Online greeting cards specialist thortful goes live with 'industry first' Face Swap feature on app

thortful has launched a new Face Swap feature on its mobile app, allowing users to swap faces with their favourite (and least favourite) celebrities, characters and personalities.

To create greetings cards, thortful integrates templates designed and uploaded by its 6,000+ local creators and technology. The process begins by analysing the photo you upload, detecting key facial features like eyes, nose, mouth, and overall face shape.

These features are then digitally extracted and adjusted to match the pose, lighting, and style of the chosen card design. The technology blends your face into the design. Customer privacy is also prioritised, by ensuring that no photos are stored with third parties, nor are they used to train any AI face swap models.

Peter Davies, Chief Technical Officer at thortful, says: “Innovation and personalisation is always at the heart of thortful. Our brand new Face Swap cards combine cutting edge technology with our commitment to supporting independent creators for the ultimate card personalisation."

"Our use of this technology is focused on enhancing creativity and making the card giving experience even more fun and meaningful, making sure every card feels as thoughtful as it is unique - not to mention downright hilarious.”

“These Face Swap cards are designed to be playful, cheeky, and memorable, offering a new form of card personalisation to connect with friends and family. We can’t wait to see the amazing designs our amazing customers come up with.”

Pip Heywood, Managing Director at thortful, says: “We’re taking photocards to the next level with Face Swap - an industry first feature that combines humour, personalisation, and creativity in a way only thortful can. It’s a proud milestone for a small but ambitious business, proving an agile business like ours can outpace even the biggest tech giants.”

RTIH AI in Retail Awards

RTIH, organiser of the industry leading RTIH Innovation Awards, proudly brings you the first edition of the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, which is now open for entries. 

As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.

As AI sees increasing adoption in the retail space, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.

Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.

Winners willl be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 3rd July. This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.

Please email our Editor, Scott Thompson, if you have any questions or need further information: scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com

FAQs

Is there a fee to enter the awards?: No, it is free of charge.

Can I enter across multiple categories: Yes.

Do I need to complete all the sections in the entry form? No, but the more information you provide, the better chance you have of producing a successful submission.

Is there a certain timeframe for nominated projects, initiatives etc? Yes, nominated projects, initiatives etc should have been completed (or substantially completed) during the last 12 months.

Who has visibility of our completed entry form and what information will be public should we win or be shortlisted? Only our Editor, Scott Thompson, and judging panel will view submissions. The information provided in the summary section of the entry form will be made public.

Do you only accept entries from UK-based companies? No, we accept entries from all parts of the world.

What is the shortlists process? Shortlists will be announced in April 2025, then shortlisted entries will be sent to our independent judging panel who will decide upon the winners and highly commended submissions. Shortlisted companies will be invited to attend an awards ceremony at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 3rd July 2o25.

Do winners and highly commended companies receive post-event coverage? Yes, post-event coverage includes articles on our website and also an in-depth awards review in our printed magazine. There is also the opportunity for a company profile type piece to be published on our site and within our magazine.

When is the deadline for 2025 submissions? Friday, 23rd May 2025.

When will the 2025 winners be revealed? Winners will be announced at an event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 3rd July. This will kick off with a drinks reception, followed by a three course meal, awards ceremony, and after party featuring DJ until midnight.

Who will be judging submissions? Details of our 2025 judging panel will be announced in the near future.