One of the key elements of successful branding is taking steps to help customers remember your brand. If you can also associate information about your organization’s mission or the theme of an event through your branding, that’s even better.
In printed materials, one of the ways to further your brand is to incorporate a die cut. Die cutting creates custom shapes and designs in paper or card stock. The shape you choose should visually reinforce the theme of your organization or event.
Many clients share their ideas and concepts with us. We enjoy bringing them to life, as you will see in the samples below.
In this example, a custom die cut was used to create a wine tasting menu in the shape of a wine bottle. A grommet held multiple menu pages together in a nice, neat package.
This elegant grand piano-shaped invitation aligned perfectly with the piano recital theme:
This door-shaped holiday invitation was a well-matched die-cut design for a construction company. Or this flower-shaped invitation incorporating a floral pattern includes a unique slide-to-reveal element:
This attention-getting invitation was shaped and folded to look like a kite (click here to see the kite take flight!):
Yes, we can do kites … and circus tents! This circus tent-shaped invitation was a great look for a circus-themed gala!
Expanding beyond invitations and menus, we also can help you with book covers. A book about a trip to Iceland cleverly uses an Iceland-shaped die cut on the cover:
Reinforcing a brand can be as simple as matching the shape of the die cut to the shape of part of your logo, like you see here, with this die cut curve which accentuates the business logo.
If you’re trying to imitate something, a die cut can help your printed piece resemble the real thing. The die-cut sleeve holding this invitation replicates the cellophane window on the Barbie boxes you see at retail stores, seen here.
You can also die-cut text and show an image or color beneath the text. If you plan to use die cut text, however, planning is required to ensure parts of some of the letters can be held together. As you see in this example, the letters “O” and “D” have floating centers, requiring special attention:
While a custom die cut can be used to reinforce a brand or graphic, it also serves other purposes, such as generating attention because it is different than what is expected. In this case, it was used to produce a non-traditional, interesting twist on a standard presentation folder, seen here.
Die cutting is generally accomplished in one of two ways. Traditionally die cutting generally involves building a wooden die & inserting blades in the die that match the precise shape of the cut. This method is more economical for larger volumes.
The other option is laser-die cutting. Not only is this the preferred option for smaller volumes, but it also allows for cutting very small and precise cuts. Depending on the type of paper that’s used and what, if anything is printed on it, burn marks may sometimes be visible. For this reason, we generally recommend printed or colored paper for projects using laser-die cutting.
As you begin to plan your next project – an invitation, business card, presentation folder, or book – contact us so we can discuss how you might use die cut designs and shapes to create a piece that stands out, gets noticed, and achieves your goals.
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