Birth announcements in Photoshop
Making a birth announcement can be a fun and creative experience. Photoshop can add even more creativity with special filters and type effects to give your project that one-of-a-kind flair. Birth announcements are special correspondence and deserve the unique touch that Photoshop can offer. Whether you are making this for your own use or for someone else's special event, this tutorial will open up a completely new world of possibilities.
In Photoshop we will need to open up a new documents. The shortcut keystroke to open up a new document is CNTRL + N. A pop up window will appear. From this window you will input the parameters of your project. In the NAME field we will type in "birth announcement". In the WIDTH field type in 8.5 and in the HEIGHT field type in 5.5. Leave the unit of measure as INCHES. With this measurement we can make two announcements on one sheet of paper. Make the RESOLUTION of the project 200. The COLOR MODE should be in the CMYK color space and the 8 bit mode. Make the BACKGROUND CONTENTS white. These parameters will make the prints crisp and clear. Hit the OK button and your project will appear with the parameters you have specified.
Use the PAINT BRUSH tool to create different designs and patterns on a separate layer. This will allow you to move your design around the work space to try out different layout possibilities. You can also control the opacity to make a dramatic or more subdued feel to your birth announcement. You can add a simple design element and duplicate it many times over and make a repeating pattern. Play with different effects under the FILTER menu. There are many awesome effects that can make countless design configurations. Make sure that when choosing designs and patterns that you leave room for your type. Frame the page with a border or make the design span across only one side of the layout. By keeping the design simple and clean you can retain the functionality of the birth announcement and achieve a great look (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Adding the photo to the announcement is an important touch that really makes the project worthwhile. Decide whether the photo will be black and white or color, this can be adjusted in the IMAGE menu. You can feather the edges of the photo to make it look dreamy and fuzzy, do this with the FEATHER tool located under the SELECT menu. Experiment and find something that works for your design.
Make an envelope to go with the birth announcements to finish the project properly. One thing to consider in your design is what the postal service requires of an envelope to make it worthy of mailing. Postal regulations stipulate that we leave the area for the address clear of any obstructions that would make the address hard to read for the mail carriers. This still leaves us plenty of room to create a charming design. Next decide whether you want the envelope to match the birth announcement, if this is the case copy the elements you would like to use from the letterhead workspace and paste them into the envelope workspace. If you choose not to do this, the same techniques apply to your envelope as to the birth announcement. Try adding your addresses to the envelope with the type tool located in the toolbar. Experiment with fonts, as long as they are easy to read. If you wish to flatten your designs do so with the FLATTEN IMAGE function under the LAYER menu up top. Print out your designs onto quality paper and envelopes (Figure 2).
Figure 2
