If you’ve got news big enough to share, it’s worth sharing in a memorable way. When a run-of-the-mill greeting card or a plain-text email just won’t do, why not create your own announcement design?
Whether you’re announcing a wedding, a baby, or a new fur baby, you can give your next big milestone extra meaning by creating a personalized announcement—and it’s super easy to do, even with no design background!
Just follow the beginner-friendly guide below, where we’ll cover everything you need to know:
- What to include in an announcement
- Most popular sizes for print and web
- How to make your own announcement
- Key announcement design elements and examples
- Ideas for when to send an announcement
What Should Your Announcement Include?
This one’s easy. Think about what you want to share and give all the details. To be fair, this might be easier said than done—but a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself these questions:
- What is the purpose of this announcement? (Is it just an announcement, or is it an invitation, too?)
- If it’s an invitation, what would someone need to know to decide whether to attend, and then arrive at the right time and place?
- What do you want the recipient to do, if anything, after receiving this invitation?
- Are there any helpful explanatory notes you might include? (Think dress code or instructions such as, “Please, no gifts!”)
- Are you sending this announcement physically or digitally?
For most announcements, you’ll want to include the following pieces of information:
- Milestone or event name
- Time and date
- Location
- RSVP or other call-to-action, if there is one
The graduation announcement below is a good example. It’s both an announcement and an invitation, so it provides all relevant event details and a clear instruction for RSVPs.
Most Popular Announcement Sizes for Print and Web
There are many standard announcement sizes, although you don’t have to choose something standard if you don’t want to. Most people choose a standard size if they’re printing at home (to fit home printer constraints) or if they’re mailing their announcements (to fit post office requirements).
The most popular sizes for print announcements are similar to standard greeting card or wedding card sizes, including:
- 4” x 6” (10.2 x 15.2 cm)
- 4.5” x 6.25” (11.4 x 15.9 cm)
- 5” x 7” (12.7 x 17.8 cm)
- 8.5” x 11” (21.6 x 27.9 cm)
If you’re sending digital announcements, then almost any size can work. For a list of current dimension and resolution recommendations, check out this guide to ALL the social media image sizes or this guide to everything Facebook.
How to Create a Personalized Announcement Design
Whether you’re planning to announce your news via print or web, you’ve got plenty of design platforms at your disposal. Pro designers often opt for Adobe software, while DIY creatives and beginners may prefer something more intuitive like PicMonkey.
If you choose to design your announcement with PicMonkey, the steps are simple:
- Brainstorm the key information you need to convey—time, date, etc.—and the overall tone you’d like to strike.
- Open a blank canvas or start with a creative announcement template.
- Bring your vision to life by typing in your text, uploading your own photos, experimenting with fonts and colors, inserting cool imagery, applying snazzy effects, and more.
- Export your file in either print or web format. (For a clean print that goes all the way to the edges of the paper, turn on crop and bleed marks. Pro subscribers can even save as a PDF to print at a professional print shop.)
- Share the news by posting your announcement on social media, sending it by email, or physically mailing it out.
- Sit back and wait for those sweet congrats messages to roll in!
Announcement Graphic Design 101: Tips & Essentials
No matter the size or method of sending, it’s the creative elements and design details that will make your announcement design truly yours.
Check out the ideas below, and then mix and match in whatever way makes your creative heart sing.
Fonts
Since the core message of your announcement is, well, a message, it’s important to choose a font that strikes the right tone:
- Traditional, high-end, or glam? Stick with a classic serif or an elegant calligraphic font.
- Modern and feminine? Try out a brush font like the ones you’ve seen on wedding invitations and Instagram quote posts.
- Quirky, playful, or fun? Consider a handwritten font, a cartoon-style outline font, or a cursive font with lots of loops and flourishes.
- Clean and contemporary? You can’t go wrong with a sans serif font. For extra personality, choose one with especially wide or especially tall letterforms.
And, if you don’t want to think about it? Fall back on one of these tried-and-true font pairings.
Photos
The elopement announcement just above is a nice illustration of this point, too—your announcement’s imagery matters just as much as the font.
To create a cohesive design, try to use a photo with the same feel as your font and your overall message. (If you’re designing in PicMonkey, you can add creative photo textures to match any mood!)
Background Images
Of course, you don’t need to put a photo on your announcement. Instead of your own photo, consider one of these equally eye-catching alternatives as a background:
Graphics
Along with photos and background images, graphics are another cool touch. These could be vectors (such as icons), hand-crafted illustrations, or even just simple shapes.
You could even turn a photo into an illustration for a delightful twist.
Nothing says “Awesome news!” like an eye-catching banner. Use a traditional banner element to add visual appeal, or make your announcement in the form of a social media banner.
Calendar
The perfect way to make your announcement indispensable is to make it useful to the recipients. Consider adding a functional detail like a mini calendar, which not only highlights your big date, but makes the announcement extra fridge-worthy.
Animation
If you’re sharing the big news digitally, you can do even more with your announcement design—like animating it! If you’re designing in PicMonkey, you can animate almost anything.
6 Life Milestones That Definitely Call for an Announcement
1. You’re Getting Married
There’s more to announce than just the wedding. There’s engagement announcements, save the dates, wedding announcements, wedding invitations, elopement announcements . . . No wrong way to celebrate love!
2. You’re Having a Baby
That bundle of joy won’t stay little long, so share the news fast.
3. You’re Moving Homes
With a new home announcement, be sure to share your new home address (and, if relevant, the date that you expect to move).
4. You’re Graduating
Mark the momentous occasion of any graduation—pre-k, kindergarten, high school, trade school, college, grad school. It’s all worth celebrating.
5. Your Business Is Growing
Whether you’re a solopreneur looking for a VA or work as an HR representative in a big company, there’s plenty to announce—grand openings, now hiring, under new management, holiday closures, and more.
6. You’re Retiring
Celebrate your last day at work (and perhaps inspire a little workplace envy) with a funny retirement announcement.
Life is too short to worry about the “right time” to send an announcement. If you have something you want to share, do it!
Literally any life milestone can be made more special with a unique announcement. And, by sharing the news, you’re sharing the joy. Start with an announcement template and make your news heard.
Cover image via ilnazgilov and Chipolla.
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