Unique Birthday Invitation Ideas

Designing birthday invitations seems simple enough on the surface, but when you dig deeper you quickly realize that there aren't a lot of variations of the traditional "come to my birthday party" invitations on the market. As a graphic designer you undoubtedly want your work to come across as unique and original, but how do you pull it off without straying from the unchangeable message? By playing with theme, colors, shapes and sizes - the arsenal of all good graphic designers. Hopefully you can use the following as inspiration for coming up with your own unique birthday invitation designs.

Birthday invitation themes

Perhaps the easiest way to spark your creativity for a new birthday invitation design is to decide on a theme, something that isn't a balloon-and-birthday-cake image. Tap into the unique personalities of various consumer groups and hobbyists, for starters. You could go with an Edgar Allan Poe theme for the literary crowd, a surfing theme for beach bodies or a medieval theme for the history buff. If your birthday invitation is being designed around a milestone, such as a 50th birthday, forget the tired "over the hill" message and craft something truly unique. A birthday invitation that mimics a history museum invitation to the exhibit of "artifacts" of someone's life on the 50th anniversary of their birth might be just the ticket. Once you have your birthday invitation theme, conduct some research to find stock images, vectors, icons and other graphics as well as relevant imagery ideas you can use to create an incredible, personalized invitation design.

Birthday invitation colors

So many birthday invitations incorporate bright blue, red and yellow - standard-issue balloon colors. Instead of a color collage, try making your invitation in one solid color with small, simple text. Or choose a different color entirely, one that is unique to your subjects. Again playing along theme lines, think of surf green for guitar enthusiasts (a famous Fender color), or perhaps a combination of India ivory and colonial cream for classic car lovers (this combo was available on the original '57 Chevy).

Birthday invitation shapes

When you have the power of professional printing at your fingertips, you can create an amazing birthday invitation design that features die-cut shapes. Imagine printing a birthday invitation in the shape of the aforementioned guitar, classic car, Poe's raven or black cat, or any number of other theme shapes. Your design will be instantly noticed and - more importantly - appreciated, making it a classic in its own right.

Birthday invitation sizes

Who says birthday invitation sizes are limited to 7-inch by 5-inch? For more flair, how about a 10-inch by 7-inch or even a 13-inch by 17-inch? Larger birthday invitations speak of importance, allow you to go into more details in your designs, and ultimately make for a more memorable piece of work. Don't forget to order matching envelopes so you're not left with 200 invitations and no way to send them!