# Invitation design: print and digital invites in one look

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/invitation-design)

Most invitations now arrive twice: once on card and once on a phone. One look can work at 5 × 7 inches and in a WhatsApp chat, as long as you rebuild it for each shape instead of cropping.

## The short version

- The most common printed invitation is 5 × 7 inches, which is 1500 × 2100 pixels at 300 dpi.
- A digital invitation for stories and WhatsApp status is 1080 × 1920 pixels, a taller 9:16 frame.
- A clear invitation answers who is hosting, what the occasion is, when, where and how to reply, in that order.
- Printed and digital invitations look like a set when they share the same background, typeface and wording, rearranged for each shape rather than cropped.
- Script fonts suit names and headings on an invitation, but the date, address and reply details should be set in a plain, readable face.

Good **invitation design** starts with a 5 × 7 inch card, 1500 × 2100 pixels at 300 dpi, and a clear order: who is hosting, what the occasion is, when, where and how to reply. Choose one background and one or two typefaces, then build the digital version from the same parts in a 1080 × 1920 frame for stories and messages. Guests should recognise the phone version and the card on the mantelpiece as the same invitation.

## Invitation sizes for print and screens

| Format | Size | Pixels | Use |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 5 × 7 in card | 127 × 178 mm | 1500 × 2100 at 300 dpi | Weddings, parties, formal events |
| A6 card | 105 × 148 mm | 1240 × 1748 at 300 dpi | Smaller invites, save the dates in the UK |
| 6 × 4 in card | 152 × 102 mm | 1800 × 1200 at 300 dpi | Save the dates, informal parties |
| Story and WhatsApp status | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | Sending by message, posting to stories |
| Facebook event cover | About 1.91:1 | 1920 × 1005 | The header of an online event page |

A 5 × 7 card fits a standard A7 envelope, which measures 5.25 × 7.25 inches.

- 5 × 7 card: 1500 × 2100
- Story 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920
- Square post 1080×1080: 1080 × 1080

The card is a 5:7 shape, the story is much taller and the square is square. The same design has to be rearranged for each one, not cropped.

## What to write and where to put it

Invitations have a traditional order because it answers questions in the order guests ask them. Keep to it and the card will read naturally, even with decorative type.

1. **The host** "Together with their families" or "Priya invites you". Small, at the top.
2. **The occasion or the names** The largest words on the card: the couple, the birthday person, the event's name.
3. **When** Day, date and time, written out in full for formal events: "Saturday 12 June at three o'clock".
4. **Where** Venue name, then the address. Add a map link or QR code on the digital version.
5. **How to reply** "Kindly reply by 1 May" with a phone, email or link. The smallest text, but never too small to read.

A 5 by 7 inch birthday invitation reading Amara turns forty with date and venue details on a warm gradient

A 5 × 7 birthday invitation: occasion first and largest, then the when and where on one quiet line.

## Matching printed and digital invitations

A printed card and a phone screen can't share one layout, but they can share everything else: the background, the typeface, the colours and the words. Rebuild the design for the tall frame instead of shrinking the card into it. On a story, move the details lower and keep roughly the top and bottom 250 pixels free of words, where the app's profile bar and reply field sit; our guide to the [Instagram Story size](https://gradiently.design/guide/instagram-story-size) shows the safe zones.

A printed save the date card for Sam and Ellis on a soft gradient background

The printed save the date at 5 × 7 inches.

The same save the date redesigned in a tall phone format with the same gradient and words

The same invitation rebuilt at 1080 × 1920 for WhatsApp and stories.

Gradiently helps here. A Mark is rendered fresh at each size rather than cropped, so the light lands in a sensible place on the card and the story alike, and the Designer can lay out the invitation and make the other sizes from it. Auto ink keeps the names and date readable on every line, whichever part of the background sits behind them.

## Colour and type for different occasions

- Wedding: ivory to sand: `linear-gradient(170deg, #f7f1ea 0%, #ead9cc 55%, #c9a98a 100%)`
- Birthday: peach to berry: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 20%, #ffd6a5 0%, #ff8fab 45%, #6a2c70 100%)`
- Gala: midnight to gold: `linear-gradient(160deg, #0f1c2e 0%, #1d3557 55%, #c9a227 100%)`
- Baby shower: mist to sage: `linear-gradient(180deg, #e8f1f2 0%, #cde3d6 50%, #a7c4bc 100%)`

Four starting points. Each is a small family of related colours, which prints cleanly and keeps type readable.

### Avoid

- Script type for the address and reply details
- Three decorative fonts on one card
- Pale grey text on a pale background
- Words close to the trim edge

### Do

- Script for the names, a plain face for details
- One decorative face and one quiet one
- Strong contrast for the date and time
- A generous margin all round

For type ideas, [elegant fonts](https://gradiently.design/guide/elegant-fonts) and [script fonts](https://gradiently.design/guide/script-fonts) both list faces that suit invitations. If the event is a wedding, [wedding invitation design](https://gradiently.design/guide/wedding-invitation-design) covers the etiquette in more detail.

## Sending a digital invitation

Messaging apps compress images, and soft gradients and fine type suffer most. Export the digital invitation as a PNG at the full 1080 × 1920 rather than a small JPEG, and check it on your own phone before sending it to everyone. If the app offers to send it in high quality or as a file, take that option.

A digital invite can do things a card can't. Put the reply link or a QR code where a thumb can reach it, add the venue's map link in the message itself rather than in the image, and send a short reminder a week before with the same picture so guests recognise it instantly. A gently moving background, exported as a short loop, makes a story invitation feel special without filming anything; [animated social posts](https://gradiently.design/guide/animated-social-posts) shows how to keep the words still while the colour moves.

> **Write the details in the message too** Words inside an image can't be copied, searched or read aloud by a screen reader. Repeat the date, time and address as text in the message that carries the invitation.

## Printing your invitations

- Add bleed if the background runs to the edge; [print bleed and safe margins](https://gradiently.design/guide/bleed-and-margins) explains how much.
- Proofread names, dates and the reply deadline twice, then ask someone else.
- Order one printed proof to check colour, especially on textured or uncoated card.
- Send a print PDF with crop marks; Gradiently Pro exports one with bleed included.

## FAQ

### What size is a standard invitation?

5 × 7 inches is the most common, which is 1500 × 2100 pixels at 300 dpi. It fits an A7 envelope.

### What size should a digital invitation be?

1080 × 1920 pixels suits WhatsApp status, Instagram and Facebook stories. For sending in a chat, the same size reads well full screen.

### What order does invitation wording go in?

Host, occasion or names, date and time, venue and address, then how and when to reply.

### Can I use the same design for printed and digital invitations?

Yes, if you keep the background, type and words and rearrange the layout for each shape rather than cropping one into the other.

### What font is best for invitations?

A script or elegant serif for names and headings, paired with a simple serif or sans serif for the details so the date and address are easy to read.