2015 LOUIE Awards
This year was a record-breaking year for the LOUIE Awards, and our winning companies were certainly deserving of praise.
The Greeting Card Association (GCA) announced the winners of its 27th International Greeting Card Awards Competition, the “LOUIE Awards” at their signature Gala event in May. Among the winners in the 59 categories, including the new LGBTQ category, top honors for “Cards of the Year” went to Sunrise (in the $4 and below category) and Ladyfingers Letterpress (in the $4 and above category).
“The quality, artistry, and ingenuity of this year’s LOUIE Award winners lived up to our theme, ‘The Roaring LOUIE’s,’ and demonstrates the vibrancy of the $8 billion greeting card and social expression industry,” said 27th LOUIE Awards Chair Tina Benavides and vice president, Core Cards, Creative Division, American Greetings. “There’s simply no substitute for a paper card, one that you can hold in your hand or display at your home or office,” she said.
More than 200 companies throughout the world submitted 1,100 entries for the GCA’s LOUIE Awards, the definitive competition for the greeting card and social expression industry. All entries were marketed and sold in the U.S. in 2014. Launched in 1988, as the International Greeting Card Awards, the “LOUIEs” are named after Louis Prang, the German-born Boston lithographer and publisher, who often is referred to as the “Father of the American Christmas Card.” A Blue Ribbon Panel of six judges selected two “Cards of the Year” from among all categories. A panel of industry experts judged all entries against five criteria: originality, impact, design excellence, “sendability,” and value; all identifying information about the submitting company was withdrawn from the entries.
The LOUIEs celebrate the art, editorial, and design of greeting cards, invitations, and announcements and reinforce the relevance of sending and receiving them in today’s digital world. Sponsors of this year’s LOUIE Awards included: American Greetings, Designer Greetings, Hallmark, NSS, Universal Presentation Concepts, Avanti, Neenah, Bobst and Madison Park Group. Several companies provided in-kind donations such as materials for the LOIUIE Awards call for entries, invitations, gala décor and other items. Thanks to in-kind supporters including the following companies: American Greetings, Appleton Coated, BrightMARKS, Exclusive Bordering, Fine Impressions, Infinity Foils, J.S. McCarthy Printers, Leader Paper Products, Neenah Paper, Universal Engraving, Inc., and Universal Presentation Concepts.
All 2015 LOUIE winners can be viewed on Instagram.
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