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High School Graduation Announcement Ideas
high school graduation announcement ideas
Graduating high school is an important milestone. While most teenagers feel some kind of excitement, it can also bring mixed emotions of melancholy and nervousness for the future. Decrease the bitter and maximize the sweet by celebrating your graduate! One of our favorite recommendations is to help seniors recognize the significance of their achievements by sending out graduation announcements to friends and family. Here at Persnickety Prints, we’ve worked hard to make ordering easy with our designer graduation announcement templates. To help you decide what to send to print, we’ve compiled our top design tips and graduation card examples. Personalize a card that will commemorate this moment in your high schooler’s life, and create a keepsake your teen can hold onto and spark happy memories in the years to come.
Senior Photo Tips
What to Wear
We recommend having three changes of clothes: some favorite casual clothing items your teen enjoys and would often wear to school, a set of business casual/semi-formal attire, and one fun outfit that shows their interests. Highlight a favorite club, sport, or hobby- it’s a fun way to document what brought your graduate joy in their high school experience. You can’t go wrong with letterman jackets or student council cardigans. Highlighting your grad’s future plans with college commitment merch is also a classic choice.
Types of Photos
Nothing compares to the elegance of a classic portrait taken in a nicer outfit. It’s a timeless way to capture this moment in their lives. Once that “money shot” is captured, time for the fun! By changing up the clothing and possibly the location, ask your photographer to focus on candids that show your senior’s personality and maybe see if you can catch a shot with an item from one of their hobbies.
Location
A lot of senior photoshoots are taken in one location, but if you need some inspiration here are our top choices: (1) Urban, we love a brick or painted wall. City skylines can make a stunning background as well. (2) Out in nature, it can be as accessible as a local park or a favorite spot far enough away that it requires a hike. Lastly, (3) a place that is significant to their high school experience. Think of a soccer pitch, auditorium, or favorite elective’s classroom. Capturing photos of your teen in these spaces is often overlooked but is a special opportunity to document this moment in their lives.
Even if these pictures are just taken on a phone, these snapshots of time will help spark positive memories in the years to come.
Graduation announcement DESIGN INSPIRATION
Not sure what design to choose? We polled our staff and collected their favorite graduation announcement design picks for 2024.
Select your favorite graduation card template, and use our built-in design software to make it your own. For a polished touch, find a graduation card design that has colors similar to your photoshoot.
CONTENT MUST-HAVES on a graduation announcement
In our opinion, graduation announcement messages should highlight three pieces of information: achievements, hobbies, and your grad’s future plans. Selecting photos that support that information is always a great way of creating a cohesive card.
We’ve also seen some graduates include thoughtful messages or their yearbook senior quotes. Our Most Popular 2024 Graduation cards with letter-back designs have a lot of real estate for sharing the grad’s thoughts and successes. Our graduation announcement templates often have a beautiful subtle pattern on the back for design interest, so make sure your chosen text color stands out so it’s legible when printed.
Make it Personal
A favorite content idea of ours came from one of our own designers when creating a graduation announcement for her younger brother. She inserted a QR code in one of the photo boxes on a collage design template, and linked it to a video of his state championship debate speech. We think this idea would work well for senior recitals, sports reel highlights, or even a casual clip that conveys their personality.
Add Some Humor
For high school graduation announcements, we also love the funny graduation card message of sharing the “Highs & Lows of High School”. Celebrate their achievements, and for the lows: think tongue-in-cheek. Brainstorm with your graduate one or two innocent mishaps they now find humor in. From accidentally stabbing a prom date with a boutonniere pin, to forgetting gym shoes and having to run the mile in bedazzled crocs, sharing relatable comical moments will bring a smile to their friends or family.
Use an Insert
Is there a convocation or graduation party some local recipients will be invited to? Save announcement space for photos and facts about the grad, and put event details on a separate press print insert.
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT TIMELINE
Not sure when to order graduation announcements? We’ve put together a timeline so you make sure friends and family receive sufficient notice for important events like convocation or graduation parties.
3 months – Take graduation photos – typically takes at least 2 weeks to a month to receive back a few edited highlights from the photography session. And start gathering addresses for friends and family.
2 months – Order graduation announcements from Persnickety Prints and take our advice – round up, or order the extra card pack. Trust us, you’ll use it. There are always people you remember at the last minute who would enjoy receiving a card!
1.5 months – Mail the graduation announcements and feel a sense of accomplishment by crossing this off your “to-do” list.
1 month – Friends and family receive announcements with plenty of notice and will pencil in time to celebrate your graduate.