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How to Design a Certificate? [Step-by-Step Guide]

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Last week, our business organization conducted the Annual Award Ceremony to recognize the employees who worked really hard and smart to take the organization to all new heights. Our company awarded a trophy along with a certificate of appreciation to efficient employees for boosting their confidence and motivating them. Luckily, I also received one!

After coming back home, I saw the certificate and wondered how difficult it could have been to design certificate for every employee. The next day, I went to the team of graphic designers in my office and asked them about the certificate. Those designers explained to me everything about designing the relevant certificate for a specific purpose.

With the help of this blog, we just want to sum up the importance of a certificate and how it can be made with the number of tools available online. Let’s start!

What is a Certificate?

A certificate is a type of award in the form of well-crafted and beautifully designed piece of paper (both hard and soft copy). It is generally given to appreciate good work, recognize people, and rewarding particular actions or behavior.

A certificate is considered as one of the best ways to acknowledge the remarkable achievement and boost up the person’s confidence. From big to small businesses, from primary schools to universities and at many other places, certificates are distributed frequently.

What is the Importance of a Certificate?

You might be thinking that how can a piece of paper be source of encouragement for anyone. However, a certificate is more than just a paper, it is used to appreciate individuals who had done exceptionally good either in their own field or in social surroundings.

A well-designed certificate serves two crucial purposes:

1. To recognize the good work
2. To motivate people to continue doing good

If you own a business, it is important for you to keep on distributing various certificates to your employees. It can help in continuously encouraging them to strive for excellence.

Tips to Design a Certificate on Your Own

A certificate generally contains:

• Subtle background
• Relevant title
• Cause for which the certificate is awarded
• Name of the receiver
• Name of the organization presenting the certificate
• Date
• Signature

To design a certificate as per the professional standards, you can follow a few major tips.

1. Select Subtle Background: To give a certificate an elegant look, you must choose a subtle background. You can either pick a combination of complementary hues or the thematic image as your background.
2. Use Classy Font: Text written on a certificate must look classy and decorative. It should be able to signify the level of appreciation. You should pick a bold font for the name of the recipient and the title of the certificate.
3. Choose Vivid Colors: Your design of certificate must not look boring. It would be designed in a certain way that it can immediately match the feelings of the recipient. Choose the colors that either match the theme of your brand or can make your certificate look vibrant.
4. Add Illustrative Elements: Give the certificate an all-new look by adding small unique elements and illustrations that stand relevant. You can add your business logo, small graphics like a badge or trophy, and much more to a certificate.
5. Brand Your Certificate: If you design a certificate to appreciate your employees, then don’t forget to add the relative elements that can easily showcase your brand’s image. You can add your brand colors, theme, logo, and other elements to your certificate.

How to Design a Certificate?

To design a certificate on your own, you need not hire a graphic designer or visit any store. You can create as many certificates for as many occasions as you want on your own.

You need to create an account on one of the leading graphic design platforms- Appy Pie Design. By following a few easy steps, you can create your own certificate in just a few clicks. Without wasting time, let us provide you a step-by-step guide to design a certificate.

Step 1: Open your web browser and type “Appy Pie Design” in the search tab.

Step 2: You will be landed on the homepage of Appy Pie Design (Don’t worry, you need not download an extra plugin for designing). Click on the “Get Started” button.

Step 3: Now, you need to click on the drop-down menu of “All Categories”. You will discover that Appy Pie Design offers you numerous categories. However, you need to select the category as “Certificate” and click on the search icon.

Step 4: You need to create an account or sign in with your existing Google or Facebook account to proceed further. Just type your username and password and you are done!

Step 5: On this page, Appy Pie Design offers different customizable free certificate templates that can be easily edited as per your needs. Just scroll through the library and select the template you want to edit.

Step 6: After you choose the template, you will be offered a user-friendly dashboard to modify the template as per your needs. You can easily change the background, add images, include elements, and much more by just tapping on the options given in the menu bar.

Step 7: Once you are satisfied with the design of your certificate, preview it before downloading it. Do not forget to check the name mentioned in the certificate. Finally, click on Download and select the format in which you want to download the certificate.

Voila!! You are done! Now either you can digitally send the certificate to the recipient or can host an event to hand over the physical printed format of the certificate.

Summing Up

Designing a certificate on your own is as easy as pie. You just need to select the relevant template for your certificate and edit it till the time you feel that certificate is perfect for appreciation. You can experiment with a few designs before finally settling on one.

So, next time if you need to create a certificate, just log in on Appy Pie Design and start creating!