Design-led retailer Paperchase is really getting behind the On The Cards initiative, which not only highlights the potential of the greeting card industry to creative graduates, but also sees the two winning concepts be produced and put on sale in Paperchase stores.
The On The Cards greeting card design competition, which is now in its third year, is the brainchild of Reggie Pugh, creative director of Paper Rose and GF Smith’s Mark Jessett, conceived out of a shared frustration of “how most art tutors and therefore students were just not aware of the vibrancy of greeting card industry and how greeting cards offer a real opportunity to see their creativity reach the consumer,” Reggie told PG Buzz.
This year five leading universities and art colleges are participating in On The Cards – Staffordshire University, Falmouth School of Art, Nottingham Trent University, Leeds Arts University and Swansea College of Art – each of which benefitted from presentaions and workshops held by the Paper Rose and GF Smith teams when the design brief for the competition was explained.
There are two categories – Design/Illustration and Format/Innovation/Technology.
The Art Group’s Philippa Phipps who has been the main liaison with the art colleges explained that the graduates have tasked “to create a beautifully designed and innovative greeting card that can be put into an envelope and posted to a recipient. We asked the students to think about design, innovation and new formats, prompting them to think about their perception of a greeting card, asking whether technology and social media could interface with the product?”
Having revealed some of the current design trends, the students were asked to predict what the ‘next big thing’ could be in terms of subject matter.
As sponsors of the initiative, The Sherwood Group is to produce the winning designs into finished products which Paperchase will then be put on sale in its stores.
The winners of the On the Cards 2018 will continue in the wake of Joe Cox, winner of last year’s Design and Illustration award with his timely Political Pals range which is still on sale and has been extended to include some Royal Pals designs. Meanwhile the Say Selfie range, created by Danielle Whetton, a winner in the inaugural year is still on sale and the range has just been extended by Paper Rose.
This year’s On The Cards entries will be judged by representatives from Paperchase, Paper Rose, GF Smith, The Sherwood Group, GCA, Progressive Greetings as well as House of Illustration’s Michael Czerwinski and Ilona Drew, founder of I Drew This, who is this year’s ‘guest illustrator’ judge.
