Joining the Judging Panel for The Henries Awards 2025
I was honoured to be invited to join the judging panel for the 2025 Henries Awards, widely regarded as the UK’s most prestigious celebration of greeting card design and publishing.
As both a greeting card retailer and publisher, it was a real privilege to spend time reviewing such an extraordinary range of creativity, humour, artistry and innovation from across the industry.
One of the things people often don’t fully appreciate about greeting cards is just how much thought goes into creating designs that genuinely connect with people emotionally. A great card has to do so many things at once. It has to catch someone’s eye from across a shop. It has to communicate a feeling quickly and clearly. And most importantly, it has to make somebody think: “That’s exactly right for them.”.
Judging the awards gave me a fascinating insight into the sheer breadth of talent within the industry, from beautiful illustration and clever captions to fresh ideas in print finishes, format and storytelling. There was also something incredibly encouraging about seeing how much care and originality still exists within greeting cards at a time when many industries are becoming increasingly homogenised.
Because I spend every day on a real shop floor, watching genuine customer behaviour unfold in real time, I think I brought a slightly different perspective to the judging process. I’m constantly observing which designs people physically stop for, which captions they laugh at, which cards make them emotional, and which products customers instinctively pick up and connect with.
Ultimately, greeting cards are not just products. They are emotional tools. They help people express love, grief, gratitude, encouragement, humour and connection, often during moments when words are difficult to find.
So to be invited to help recognise and celebrate the publishers and designers creating that work felt very special indeed.
The greeting card industry is full of some of the warmest, most creative and most generous people you could hope to meet, and it was a genuine pleasure to be part of recognising the incredible work happening within it.
