graduation announcements.



Since my major is graphic design I really wanted to make hand-made announcements from start to finish for friends and family. I learned how to letterpress a couple of semesters back and had the chance to TA for my Advanced Typography class for a few weeks this semester so I really wanted to letterpress something. And while I love setting lead type, I wanted to make my own design instead. The most challenging part was hand lettering. For all you typographer freaks: the x-heights and descenders aren't perfect, but this was one of my first attempts at hand lettering. After I drew something I liked I scanned it, edited the values in Photoshop, then vectorized it in Adobe Illustrator. Once the design was on the computer I ordered a Polymer plate so I could use it on the letterpress. I bought large sheets of paper, cut it, and then letterpressed it. 

My favorite part about this project was buying neon pink ink for the letterpress. I didn't want navy blue (our school color... ew blah) and since the lettering was so fun I wanted the colors to be fun too. I'm so happy with the way the announcements came out! 

Oh, also, I made a super short video so you can see a small fragment of the process. It's fun!



12 comments

  1. your announcements are perfect, i loove them. i want to learn how to letterpress so badly!

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  2. aren't perfect?! they're so cute allison, you did such a good job! and yayy. congrats on graduating! if you guys weren't going to china, we would have you do our wedding invites.... maybe when i graduate though. ;)

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  3. I'm so proud of you Allie! Your invitations are amazing! You are so talented and creative and I love you!

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  4. Such a nice idea doing this, I would love a go at letter pressing myself.

    Buckets & Spades

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  5. How fun! You sound so knowledgable about all of this! I guess that's a good sign ;)

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  6. its perfect. i absolutely love it.

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  7. i love these so much. what a fun and special way to announce such an exciting time. loved the little look at the process too.

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  8. Congratulations! I just graduated with a BFA too. What to do now? haha. Love the announcements

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  9. i LOVE this! these turned out so wonderfully. i graduated a few weeks ago and didn't even *think* about making (or buying) graduation announcements. after finals were over, i was half insane, half braindead. kudos for still being so creative at the finish line!

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  10. I'm obsessed with these announcements! I'll be graduated with my Art degree with a focus in graphic design next spring and now I'm all sorts of inspired to make my own announcements. Also, the hot pink ink is so rad! xoxo

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