The GCA’s New Creative Talent project has built up a series of resources to both support GCA members looking to recruit new creative talent, and to offer a route into the industry for those looking to join. This project is led by industry creative leader and talent spotter Geoff Sanderson, from Jungle Studio, and below he shares details of some of the graduates he’s working with this year and updates on the progress of some of those showcased in 2023.
‘Calling Cards’ for the students Geoff has picked to highlight to GCA members are available to download below, including students contact details.
2024 Showcase
New Designers 2024
This first showcase features a motivated group of recent graduates who have expressed an interest in working in the greetings industry. All these young creatives have a passion for cards and are available for work.
Left: Chloe Tebbutt, Grace Fiteni, Cerys Howells. Middle: Ben Thompson. Right: Aleksandra & Mckenzie – Arka Studio
Each was asked to design a simple 1 page ‘calling card’ to share with you. This calling card is like a business card or flyer giving a quick overview of their style and recent work. Below are a couple of examples and the full set are available in the downloads below.
It has been a joy to work with this group and all have great talent, potential and come highly recommended
Newcastle College of Art Project
This is an example of what can be achieved by working with your local Uni or College and a group of engaged and motivated students. Last year, I moved back to the North East coast and settled in the centre of the cultural, creative regeneration zone in North Shields. Not only do I enjoy a thriving creative community, amazing walks along sandy beaches and the best fish n chips in the UK, as one of the 1978 alumni I’ve also rekindled my relationship with Newcastle College of Art for live briefs and projects during term time.
I pitched a greetings card range development brief to over 60 final year degree students across a diverse array of courses, from fashion to interiors to illustration, which also harnesses the full teaching power and facilities of the faculty. The project ran over 3 months and a series of creative critiques. The 60 became a shortlist of 8 who were able to pitch their ideas to a real-life client in an off-site boardroom which garnered real-life commercial as well as creative feedback. With final designs being further developed and finessed post-graduation as part of my mentoring scheme, the final concepts are now heading for client approval. Download the students calling cards below.
GCA New Creative Talent Project One year On
For further context. I also thought a progress update on the 2023 showcase group was worth a quick heads-up.
In the last year, some of this group have gone on to take an MA or find jobs, but most are juggling the demands of a job to pay the rent and balancing that with finding freelance work, self-publishing/selling on Etsy and keeping the candle burning on ambitions to work in the industry. I’m happy to report that many have had some of their work published with Moonpig amongst others.
From small seeds grow mighty trees. Seeing work published is a great motivator, PR opportunity and springboard for their next stage of development and evolution. In the images below are some examples of those cards.
What the Graduates Say
To bring the voice of the graduate into this piece, I asked both the 2024 and 2023 graduating groups if they could say a few words on the following: Why do greeting cards interest you? How are you bridging the gap between Uni and work? and what are the benefits of mentoring, work placement schemes including the GCA NCT project?
From the 2024 group…
Cerys Howells said: “The greetings card industry offers illustration graduates a chance to learn how their work will resonate with people through their designs. Opportunities like this help graduates network, while mentoring has helped… With this guidance, new artists like me can build a path towards a successful career”.
Chloe Tebbutt said; “I would say that the mentoring project has been a really big lifeline after finishing uni, ….. I felt quite overwhelmed by the idea of suddenly needing to find work and project an image of professionalism when I understand how to create good work for a brief but don’t really understand how any real creative industries work or how to interact with them. Having someone mentor me who supports my ideas but also completely understands the parts of the process that I don’t is a really significant bridge over the huge gap between university and real work as an illustrator”.
Grace Fiteni said: “I like using my art to connect with a wide range of people in a heartfelt way! Although finding work in the creative sector after university has been a struggle as most jobs seem to be hidden or only accessible through having the right industry links already. This project feels like it’s able to help me put my name out there in a professional manner and expand my network which I’m excited to explore”.
Ben Thompson said: “I’ve always been drawn to greeting cards because they combine creativity, humour, and connection in a simple yet powerful way. I love how a quick, witty phrase or a fun illustration can instantly bring a smile to someone’s face. Greeting cards are a perfect outlet for my passion for cartoons and comedy. Mentoring has provided me with invaluable opportunities for growth and development, along with real industry feedback. It pushes my creative boundaries and helps me become the best designer I can be”.
Natalie Foster said: “This industry allows me to explore the connection between illustration and emotion. I enjoy getting to work decoratively while connecting to people in meaningful ways”.
Sarah Ferry said: “Creating my brand FAFICF as part of a Uni brief has been exciting as I feel I’ve found something that could be unique in the greeting cards industry. After graduation I’ve found funding the software I need to practice, develop, and maintain my skills is my biggest challenge, after balancing my time with paid employment (not in industry) to pay the bills and developing FAFICF concept into a business. Mentoring offers me a guiding hand in an industry I know little about. Having someone to turn to for advice is of great benefit while attempting to start a greetings card design business”.
Charlene Cowan said: “I love the greetings card industry as there are so many opportunities to apply and explore my own creativity whilst appealing to a wide market and contributing to a diverse range of communities celebrations and beliefs”.
From the 2023 group…
Sara Hassan said: “After graduating last year and finding out about greetings industry opportunities from GCA, it has aided my creative motivation immensely. Seeing my designs published online has boosted my creative confidence, making the dream of working freelance full-time feel like a more reachable goal”.
Sophie Moran said : “As an illustrator, I love designing greetings cards as it’s one of the best ways to spread joy, knowing that your card will be given to someone to brighten their day makes designing it so much more fun as I try to make it as bright and cheerful as possible. I think the biggest difficulty of finding work after Uni is contacts, knowing the right people to contact and what to say is hard. A pathways like work placement and mentoring schemes helped that as it offers guidance and opportunities along with a helping hand, so it takes that sense of unknown and stress away. Seeing my designs go live on Moonpig was really surreal, it didn’t feel real at all. My friends have since sent me pictures of the cards they’ve bought from my collection, and it still hasn’t sunk in that they exist now!”
Matt Gleeson said: “I feel that working with mentoring and GCA information has allowed me as an illustrator to find my footing in the industry and the chance to work on projects that give me the tools and tips I need to create work that is marketable whilst still giving me the freedom to create work that I like and that interests me”.
…and finally, from a parent of one of these graduates.
Sophie Tait said: “It’s been really exciting to see Ruby’s designs on such a big commercial card website. It’s great that new illustrators are being supported and getting their first opportunity to sell commercial designs”.
Going forward and bridging the gap.
Thinking about our initiative going forwards.
In many ways post-graduates are in their own no-man’s-land, between a lifetime of education and a desire to be in the real world; whether setting up their own business to be self-sufficient, becoming freelance or finding a job to start their careers. Many work in retail and hospitality to pay the rent which in turn can create practical demands that start to change their focus and priorities, and some maybe even fall through the net.
We all know it’s a tough world out there but to my mind, education, and the graduates themselves can only do some of the job in bridging this gap. You can see from the comments above that once shown the door to our industry there’s a real desire to enter it.
If our industry can continue to provide the bridge, i.e. an experience or opportunity, no matter how big or small, it can help pave the way for encouraging more relevant talent into our category as well as developing your own business needs. The more time taken to explain or mentor makes all the difference between innovation and commerciality, what sells and what doesn’t. This is the thing that separates raw talent from valuable people and ideas.
Background on Geoff Sanderson
GCA member and industry creative leader Geoff Sanderson has held several senior roles in the greeting card industry – as Creative Director of Tigerprint/M&S, Group Creative Director of Hallmark UK and for several years Design Director at Moonpig.
Geoff has long recognized the opportunity for bringing new talent into the industry. Geoff has kindly given his time and expertise to work with the GCA to help GCA members looking to recruit new creative talent, and also to develop a graduate recruitment pathway that is a common and well established route to new talent in many other industries.
See Further Information below for links to other work on this project.
Call to action
If you’re thinking about recruiting new creative talent – do look at the Calling Cards from graduates Geoff has mentoring below, and get in touch with them!
Also look at Geoff’s top tips below – and if you’re not looking to recruit yet maybe think about offering work experience.
We appreciate and know that many GCA members are involved in building these bridges, working with colleges and students already, and if possible it’d be great to hear your experiences and stories from 2024 so we can share these and continue to build a picture of what is being done in our industry to attract new creative talent. Promoting what is being done is also good PR and will help us refine a New Creative Talent programme for 2025.
Promoting our industry to art collages and Universities is important to encourage new creative talent to consider greeting card industry as a career, and ensure that we continue to lead the world in greeting card innovation and design, so that the UK card industry continues to thrive.
All feedback welcome please contact geoffsanderson@mac.com or hello@gca.cards
Further Information
For further information on recruiting new talent to your design team see blogs below:
Top tips on on recruiting New Creative Talent
The Secret of Creative Innovation and Succession Planning
New Creative Talent Class of 2023
Connecting Students with the Greeting Card Industry
If you are interested in visiting your local college or university look at the GCA Toolkit for Student Presentations, you can download and amend for your business
Downloads
