Chemo to coming out, Hallmark has the card

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“My guess is it’s a breakthrough for a large company like a Hallmark,” she said.

The new line includes cards tackling cancer diagnoses, quitting smoking, caring for an aged parent, miscarriage, anniversaries of loss, loved ones in the military and traumatic loss, such as someone dying in an accident or homicide.

Others are more happy and even humorous, celebrating a year being cancer-free, nearing the end of chemotherapy or general encouragement for teenagers. There are even a few birthday cards encouraging the recipient to celebrate even though they’ve had a rough year.

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Some cards feature whimsical or inspiring photographs — a baby making faces, a marathon runner — but the majority feature abstract designs or just words in flowing script. Card designers said they aimed for bright colors that matched the mood of the card, ranging from bright orange for the more hopeful cards to purples and blues for somber notes.

‘Pull back from the electronic age’
Writing the cards proved a challenge because the messages were designed to take a more personal approach than the standard sympathy card, said card writer Sarah Mueller.

“You can’t send somebody who is seriously depressed a ‘cheer-up’ card, because it’s insulting and it doesn’t help,” Mueller said. “That’s what depression does, is it makes you feel like you’re all alone. So just being able to write something, the attempt was just to say, ‘I’m here.’ ”

Fellow card writer Linda Morris said society has become more open to discussing people’s feelings on difficult topics, such as divorce or drug recovery or serious illness, which is why people are demanding cards that deal with those issues.

“There was a time when we weren’t so detached, when writing a note to someone was very simple, when picking up the phone and calling was just what you did,” Morris said. “So cards fulfilling that need in that specific way may not have been quite as intense. But now we need to know, and we need to pull back from the electronic age, and we need to be more specific because it’s not as detached anymore.”

No topics were off-limits, said company spokeswoman Rachel Bolton, noting two cards that could be sent to gay people who have disclosed their sexuality. The cards don’t directly refer to homosexuality, only extolling the person to “Be you” or “This is who I am” or featuring a rainbow, a symbol of gay pride.

More time spent choosing card
Bolton said the writing is general enough for other uses, however, with one focus group member saying they would send it to a friend starting a new job.

“Our findings determined that people didn’t want to be labeled or identified,” Bolton said. “We want to be inclusive and not exclusive.”

Steffens said Hallmark is limiting Journeys to its Gold Crown stores because research showed those customers devoted the most time to selecting a card and Journeys invites a great deal of reading. But she said the company may eventually target a smaller range of the cards for hospital gift shops and some drugstores.

While Miller, with the Greeting Card Association, said the greeting card market is largely stable these days, Steffens said the Journeys line could help Hallmark move the needle a little bit, especially with customers who haven’t bought cards because they couldn’t find what they needed.