Designers Selected as Part of Anti-Ageism Campaign

Changing the Narrative is excited to announce that another round of age-positive cards is coming. We’ve selected 10 greeting card designers from around the country to create age-positive birthday cards as part of our ongoing campaign to end ageism. (Keep reading and learn who they are!)

​In 2020, Changing the Narrative launched an anti-ageist birthday card campaign, calling for artists to design cards that challenge the notion perpetuated in many birthday cards that we should feel bad about our age and that aging is all about decline. The campaign has been more successful than we hoped, with coverage in over 20 popular podcasts and media outlets. People have told us that they want more!

Ageism is out of style

We know that ageism isn’t funny; it’s harmful. A survey found that 93% of older adults in the U.S. experience ageism, and research by Dr. Becca Levy of the Yale School of Public Health shows that having negative beliefs about aging affects our physical and mental health, increases the likelihood of developing dementia, and decreases our life span.

Our culture perpetuates stereotypes about every generation that are both limiting and inaccurate. We have at least as much in common across generations that we do within them. It’s time to break down age stereotypes that hurt us all at every age.

Per Sarah Schwartz, AKA The Paper Nerd, editor-in-chief of Stationery Trends Magazine:

“’Over the hill’ cards have been the norm and that concept wasn’t challenged until recently. The conversation is changing. But cultural changes take a while. The momentum is building. Cards are micro-conversations. With one card and one person, you can evolve your perspective.”

Meet the age-positive card designers

The designers, selected from a national call for card designs, are:

Lauren-Ashley Barnes, Pineapple Sundays Design Studio 
Traci Bixby, Mossy Blue Paper Studio 
Karen Kennedy, and the moon will rise
Marina Kiskovich & Mitzi Sampson, Ampersand M Studio 
Hilary Meehan, Mirthos Paper
Melissa Mika, Page Fifty Five
Karen Ritz, Karen Ritz Cards
Lucia Saisse, Lucy Loves Paper 
Aarica Smith, Infectious Design Co.
Kate Wooley, The Noble Paperie

Nora Weiser, Executive Director of the Greeting Card Association (GCA) is “proud that 8 of the artists selected this year are GCA members.” She goes on to say that “these talented industry professionals are contributing to changing the narrative around how we view, and celebrate, aging one card at a time.”

“We are thrilled to have this talented group of designers step up and show that there are alternatives to outdated, ageist birthday cards. We can’t wait to see what clever and age-positive concepts they come up with,” enthused Janine Vanderburg, Changing the Narrative’s Director. Designs will be available for purchase from the designers in January 2023.

Our goal at Changing the Narrative is to not only raise awareness and understanding of ageism but also to make a real-world difference. We want to change how people think, talk, and act about aging and ageism. We want to change the messages we hear in our workplaces, in our doctors’ offices, and in our everyday lives and we want to change the stories we tell about ourselves as we age.

Join us in spreading a realistic and positive view of aging, starting with more age-positive birthday cards. Want to learn more about what else you can do to end ageism? Check out our Ageism Activism Center.

Sara Breindel, Changing the Narrative blogger