Tree Forest Wood Christmas Greetings Cards

Billions of cards are sent worldwide every year but especially at Christmas – a bad time to be a breathing tree, forest or woodland

I have designed a lot of greetings cards and finished illustrations and have witnessed the shift in subject matter from the 'warm and fuzzy' to the decidedly 'offbeat'. Card subjects nowadays deal with everything from tastebud preferences to software crashes.

On today's card shelves you can shop for messages of sarcasm, comfort, romance and caustic sympathy because card companies target every market to reflect contemporary subject matters – or do they?

Consumer trends and lifestyles evolve of their own accord but I am sure some get 'pushed' by those purely interested in stretching the parameters and attacking old taboos. We are all trying to keep a finger on the pulse of change but to get the world we want, we all need to be involved in setting and making the best pace.

We all need to get everything going in a 'new improved' direction, be it when sending a greetings card or supporting a vital charity campaign. Some of the best modern cards we receive at HoBB Real incorporate good editorial message – small bite-sized doses of psychotherapy or thoughtful expressions of concern, advice and support. One such handmade card produced for the charity 'World of Water' (pictured above) contained fine words from the E-Brain Book.

Things can get very personal .....
Anybody can send their card designs to a publisher, but once released they are helpless, unable to influence how their work will be used and any accompanying editorial content. There is a new breed of greetings card artists that self-publish their designs internationally and make them directly available online as e-cards for all occasions. Through personal links with their market, these artists are able to determine which visual styles and messages their buying public prefers - an interactive market testing.

Many traditional card companies contribute to the pressure put on thousands of square miles of wooded lands to surrender their natural nutrients and produce fibre by using wood from managed woodlands. But a 'managed woodland' is a 'wood farm' producing a raw fibre material in one location that is then shipped around the world for factory use. A managed woodland is not a natural woodland habitat that's home for a balanced ecosystem.

I feel it is time for more eco-card producers to lead the way and promote online cards as this will save many more existing habitats. We all need to keep a finger on the pulse of change and work towards the world environment we want, so set the pace and send more e-cards this year.

Waves ~~~~ and wishes for a fine festive season
<+))))))))>< ~~~ Grant

Posted by : Grant
Filed in : Journeys