OUGD503 - Responsive - YCN: UK Greetings Brief Contexts and Interpretation.

Company Contexts and Background.

For more than 100 years UK Greetings have been creating products that ' help people connect.' A part of the American Greetings family, the UK sector have grown to become the largest market leading, direct-to-retail publisher of greeting card and social expressions products in the UK - with products stocked in most high street specialists, independent retailers and major supermarkets.

Alongside sister company John Sands,  a printer and publisher of greeting cards, gift wrap and stationery in Australia and New Zealand, UK Greeting form a part of the American Greetings family, the largest privately owned greeting card publisher in the world.

Company Timeline.

• In 1906, young entrepreneur Jacob Sapirstein had only $50 in his pocket, but a wealth of ambition.

• He took to the streets of Cleveland, Ohio, selling penny postcards from a handcart.

• These postcards made a pretty penny, as Jacob’s business became the world’s largest publically owned, direct to retail greeting card, social expression and gift company, with a whopping worldwide sales of $2 billion!

• It wasn’t only hair that expanded in the 1980s, as American Greetings bought 3 UK card giants, Rust Craft, Celebration Arts Group and Andrew Valentine.

• The companies refused to ‘relax’ and merged in the late 1980s to form Carlton Cards Ltd.

• Through the late 1990’s and 2000, UK companies continued hopping aboard, resulting in the creation of UK Greetings, the holding company for American Greetings interests across the pond.

• The UK portfolio soon became a who’s who for famous brands, including Hanson White, Carlton, Camden Graphics, Gibson, Special Editions and Collage.

• On 1st March 2008, UK Greetings Ltd came of age, as the legal entity of all American Greetings' operations in the UK.

• That same month, UKG welcomed a new addition to their ever-growing family - Card Connection, the UK’s largest and most successful company supplying cards on a consignment basis.

• The amazingly talented team at Watermark joined UK Greetings in 2011.

• In 2013, UK Greetings wished upon a star (and worked very hard, too) to gain the Disney licence.

Together UK Greetings and American Greetings have one of the largest and most talented creative teams in the industry all around the world, now publishing cards in more than 20 languages, in more than 70 countries.

The Brief 

To create and develop a named range/collection of greeting cards and gift dressings, including but not limited to:

• Greeting cards.
• Notecards.
• Notepads.
• Gift bags.
• Wrapping paper.

The company are open to any graphic or illustrative style — geometric patterns, painterly illustrations, designs that feature characters or that use humour in a playful way.

There must be variety within the range, however designs must comfortably sit together to create a cohesive collection.

Target Audience

When developing the collection, the age range and gender of the target audience must be considered in relation to occasions and/or sending situation (Birthday, Valentine’s Day, Congratulations, everyday etc.) and choosing a flexible but cohesive colour palette. 

Mandatory Requirements.

• 4 x Single greeting cards: size 105 x 159mm, 121 x 184mm or 140 x 140mm — consider the designs of the envelope and the inside of the card too
• 1x Boxed notecard set: size 110 x 132mm
• 1x Gift bag: size 267x330mm
• 1x Repeating pattern for wrapping paper: show one or two swatch samples
• 1x Notepad Cover: A5 or A4
• Design sheet demonstrating how your ideas work as a collection. 

Interpretation

Through this brief I hope to create a greetings campaign that celebrates the quintessentially British perception of greeting cards through designs that playfully represent the notions of the nation. I hope to produce a far-reaching collection that will appeal to a large demographic.