Create a graduation announcement that celebrates accomplishments.

College graduation invitations and announcements are a great way to keep loved ones in the loop. Create one-of-a-kind designs with the tools and templates in Adobe Creative Cloud.

Collage of various college graduation invitations

College graduation announcements are more worth it than ever.

With many college classes and graduation ceremonies happening online, invitations or announcements can be a great keepsake and an important tool for letting friends and family know you’ve graduated. Family members love to show them off and it helps you to remind people that you’re about to enter the job market with your new degree.

Share graduation photos and commemorate your hard work (or that of a graduate you know) with a unique graduation announcement. Invite people to an in-person or online graduation ceremony or use fun card designs as more casual graduation party invitations.

Graduation invitations versus graduation announcements.

Come up with a goal for what you want to communicate before you start your design. For example, you could use your creation as a ceremony or party invite or it could just be a simple, celebratory photo card.

Design of a college graduation invitation

College or high school graduation invitations.

Use these to invite friends and family to the graduation ceremony or a celebration being hosted afterward. It’s important to clarify if the invite is for a private celebration that you’re planning, for the school’s graduation ceremony or both. If you have a limited number of guests you can bring to the ceremony and you need your recipients to RSVP, include that information. Get them printed and mail them or send them digitally.

Explore graduation invitations

Graduation announcement cards.

A college graduation announcement is a way of letting your friends and family know you graduated and to signify your accomplishments, no event details needed. Print your announcement on high-quality card stock and your loved ones can keep them as mementoes. It’s not uncommon to frame and hang a nice photo announcement.

Explore graduation announcements

Who and what to include on your college graduation announcement.

Make a list of who you want to send your invitations or grad announcements to, as well as all the essential information you need to add to your design.

Create your send list.

When it comes to digital events, like graduation livestreams, the more the merrier. And if you’re creating a graduation announcement, send it out to a wide network of people; include friends, family, neighbours, teachers and anyone who played a role in your success as a student. If you invite people to a physical event that has a limited number of seats, start with your immediate family and the people you care about most.

Remember key details.

Your invitation or announcement wording is just as important as the layout of your design and your send list. Here are some things to consider, including:

Your full name
The name of the school
Your graduation year
The degree you’re receiving
The time and place of the digital or in-person event
An RSVP request, if applicable
Gift requests, if applicable
A special message from you

Design of a college graduation invitation and postcard

Design tips and examples.

Choose school colours and a gold foil accent to strike a traditional note. Use a personal monogram, your favourite colours or a graduation photo to craft a more individualistic look. Or create something unique with customised graphic elements. If you’re printing your card, a bifold or trifold design will give you more space for a personalised message.

Explore what others have been making:

Have your invitation do double-duty like this hybrid announcement that invites people to a ceremony and a party.
Try doing a bifold card, envelope and keepsake piece similar to this multipiece invitation that will surely be an item worth holding onto.
See how a graphic design school branded its graduation showcase with bold, colourful motion graphics and think outside the box with your own design.
Get inspired by more graduation invitation and announcement examples on Behance.

Create graduation cards of any kind with Adobe.

Get a head start with a free Adobe Express template.

Use Adobe Express to design a graduation invitation or announcement from a template for free in minutes.

Start from scratch with Adobe InDesign.

Follow the steps of creating a postcard or a flyer with InDesign. Then dive into making your graduation announcement. Download the grad announcement font pack or choose from thousands of Adobe Fonts.

Take your designs further with Creative Cloud.

For the most memorable graduation announcements or invitations, create your own photo composites and graphics in Adobe Photoshop or even painterly illustrations in Adobe Illustrator. Then pull your designs easily into a postcard or flyer layout in InDesign. Access your creative projects and assets from anywhere.

Amazing graduation invitations, announcements and more design projects are within reach.

Discover Creative Cloud for students and teachers