A Halloween Toolkit for Graphic Designers

Jennifer
October 5, 2009

Few holidays allow graphic designers to have as much fun as Halloween. Fonts get a bit more twisted, graphics pop with special effects and copy is pocked with plays off “ghoulish” and “bloody.” For the post-goth designer, working during the month of October harkens back to a darker time – yet one that allowed a certain amount of whimsy and fantasy. photo_8217_20090916 There are loads of opportunities for you to implement Halloween effects that can help scare up business:

• You can print promotional stickers or banners, posters and other types of signage for an upcoming event or sale. • Newsletters, both e-mail and snail mail, are an excellent way to inform customers about your terrifyingly good deals. • You can make an added splash to a Web site’s homepage, like Google often does. • Print Halloween-themed correspondence such as thank you cards. The great thing about fun Halloween tools is so many of them are free. And that’s smart, because not too many small-shop designers are willing to shell out for stuff they might not use year round. So let this list be your license to experiment and create “spooktacular” designs your clients will love. A resource for how to find free fonts, brushes and vector graphics is Suite101.com. In particular, it recommends Burton's Nightmare, Buffied, Shlop and Creeper fonts. Speaking of free fonts, be sure to check out PsPrint’s free-font blog, which points you to dafont.com for categories that include Halloween. Not for the weak at heart, MediaMilitia features a gallery of brushes, fonts and tutorials. We’re talking blood, scars, axe-wielding killers – you can even learn how to ghost an image! And for more design ideas, check out PsPrint blogger Brian’s recent post about Halloween effects. The spooky fun doesn’t have to stop with your new graphic design. A variety of printing services add a unique touch to your work. People are attracted to shiny objects, so add foil stamping, or have your flyers and cards die cut in the shape of jack-o-lanterns and witches. Happy haunting!

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About Jennifer Moline

Jennifer Moline writes for the PsPrint Blog as well as maintains its Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Pinterest presences. She also guest-blogs for such notable graphic design blogs as Fuel Your Creativity and Inspiredology. She’s previously written about technology and small business for news websites, magazines and newspapers. In her off-hours, Jennifer can be found roughing it in the mountains or tucked away in a movie theater.

Anonymous's picture
January 07, 2016 03:21 am #

[...] you can really play around with your advertising, especially in print like posters and flyers. Use spooky fonts and creepy effects to make your sign stand out among the drab, everyday stuff. Check out this post [...]

Anonymous's picture
January 07, 2016 03:21 am #

[...] includes my favorite, recycled matte paper stock. If you have a creative block, just search for Halloween graphic design tips and invitation ideas on the PsPrint Blog. Vampires versus zombies? No need to choose – they’re [...]

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The PsPrint Blog is a resource for graphic designers, freelancers, small business owners and fans of print marketing. You'll find helpful techniques on printing everything there is to print, including business cards, postcards, brochures, stickers, invitations, greeting cards, door hangers, magnets and more. The PsPrint Blog shares creative ways to improve your design and layout skills, and useful tips for marketing your business in any medium. We also like to have a little fun, sharing design inspiration and spotlighting some our favorite customers' printed pieces in our "Hot Off the Press" series.