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Looking for unique invitation card design ideas for your upcoming event? You’ve come to the right place! Invitation cards are powerful ways to attract guests to celebrations and business events, and a successful invitation starts with attention-getting design. With this guide, you can design and print unique invitations for any event, including:
Whether you’re a graphic designer or an event planner, you can’t rely on the same tired themes continually rehashed by generic, store-bought invitation cards. You need creative event invitation design inspiration. Give your invitations the creative spark they need to make your event a success with the following 25 unique invitation card design ideas.
Different types of invitation cards call for different design motifs. Ready to make your own creative invitation card design? Check out the following creative invitation ideas!
You don’t have to be a professional designer to design unique invitation cards. All you need is our free invitation maker!
1Calendar date
You could design your invitation cards to look like a calendar box with a large digit for the date and a handwritten note for the event, time, location and any additional information your guests need to know. The best part? Your invitation cards can easily be placed on refrigerators as obvious reminders of the upcoming celebration, so no one misses the date. You can even print invitations as save-the-date refrigerator magnets to make it super-easy to remember your event.
2Challenge your guests
Design your invitation cards to issue personal challenges. Events such as polar plunges, pub crawls, and venture business events could feature a phrase such as “Only for the brave.” Appealing to this sense of personality can intrigue interest and motivate attendance to just about any event – even if it's just in jest.
3Abstract design
Some invitation cards have photographs as centerpieces, others feature obvious designs that designate the nature of the event. You might, instead, choose an abstract design as your centerpiece. Think outside the box, and don’t be afraid to design quirky invitations that get noticed!
4Turn it into a ticket
Try creating invitation cards that look like tickets for your special event. You can include a unique ticket design, the time, date, location, a map on the back, and even a bar code or scan strip. For inspiration, look up ticket designs to famous events such as athletic games, plays, and movies. Or, simply print event tickets and insert them into your traditional invitation cards.
5Add an air of mystery and opulence
Try a mysterious, yet opulent, design for elegant invitation cards. One example might be an all-black matte background with small script white or silver text that reads “You're Invited.” Your guests will have to turn your invitation cards over or open to the inside to read the rest.
6Map it
Take a cue from Google Maps and create your own map with a hot spot bubble for your special event. This is a creative invitation card design that doubles as a functional map to your location. In your information bubble you can include all pertinent event information.
7Make a mini movie poster
You could turn your invitation cards into funny, romantic or action/adventure mini movie posters. For your design you could parody a well-known movie poster or genre of movie posters, or you could create your own movie poster design. In the “Coming Soon” bubble, you could include all the important information; or, you could include this information on the back of your invitation cards. Don’t want to seem small? Print a full-sized movie poster invitation to give your guests a truly unique – and unforgettable – invite! Short-run poster printing is an economical way to do this.
Create your own invitations with our free Arts & Entertainment event invitation templates.
8Shape it up with die-cut invitation cards
Print die-cut invitation cards in any shape you’d like. Match your party theme – hosting a masquerade ball? Make your invitations into masquerade masks! You can also use die cuts to add creative cut-outs to the interior of your design; for example, you could cut out a silhouette of a birthday cake or the bride and groom in the middle of your design, or use cut-out front panel text to reveal the interior color beneath. Need baby shower invitations? Another idea is a silhouette of a baby rattle for baby shower invitation cards. Brainstorm ways to incorporate die cuts into your unique party invitation ideas.
9Let the kids design your invitations
Break out the Crayons and let your kids tap their creativity to design your invitation cards. Give them a blank page (computer paper works fine). When they’re done designing, scan their artwork and upload it to PsPrint’s free blank invitation card template. All that’s left to do is print!
10Take unique photos for your invitation cards
Skip the family portrait; instead, have your family members, office staff, or guest of honor strike a funny or interesting pose, then upload the photo to any of PsPrint’s free photo invitation card templates for a unique or humorous invitation design. You can also use any funny or thought-provoking photo you find in your album – perhaps a side-by-side of a recent graduate’s senior picture alongside their baby photo for unique graduation cards. Or, don’t feature people at all: take a photo of a birthday cake, a wedding ring or an amazing table setting.
11Illustrate your own invitation cards
Whether you’re a sketch artist, Illustrator master, budding painter or hobbyist, you can scan your own artwork in to your computer and upload it to PsPrint’s free blank invitation template. What could be more unique than your own creative artwork?
12Infographic invitations
Turn your invitation cards into an interesting invitation design. Use your skills as an infographic designer (or find inspiration in infographics you find on Pinterest) to visually represent the most important elements of your invitation cards. This can be a great way to illustrate nonprofit invitation cards for fundraiser invitations.
13Extreme close-up
Give your invitation card designs unique perspective by featuring an extreme close-up of a common item. If you’re printing Christmas invitation cards, for example, don’t take a photo of the entire tree; instead, snap a close-up shot of your favorite ornament. You can use this technique for other holiday invitation cards, such as Thanksgiving invitations, Hanukkah invitations or any event you’d like.
14Use photo filters
Invitation photos cards are easy to print, and even easier to design – all you need to do is take a photo. Add flair to your images with photo filters. You can use the filters in your photo editing software; if you use Photoshop, search online for unique photography Photoshop actions.
15Design a multi-panel invitation card
Invitation cards aren’t limited to flat cards or four-panel folded cards; in fact, you can print multi-panel invitations such as those in a z-fold brochure style. This is a great way to get super creative with your invitation design, so that each panel is devoted to a different aspect of your invite: location, event description, directions, what to bring, RSVP information, etc. A multi-panel invitation card is perfect for themed parties and can lend the impression your event will be a can’t-miss adventure.
16Get creative with typography
Your invitation designs don’t need to feature images – your typography can be the focal point. Explore fonts that work well with your event theme, then use your design skills to decorate them so they’re unique, attention getting and visually inspiring. A typography-heavy design is perfect for traditional invitation cards.
17Print coloring page invitations
Are you hosting a party for kids? Consider sending coloring page invitations. Draw a creative outline for your coloring page that includes all the information your guests need to attend, then print invitations on uncoated paper stock so they can have fun coloring your invitations before your event. Make it special by asking kids to bring their artwork along to be entered into a fun coloring contest.
Print custom invitation cards for an extra-special birthday with our free invitation maker!
18Newspaper/newsletter invitations
Design your invitation cards to look like a newspaper or newsletter; or, go all out and print actual newsletters as invitations. If you go the latter route, make sure your design clearly states it’s an invitation, then fill your newsletter with fun content. One idea: a family reunion invitation packed with photos and stories about family members. This can also be a unique birthday party invitation idea for highlighting the guest of honor.
19Themed invitation kits
If your event theme is unique, you can design an invitation kit to match. For example, if the theme is “adventure,” you might print invitation cards that look like passports, include an “Indiana Jones”-inspired map to your event, print a “travel” brochure, and print matching envelopes, envelope sealers, and address labels.
20Wine bottle invitations
Give your guests a bubbly incentive to attend your event with wine bottle invitations. Design and print custom wine bottle labels, affix them to bottles of wine, and send them to your guest list. Consider including an invitation card that reads “There’s plenty more where this came from… join us!” Your invitation will be impossible to ignore, it will be memorable, and your event will be can’t miss.
21Vintage invitation design
Scour the Internet to find inspiration for a vintage or retro invitation design. Check out your favorite decades and emulate their design styles to print invitation cards that are blasts from the past.
22Showcase food or drinks
If the table spread is the main attraction, take a photo of a famous dish you’ll serve and make it the focal point of your invitation design. This is perfect for both backyard barbecues and invitations for restaurants. Operate a bar? Highlight your best cocktail instead.
23Make it shine and shimmer
Incorporate metallic foil stamps into your invitation design for a shiny card that’s sure to command attention. You can fill text and shapes with foil stamps, outline your text for an elegant aesthetic, or make invitation cards with foil-stamped backgrounds.
24Minimalist design
Sometimes less is more, especially if you want your invitation cards to be noticed. That’s why minimalist invitation card designs are popular: they’re elegant, which makes for perfect wedding invitations, and they lend an air of importance. A minimalist design will give your invitations a contemporary look.
25Interactive invitations
Go from print to digital with interactive invitation cards that feature QR codes and URLs that lead to wedding websites and gift registries, an online video about your party or event, a photo gallery, an online catalog (for retail invitations or sales event invitations), or even an app.
No matter how you design your invitations, you can enhance their appearance by choosing the right invitation card paper stock. A 16-point gloss cover stock offers a thick, glossy look that’s perfect for celebration invitations; while a 15-point velvet cover with soft-touch coating offers a unique tactile sensation that’s great for wedding invitations and other elegant events. Want to be eco-friendly? Print invitation cards on 13-point 100 percent recycled matte cover stock. Use these invitation card design ideas to spark your own creativity. You can also check out examples of invitation cards for events in our free invitation template gallery.
Once you’ve found your inspiration, make your own invitations online with free invitation card templates from PsPrint. Simply pick your favorite invitation template and color scheme (or upload your design to a blank invitation template), use the free invitation maker to add your own photos and text, then see how your invitation card design will look with a free PDF download.
All that’s left to do is select your invitation printing options, and your invitation cards will be delivered to your door in a few days. Print custom invitation cards now!
