Hello
 
Ding ding Chimes in...... well funny you saying that, I have pondered over my logo a lot lately, does it detract because it has the union jack on the back? Is it far to bold, should I go milder, unfortinately I don't know the answers to my own question, however if they have been talked about I would like to know, because as I said I have been wondering for a bit if I should change it for the US market or completely re-design it.. help would be cool please in this discission, wondered a few times if it miffs people and to make it more general, size wise as far as the cards I have had they look good, but that's my oppinion.
 
I think that it's a good idea I mean if you dont like the back of the card credit have an option to take it off, thats cool with me don't want to anger peeps do we, we want them to come back so more options like this they have the better the shopping expericence in my wikkle oppionion anyways.
 
Would love some help though Mindy pls regarding the logo as its been paining the heck out of me.
 
Hugs
Moonie

Okay I'm chiming in  
 
I would be VERY UPSET if this feature is removed or made available to the customer to remove it.  I have been in business for nearly 15-years and my logo is on all my stores and products.  I have received business from having someone receive one of my cards and find my other websites and products, as well as become customers of GCU.
 
I do absolutely agree that what is on the back of many cards is not at all professional and I understand that might put off some customers.  I think having the artists rethink what they use as an image on the back of the card is a wonderful idea. Having a customer have the option of removing who made the card is in my opinion is nearly as bad as giving away a copyright  This is a site of artists and that's why its such a wonderful place for cards, to sell cards without any indication of who made them is moving in a direction towards generic greetings and I don't want to sell my cards that way.
 
So here are some thoughts to ponder...
 
Can we have a global preference for those artists who don't care if their info is on the back can offer the customer a way to remove it, and those like me who want it there can not offer the customer that option?
 
Or maybe GCU needs to step in and request all artists improve the look of their card backs.  Here are some great examples of a professional looking card backs and logos.
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=66480&w=1&ref= details_large_view
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=102722&w=1&ref =details_large_view
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=198295&w=1&ref =details_large_view
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=118212&w=1&ref =details_large_view
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=93481&w=1&ref= details_large_view
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=192710&w=1&ref =details_large_view
 
And here is my card back:
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=430246&w=1&ref =details_large_view
 
Let's learn from this and make the card backs better not let the customer remove the identity of the creator!

I couldn't agree more with Doreen - I for sure wouldn't like to see the option where customers can remove the credits on the back.
 
The first thing I do when I receive a card is look at the credits, to see who the artist is and/or where I can buy the card. Without the credits people would be able to find GCU, but would never find ME - and as much as I like the people I've met here, we're all in this for our sales, right?
 
I do agree that some of the logos aren't professional. I went for the 'text only' option as that is the least distracting and still clear enough to point customers in the right direction.
And let's face it, there will always be people complaining, some may even don't like the GCU credits on the back, but that's the way it is.
 
Just my two cents
 
~Antoinette

I think that this issue was bound to come up on GCU at some point.
 
From my POV as an artist:
 
I have no problem with doing away with a graphic logo - because it's not necessary... Hallmark, American Greetings, Blue Mountain, etc don't have particular artists' logos and it doesn't hurt their sales one bit.  I think not having a logo is a much "cleaner" look.  I also don't mind if GCU does away with the artist's GCU link... not necessary.
 
Having said that... having the ability to remove an artist's name on the back of the card is completely unacceptable.  Do a "Designed by..." or "Artist" as in "Designed by Jane Doe", or "Artist - Jane Doe" but don't remove an artist's name, until GCU has an artist under contract!  I think GCU should continue to promote the artist with, at the very least, their name - can I be any clearer on this?  This also allows both the buyer and recipient who liked the card to visit GCU and search for that particular artist's art and designs...
 
Lastly - I knew painters/artists who 30+ years ago submitted their designs to Hallmark.  Eventually they were offered contracts with Hallmark, paid very well - well enough to support a growing family, were exclusive to Hallmark and were able to continue to paint and sell their artwork as an artist aside from being a greeting card designer FOR Hallmark.  That was a long time ago, and the ways of business certainly could have changed since then and it would be interesting to find out!
 
Since reading this topic, I called 5 female friends who have absolutely no problem walking into the local grocery store or "drug" stores like Walgreens and CVS to purchase cards - they were firm that they didn't care one iota about the back of the greeting card, except, they ALL said they tend to look at the back of the card out of habit to see whether it's a "Hallmark, American Greetings, etc..."  
 
I agree with them... I can't imagine why any buyer would even care about what's on the back of a greeting card except for who made it... most buyers couldn't care, but they certainly do care about cost.
 
Hope this opinion helps

Okay 3 more cents just to add to Donna's great input...
 
There is a HUGE difference with being an artist for Hallmark, American Greetings and so on.  I am in the business to license my art and know that IF you are an artist whose cards are Hallmark, you are making a living because Hallmark doesn't license artist's work, they hire artists and pay them a salary...not at all the same thing as those of us selling cards at GCU.  American Greetings may do the same as Hallmark now, but if not then they license the art and most likely paid the artist a decent licensing fee to use the image for some period of time and so on...Again the artist was paid several hundred dollars to allow them to make cards from it.  In these cases I would not expect to have my name anywhere on the card.  We at GCU are not under contract, the game is different and therefore so are the rules.
 
Hallmark, American Greetings and so on DO have a logo on the back of their cards, it's their own logo...why?  So people will go back and buy more cards they have already paid their artist's to create!
 
GCU is very different.  This is a place where at best we make 56-cents a card, now that's a lot of card sales to try and make a living.  We sell our cards here to supplement our living and that is difficult to do if there is no way for a customer to return to that artist's store as a repeat customer.  I have only been on GCU since April, but I chose this place over several others BECAUSE it was an 'artist friendly' environment.  A place where I could sell my cards and add these wonderfully professional cards to my offerings of products.  My logo and business name is my branding and its a MUST for building a business.  
 
I had a booth last Saturday at a local event where I showed off samples of my GCU cards and handed out coupons with the running promo to gain customers.  Over 200 people stopped by my booth and every single one of them that picked up a card, looked at the back!    
 
I think its a shame if we let a few customers who complained about the back of a card set a precedence that changes the whole feel of GCU and removes the artist from the customer base simply because GCU has not set any standards for artists to follow when it comes to store name and logo.  A logo is the best tool an artist has for 'branding' their name and/or business.
 
Please DO NOT punish those of us who work nearly 24-hours a day to make a living building our art business by over-reacting to a situation that is easily handled by a few set of standards and perhaps a one-time approval process by GCU staff.

This is a very interesting topic, to say the least.  And, I do have an opinion:
 
To remove to artist credits from the back of the cards seems contrary to the phrase, "Connecting Artists & Card Buyers."  I would be very disappointed if this were to happen, and I would not choose to leave off my artist information from the backs of my cards.  Please note, that I do not use a logo on my cards, only my name and the GCU url with my shop name.  
 
I would bet that 99.99% of people who receive a greeting card look at the back, curious to see who designed it, or maybe just to see if the giver really '(cared) enough to send the very best."  People like to know these things, whether the card is the funniest, prettiest, strangest or ugliest darn thing they've ever received, they want to know where this idea came from.
 
Now from the buyer's side, I have often thought about the wedding anniversary party, elopement announcements and wedding attendant invitations that I have sold and thought about the logos and text on the backs of those cards.  I can understand that customers may not want this (boc) information on these special cards, but, here is something to consider:  Our cards are appropriately classified as 'informal social stationery,'  therefore, I believe that logos are acceptable.  (As opposed to formal social stationery, where there are no logos, signatures, etc., though the paper itself may have a watermark that distinguishes it from another.)
 
And my last little bit on this:  I don't always sign my cards on the front for images that I upload to GCU, sometimes, I think that the card will have a cleaner look without anything additional, even my name.  I have always felt very good about the fact that here at GCU my name will be on the back and I'll have credit as the designer of my own art (fancy that one) rather than just being a tiny signature partially hidden under a design element.  I agree with other artist, that this is the way that people will find me and my cards again, if they like the one that they have purchased or received.
 
Okay, that's my 2 and one-half cents on this one.
 
Thanks, Mindy, I really appreciate the opportunity for a dialog on this subject.
 
Penny

Absolutely unacceptable.  As far as I am personally concerned, the efforts the GCU staff makes to "regulate" cards done by artists already is altogether wrong.
 
If a person buys a card at a store, they surely don;t worry about the back of the card, the credits, or logos.  And if they do, then they simply don't buy them.
 
Getting credit for one's artwork is about the only real reason for selling a card and only making less than 50 cents.  Removing this exposure negates any reason for doing the work, creating, rendering, imagining, and all the other effort it takes to make an image that is worth putting into print.
 
If all that appears on the back is the "GCU" logo, then customers will figure that "GCU" made the card.  Wow....that's amazing you could even suggest something so ....ah, forget it.