GREETING CARD ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES LOUIE AWARD FINALISTS

31st Annual “Oscars of the Greeting Card Industry” Celebrates Artistry and Creativity

WASHINGTON, DC – March 10, 2020 – The Greeting Card Association (GCA) announced the finalists for the LOUIE Awards, the United States greeting card industry’s only awards competition that recognizes the outstanding art, editorial and design of greeting cards and invitations. View the list of finalists and their cards at the official 2020 LOUIE Awards homepage. A list of the companies selected as finalists includes: 

  • Alpine Creative
  • American Greetings Corporation
  • Avanti Press
  • Backyard Paper Co.
  • Biely & Shoaf Co.
  • Bella Figura
  • Calypso Cards
  • CharmCat Creative
  • Chez Gagné
  • Coral & Blue Paper Co.
  • Dandelion Stationery
  • DaySpring
  • Dear Bea Design Works
  • Designer Greetings
  • Elūm Designs
  • Fine Moments
  • Gift Card Impressions An InComm Company
  • Ginger P. Designs
  • Good Juju Ink
  • Good Paper
  • Great Arrow Graphics
  • Hallmark Cards
  • Hello Holy Days!
  • Inklings Paperie
  • Karen Adams Designs
  • KB Paperie
  • Little Goat Paper Co.
  • Little Posy Print Company dist. by Notes & Queries, Inc.
  • Loudhouse Creative
  • Lovepop
  • Mozaic Paper
  • Ohh Deer
  • Paper Epiphanies
  • Paper Salad
  • Patent Press Greeting Cards
  • Persnickety Invitation Studio
  • Quilling Card
  • Recycled Paper Greetings
  • Red Oak Press
  • Roger la Borde
  • Rosanna Rossi
  • Sagebrushed
  • Santoro
  • Second Story Cards
  • Seedlings
  • SoundSentiments
  • The Card Bureau
  • the chatty press
  • The Pen + Piper
  • Think of Me
  • Up With Paper
  • UWP Luxe
  • Waste Not Paper
  • Wild Ink Press
  • WOW Paper Art

“It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to be a judge for this year’s 2020 LOUIE Awards, and I’m looking forward to gathering with industry colleagues on May 1st to celebrate the best and brightest cards of the year,” said Susan January, LOUIEs Judge and Vice President, Product Management at Leanin’​ Tree. “The LOUIES are a wonderful opportunity to highlight the outstanding creativity and craftsmanship in our industry. The celebration in San Francisco this May will perfectly reflect the core values of our industry and our product category. It’s a fun and friendly celebration of industry peers and colleagues who enthusiastically recognize each other’s product innovations, execution and creativity.”

LOUIE History and Judging Criteria

This will be the first time that the LOUIEs Celebration will be held outside of New York. The GCA launched the International Greeting Card Awards – known as the “LOUIEs” in honor of Louis Prang, the “Father of the American Christmas Card” – in 1988. The LOUIE Awards celebrate the art, editorial and design of greeting cards, invitations and announcements and reinforce the relevance of sending and receiving cards and invitations.

All LOUIE Award entries were marketed and sold in the U.S. in 2019. Any identifying information about the submitting company was withdrawn from each entry. A panel of 19 judges, comprised of executives and experts from throughout the industry, reviewed over 600 entries submitted by more than 142 companies in over 50 categories. And a Blue-Ribbon Panel of five judges selected two “Cards of the Year” and a “Judge’s Award for Excellence” from among all categories.

In their evaluation of all entries, judges used five criteria:

  1. Originality: Does the card take a unique approach to design, concept or execution?
  2. Impact: Does the card have emotional impact?
  3. Design Excellence: Is the overall look of this card visually appealing? Did the designer make good choices in typography and artwork arrangement?
  4. Sendability: Is the card likely to be bought and sent for the occasion or purpose specified by the category? Is its format and design functional?
  5. Value: Is this card priced appropriately based on the overall quality of the product?

LOUIE Awards Celebration

Winners will be announced at the 31st Annual LOUIE Awards Celebration on Friday, May 1 at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco, CA. Finalists and winners will be on display in the LOUIEs pavilion at Noted – The Greeting Card Expo, from May 1 -3, 2020.

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About the GCA

The Greeting Card Association is the U.S. trade association serving the greeting card and social expression industry. Its signature industry events include the LOUIE Awards, the annual fall Workshop and Retreat, and *Noted: The Greeting Card Expo® – an event created by and for the greeting card community.

Founded in 1941, the GCA is supported by more than 200 American and international publishers from businesses ranging from start-ups to established companies of all sizes, scopes and industry tenure — as well as suppliers that provide production services and wholesale product distribution. Read more about the GCA.