Wristbands are a great way to show off your support for certain organizations and movements. They also work well for reminding yourself of your personal goals, whether they have to do with health and fitness, productivity, or career advancement. Want to try your hand at creating your very own unique wristband designs for different occasions? You’ll need to know a few basic graphic design principles before you start. Here are a few basic tips and tricks to keep in mind so that you can design like a pro:
Make Sure to Set Your File to 300DPI
For printed materials, using 300DPI is a must. That’s because the resolution that you set your file to will affect how crisp your design will look when printed out. 300DPI is considered the absolute minimum for anything that will be printed out, and that includes wristband designs. 72DPI is best for any files that are to be viewed online. If you try to print out a 72DPI file, it will look blurry and pixelated. Though you can get away with saving at 72DPI for quick mock-ups, you’ll have to recreate it in 300DPI once you’ve chosen a final design. You might as well start off with a file that’s already set to the right resolution. That way, you can easily send it off as-is to the manufacturers once you’ve got something you’re happy with.
Keep Your Elements on Different Layers
When coming up with a new wristband, you could spend hours coming up with different variations of the same design. You don’t have to keep starting on a new canvas each time you want to try something different, though. All you have to do is to set all the elements so that each one is on its own layer. That means setting your blank wristband template on one layer, and then your message on a layer on top of that. You can also put a small image or logo on its own layer, too, so that you can try resizing it and moving it around. That way, you can keep experimenting with different fonts, colors, and effects without having to start with a new file. This can come in handy especially if you’re still on the fence about what the final design should look like.
Pick Fonts and Colors That Are Easily Readable
You may have the best message in the world, but it’ll be all for nothing if nobody can read the text on your wristband. Even if you’re tempted to go for a fancy-looking font, try your best to stick to something that’s readable even from a distance. Generally, messages that use a sans serif font are easier to read. You’ll also want to choose a font color that will stand out from your wristband’s base color. For example, if you want a red wristband, you can use a white font for contrast. You’ll probably want to avoid using an orange font, though, because it’ll blend it too much with the red base color.
Want to up your design game even more? You can learn new techniques by looking up basic graphic design principles online. As long as you stick to the tips in this article, though, you should still end up with a fantastic-looking wristband. Remember: when it comes to good design, less is more.
