25 Apr Five Tips for Designing a Birthday Invitation
Are you tired of the typical online birthday invites, with their generic text and stock images? Are you looking for something different than the same old confetti spray or balloons you’ve seen on the boxed cards at the store? Do you want a unique invitation that gets your guests excited about coming to your party? Then you’ve probably decided to design your own. But where to start?
If you’re wondering how to make a good birthday invitation that features your personal style, these five tips should help.
How to Make a Good Birthday Invitation
- Make sure you’re designing in the right size. Standard sized card envelopes fit a 5×7 inch card. These are called A7 envelopes. If you design any larger than this, you will need to either fold your card or choose a non-standard size of envelope.
- Keep in mind the six basic principles of design: line, shape, color, typography, texture, and space. Decide on the emotional message you’re trying to convey and play with these six elements to make a birthday invitation that feels spot-on. Be selective though—you don’t want your design to look so jumbled that the message is unclear. Be sure to leave enough white space for the eyes to relax, and stick to one or two fonts. Remember that repetition creates comfort and emphasis draws attention.
- Don’t forget the details! Be sure to mention who the guest of honor is, the location of the event, whether it will be outdoors, what time span it will cover, if your guests are allowed to bring others with them, if gifts are welcome (or politely discouraged), and whether or not RSVPs are needed.
- Consider designing by hand! Many wonderful birthday invitations are hand-drawn, which opens the door to creative expression. A watercolor painting with elaborate calligraphy could be the perfect way to capture the spirit of your Bridgerton-themed birthday party, but you won’t want to draw it thirty times. Scanning and printing a hand-drawn design will allow you to reproduce it easily and beautifully. However, be sure to take it to a local print shop. They can scan your artwork in high resolution and help you optimize your design for print.
- Print professionally instead of relying on your home printer or ordering prints online. Desktop printers simply can’t produce the same results as a professional print shop. And mass-retailers often leave their customers frustrated with misprints, long waiting times, shipping delays, and a lack of personalized service. Using a local print shop will take the headache and hassle out of printing your invites while keeping your production costs low.
Where to Print Birthday Invitations Locally
After your design is completed and you’re ready to go, get in touch with a print shop near you. Here at Mousegraphics in Tempe, we can help you get the best results for your custom-designed birthday invitations. Not only will we ensure that your cards print up beautifully, we can also offer you in-person customer service. If you need suggestions on paper types, envelope size, laminate finishes, or how to use original artwork, we can help. To request a quote, just send us a message or drop by for a chat!