(edited to add the url)  
not to argue with Nasser but only as a point of reference here is my design thought moved up to the middle of the card.  simply for comparisons.  and thank you for your comments kathy.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g51/holstonmtn/testcard1.jpg

One of the reasons I suggest there be a bit more copy or narrative about either the artist OR the image is that I believe there will also be more and more small retailers buying directly from GCU, just as there are now more artists buying their own cards to sell to retailers. This kind of copy (it has to be interesting and tell a story - the back story) is a selling point for a card on a rack. It is part of the personal touch that connects the buyer to the creator of the card. It is one reason people want cards directly from artists. People hunger to be connected to the source. I am not talking about something that says 'buy me'. It should be 'added value'. Just keep this in mind for the future.

http://www.catinkacards.com

This is pretty amazing and so powerful, it makes me proud that we have a community that works together so well and can hash out great ideas     Downside is it may be difficult to make everyone happy as the opinions and tastes vary, and there may not be a "perfect solution".

Here are some parameters to keep in mind for the back of the card. The right top and right bottom corners are used by our printing partner and are mandatory.  This makes the middle top or middle bottom spoken for as well since we can't risk things flowing into the restricted areas.  So this leaves the top left, bottom left and the center middle available to us.

My personal thoughts are as follows.  We never received any complaints regarding the back of the card before introducing the "free card" promotion.  A simple solution is to leave that area, top left, blank again and be done with it.  However, we thought that it was a big plus to convey that we're doing our share to help with the environment.  Chances that the FSC message is going to be received in a negative regard are slim.  

As for the appearance, we have seen a multitude of different card backings.  As Tom exhibits, they range from simple to busy.  We prefer to keep the artist information the same since it gets the message across that these are everyday artists and we're doing something different than what the traditional card makers have done in the past.  Agreed that some of the artist images need to be more professional.  Currently those images do not go through a review process.  It is left to each artist to use good taste and discretion.  That image is your calling card so to speak so it is in your best interest to have an appealing profile image.  All artists do have the option of suppressing the image from the BOC.  

I'm suggesting that we leave the boc "as is" for a few weeks to see if we get any positive/negative feedback.  It will also give most of you a chance to look at a real sample.   We can then revisit if the FSC logo should be smaller, different color or totally removed.  Since we are not directly the FSC approved party we do have to operate within certain limits in regard to their seal usage.

Thanks,
Nasser