In October 2015 my sister got engaged and asked me to create the wedding invitation. This was when I was still very much an amateur designer however I appreciated the opportunity to create such a meaningful and significant design so I nervously took on the challenge. I had previously designed an anniversary invitation which wasn’t as high profile which was well received so I took inspiration from that.
To begin with, I was shown a few different examples that the client liked particular elements from and then was asked to create something that was a combination of the different preferred specifics. I began by studying what worked with previous wedding invitations, what style of font and how ‘frilly’ the style would be.
All example styles I had looked at were uncomplicated in design with a plain background and printed in black only. Each had a combination of large script and smaller serif or sans serif typeface and they were all aligned centrally. I took these design elements and created an invitation which was then tweaked as requested. I had to think about the interaction the receiver would have with the invitation and RSVP card, how they would perceive it and if it was easily understood how to fill in the response.
Once I had created the final draft it was sent off to be printed. I checked all details and once I was happy that it was as it should be the rest were ordered.
This was the first time I had done something so high end. It included the processes of collecting the different preferred design elements and combining them to create the final wedding invitation and also keeping in constant communication with the client to ensure what I was doing was exactly as they requested. I felt it was also important to consider how it would be received when posted to the guests and how clear and self-explanatory the format was. Finally I then had to get the first proof copy printed, choosing the correct paper and communicating with the printing company leading to the final product being mass produced.
This opportunity helped me to understand more about the audience of the design and how it would be received. It also gave me the chance to interact with a printing company, thinking about what format files are needed, sizing and paper, things I had never taken into consideration when designing on screen. Creating a wedding invitation was also a good opportunity to work to a client’s exact needs and wishes, communication was a vital part of the design process as they had precise requirements with the design and wording to be included.
The blog of Liz 