation blog page!
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Be inspired to create and learn something new!
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Nuts & Bolts: Custom Design Request Improvements
We hope all of these improvements will increase the confirmation, action and ultimately sales on Custom Requests.
Mindy
GCU Community Manager
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Nuts & Bolts: Artist Interview
Here are the artist interview for:
April’s Before and After Design Challenge Winner by Lisa Charlton:
Congratulations to Lisa for her Design Challenge win and all those adorable fur faces!
Mindy
GCU Community Manager
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Wanted New Cards: Birthday Remembrance of Angel Baby
Wanted Cards – Birthday Remembrance of Angel Baby
Having lost a baby, especially during pregnancy or shortly after birth, is unimaginably painful. To not have the date recognized or memorialized by others inflicts more pain on the noted day.
Please consider creating cards in remembrance of an angel baby’s birth. They should go here:
Birthday >> In Remembrance >> In Remembrance of Baby / Angel Baby cid#34050
Consider custom front age specific designs (1st birthday for an Angel baby, etc.), non-age specific designs, gender specific, etc.
Note: cid# is the speed entry method of adding a category to your card via category id number (cid#) vs using search terms or click and hunt. See here on the blog:
Nuts and Bolts: New Artist Enhancements
To expedite the review of these cards, please check Fast Track Review on the card image details page when you create your card and add a Note for Reviewers like “for BLOG– Wanted Cards”.
Consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly. These cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track. Remember, when you’re submitting your new stock card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers.
Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Go for it!
GCU Community 