Greeting Card Trends for 2021

The awards season isn’t just for Hollywood! For those in the greeting card industry, now is the time to select the cards of the year. For over 30 years, the Greeting Card Association has honored the best cards with the Annual Louie Awards. As we anxiously wait for this year’s winners to be announced at the annual *Noted: The Greeting Card Expo happening virtually May 20-21, 2021, we want to highlight some notable trends for the $8 billion industry.

With families and friends physically separated, 2020 became the year the paper greeting card became essential. According to a December 2020 Fast Company article, Hallmark recorded triple-digit growth in online sales during the holiday period. Other companies like Colette Paperie reported a 300% increase in sales in November and December and The Card Bureau watched its online sales skyrocket 2,000%. From March to December 2020, Etsy reported a 74% increase in searches for greeting cards, a 101% increase in searches for holiday cards, and a 46% increase in searches for personalized or custom cards.

Not surprisingly, “wish I could be there” and “across the miles” cards were best sellers. Newly launched lines of appreciation cards for health and childcare workers, hairstylists, and senior-care workers were extremely popular.

In another trend tied to the pandemic, the Shutterfly greeting card design team noticed people were looking at the year of quarantine with more humor than negativity, so funny sentiments have been showing up in all of their designs.

A new category for the Louie awards-Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion: Cards for an increasingly diverse, unique, and wonderful world-reflects the increased demand for representation. Culture Greetings, an Atlanta-based company that specializes in cards for people of color, boasted a 1,200% increase in sales since the pandemic began.

As an international art licensing agency that represents some of the most innovative artists and fine art photographers within the licensing industry today, here are our picks for greeting cards in 2021:

Best-selling greeting card and stationary artist Alan Giana showcases holiday images and ethereal landscapes in his scenic prints sold by Current and other top retailers.

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Best-selling greeting card and stationary artist Alan Giana showcases holiday images and ethereal landscapes in his scenic prints sold by Current and other top retailers.

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Illustration and surface designers Fineapple Pair create hand-painted patterns and characters that add a bit of whimsy to greeting cards for friends.

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Bright and bold botanical masterpieces of flowers, plants and nature by Ann Jasperson will grow any line of cards with inspiring quotes

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Expressive, exciting and thought-provoking artist Jordan Jones captures the divine essence and inner truth of each subject, thus enticing the viewer into seeing the magic, beauty and love of the world.

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Artist Karen Burke’s whimsical art of nature and human prints will make any greeting recipient laugh out loud

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Versatile pattern, textile and surface artist Ken Bishop boasts decades of expertise in designing vivid and vivacious images for a variety of greeting cards, signs and more.  

About Alliances By Alisa Art Licensing

Alliances By Alisa Art Licensing is an energetic international art licensing agency that represents some of the most innovative artists and fine art photographers within the licensing industry today.

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