Thank-You Card Design Essentials

If you've recently celebrated a wedding, birthday, anniversary, graduation or other special event you can express your appreciation to well-wishers by sending thank-you cards. Creating your own thank-you cards allows you to quickly personalize how you want to say thank you. The sky is the limit when it comes to thank-you card design, so long as you follow the rules detailed below.

Start with a template

Download a free thank-you card design layout template before you start your project. These templates do not contain any graphic elements, so you're free to design whatever you'd like. They're useful because they contain a layer (which you will delete) with helpful guidelines so you know how far to extend your backgrounds, where the center of your designs should be, and where the paper will be cut during the finishing process. They're also pre-formatted in the proper resolution and color mode, so you don't have to worry about making a mistake when you go to press.

Personalize

If you're going to custom design thank-you cards, you should take the advantage of the opportunity to personalize your design. Photos of the person doing the thanking or even of the event itself are ideal. For example, newlyweds could print thank-you cards with a photo of them running hand-in-hand under a shower of rice; while graduates could adorn the front of their thank-you cards with a shot of them tossing their caps high into the air. Don't be afraid to be artistic with your thank-you card designs - the more original they are, the more likely they are to become long-remembered keepsakes instead of just light fodder that ends up in the trash can. Illustrations, collages and humor are also good ideas for creative thank-you card designs.

Be judicious with fonts and colors

All too often amateur designers load their designs with too many colors and fonts, or fonts that do not fit the occasion. Comic Sans is not a respected font in design circles, largely for its overuse among amateurs. There is rarely a good reason to use more than two fonts in any given medium, and the same holds true for thank-you cards. However, feel free to employ a kaleidoscope of colors if it matches your tone; otherwise experiment with just two or three colors or even varying hues of the same base color.

Print quality thank-you cards

Your thank-you card paper can make all the difference between a drab design and one that shines remarkably. Choose a premium paper such as gloss cover text or a recycled matte cover text. The former offers a brilliant sheen that will make your colors stand out, the latter enriches colors for a deep, meaningful appeal. Print with soy inks for more vibrant colors; and keep in mind that the combination of premium matte recycled paper and soy inks makes for an eco-friendly solution to thank-you card printing.