Invitations are the only way of having complete creative control over how you announce a particular event. Since time immemorial, various societies and cultures have held the act of invitation in high regard. For wedding invitations, it is still a custom in many societies to personally invite every guest. However, in today’s world, where time is a commodity more important than gold, people just don’t go out to invite everyone personally. What’s more, the tradition of sending handwritten and printed invitations is also going out of fashion. These days, it’s all about online invitations. In this article, we’ll go over the process of creating a stunning one.
Finding the Right Tools
To make invitations online for free, you should first be on the lookout for an online tool to help you to create online invitation. There are quite a few free websites that allow you to design and download online invitations. More often than not, they have a plethora of free features that an amateur designer can use to make uniquely beautiful invitations.
Software applications are an alternative to these websites. However, using software for making invitations can be a tad bit time-consuming. On top of that, it will take some effort and time to figure out these applications completely, as their user interface can be quite complex. To put it into perspective, media students spend years studying and practicing using such software. Another limitation is the demanding nature of such software applications. Most heavy software applications require at least 8 GB of RAM to run smoothly. If you’re short on time, your best bet is to go for free online resources, and fortunately, there are a lot of decent, easy-to-use, beginner-friendly, free online invitation makers out there.
The Design
Once you’ve decided on a software application, website, or free online invitation maker, it’s time to look at the templates. Beginning your design from scratch can be a bit hard for those new to the whole scene. Moreover, it is time-consuming. If you are making a corporate invitation to circulate via email, use one of the many appropriate templates available on almost every design website. A lot of the decent ones are free to use! To make your invitation truly outstanding, you can always go for paid templates. If you do have the budget to purchase the membership, you should go for it. For amateur social media designers and people in similar professional roles, such websites are worth every penny.
Creating your invitation from scratch can seem like a monumental task, yet it gives you more creative control over your creation. Who knows? You might be able to top even the existing templates! For the designing phase, you should keep some pointers in mind:
- Keep an eye on the colors used in the design. For instance, the color of your fonts should complement the background color and not dissolve into it. Before you pick colors for the design, study complementary colors. Then, you’d be able to avoid any design disasters.
- Do not make the invitation too congested as that strains the viewer’s eyes. Including too many elements, such as text, symbols, visuals, etc., in a limited space can drain the aesthetic juice out of the online invitation.
- For formal invitations, it’s best to omit informal language and visual elements. When in doubt, always keep it classic. Use elegant fonts and light backgrounds. There are many templates available on designing websites that you can utilize for formal invitations.
- Do not be afraid to use effects and filters. From elevated text to glitch effects, numerous effects are available on almost every design website. In this age of digitization, designing has never been more fun. Once you start experimenting with these websites and/or software, you’ll probably fall in love with graphic design.
- The size of the fonts, photos, symbols, and various other elements should be balanced. There is no clear-cut formula for striking the right balance. You’ll have to use your better judgment and an eye for aesthetics to determine the right size for each element on the canvas.
The Copy
Apart from design, the written copy should also be up to the standards. A great design with a poor copy will not make an impact on your viewership at all. At its worst, it can even put people off. Use appropriate words and phrases (especially if you’re sending out a wedding invite or an invite for a corporate event). However, do not let the chains of propriety limit you from creative expression and making the invitation humane and relatable.
There are many template messages for a variety of invitations. It’s a good idea to take inspiration from them, but using them without editing can send the wrong message. Anyone can differentiate a stock phrase that’s repeated over and over in invitations from something genuinely creative. Channel your inner copywriter and pen down the best possible sentences (that are also concise).
Distribution
Last but not least, there is the distribution phase. As you’re making an online invitation, it’s evident that you’ll be sending it across digitally. For this, you might use email, messaging applications, or even social media.
Here, it becomes important to check the size of your downloaded invitation. For instance, if you’re sending it to 200 people on LinkedIn, the size and dimensions of the same should be suited to that platform. If you’re uploading the invitation on your Instagram page, the recommended dimensions are 1080 x 1080 pixels. If you’re uploading it as the cover of your Facebook post, the dimensions will again differ. Thus, it’s best to keep the mode of communication in mind when making your online invitation.
When it comes to size, it’s best to keep your file optimized. Do not make it so heavy that you cannot send it across on WhatsApp or LinkedIn. This is especially true for online invitations that include video and photo elements.
Some free websites offer a limited number of formats. Thus, if you have a specific format in mind, it’s best to check whether that website will allow you to download your invitation in the said format.
Conclusion
All in all, the whole process of designing a spectacular online invitation is pretty easy. The user interface of such invitation maker websites is designed so that anyone can learn to use them quickly. Once you’ve become comfortable with the tool, all you need is your creative energy to come up with an amazing online invitation. You’ll find several blog posts by graphic designers who can guide you on the aspect of aesthetics.
You can take inspiration from websites such as Pinterest and Instagram. Making and distributing invitations has never been easier, all due to the rise of the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) industry. Now, you don’t have to download expensive and demanding software for graphic designing. All you need to do is find a decent invitation maker online, and you’ll be ready to go.
