How Do I Make Engraving Look Good?

How you make the plaque look is just as important as what you say. Some basic layout concepts can help in the design process. Our web site offers many plaque templates you a use when you get to that step in the ordering process. If you use one of the templates, then the layout can be as simple as filling in the blanks and calling it good. However, if you want to get more involved, a few tips of the trade might be useful in helping to make your award or plaque look even more professional.

White Space

White space is the space on the page, or in this case the plaque, where nothing is printed. By having nothing printed, extra weight is given to the text that is printed. White space balances things and makes it easier to read. When you are given a space to put in text, most people feel they should fill in as much text as possible to make use of the space. However, being more precise with what you say, keeping it to the point, and keeping it simple should be the guiding principles. Then there will be more space on the left and right of the lines to accentuate what gets engraved.

Spread it Out

Try to break up the text into smaller, bight size pieces and spread them out top to bottom. This helps people to read what is there and makes it more prominent. The plaque is kind of like a billboard. You only have a second or two to read it, so by spreading your message out, your eyes can grasp it faster. Make sure you put important stuff like the recipients name on a separate line. This will help make them stand out more. Other things that might benefit from being on their own lines would be the date, the name of the company or organization presenting the award, or the name of the award itself.

Use Formatting Sparingly

When you have the options of font choices, font sizes, bold or italic, at some level you want to try them all and see what it looks like. The best plaque layouts use the same font on the entire plaque. Likewise, most all of the text should be the same size, too. The exceptions would be the person’s name, the name of the award, or maybe the name of the company. These should be made a little bigger to help them stand out. Something that is of lesser importance, like the date, could be made smaller. But most of the text should be the same font and the same size. Finally, bold and italic should only be used to make something really stand out, like making the name of the award or the name of the recipient larger and bolder would make them stand out and make them more prominent.