Greeting Card Designers and Writers
Overview
Introduction
Greeting card designers and writers either work as freelancers or as staff members of greeting card and gift manufacturers. Designers use artistic skills to create illustrated or photographic images for cards, posters, mugs, and other items generally sold in card shops and on the Internet; writers compose the expressions, poems, and jokes that accompany the images. The Greeting Card Association estimates that there are approximately 3,000 large and small greeting card publishers in America.
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Salaries vary widely among freelance greeting card writers and designers. Some card designers and writers sell only a few ideas a year. Others make a great deal of money, working exclusively with a company, or by manufacturing and distributing their own lines of cards and products. Card companies typically pay freelancers fees for each idea they buy. Some manufacturers may offer a royalty payme...
Work Environment
Both writers and designers spend most of their time in an office, whether at home or in a company's space. Much of their work is done on a computer, whether they are designing images or writing copy. However, coming up with the initial ideas may involve a more creative routine. Many artists have certain activities that inspire them, such as listening to music, looking at photography and art boo...
Outlook
According to the Greeting Card Association (GCA), the greeting card industry's retail sales have increased steadily from $2.1 billion in 1980 to between $7 and $8 billion today. From designing animated e-mail messages to greeting card software programs, greeting card writers and designers will likely find more and more outlets for their work. Advances in Web technology should also aid the card ...
