Everyone loves to be recognized. That means it’s important to award certificates that look their best. By using a certificate template Word design, you can do exactly that.
When you think of how to design a certificate in Microsoft Word, consider your mission. You’re recognizing someone for a special achievement or accomplishment. While a certificate template Word is often simple, it can mean the world to the recipient.
Let's learn how to make a certificate in Word that the recognized person will love. What’s more: it only takes a few quick steps.
Find Your Own Certificate Template Word Designs on Elements
The best place to design your own award certificate is a template from Envato Elements. It's an all-you-can-download creative resource with a powerful offer: unlimited downloads.
For a flat monthly rate, you can download as many certificate template Word designs as you want. Then, you can customize them in moments.
Elements doesn’t only offer Word certificates. In fact, you’ll see a vast array of creative content. As a subscriber, you've got unlimited access to custom fonts, stock photos, icons, and more. All of these can be used to build a beautiful certificate fast.
If you prefer to buy a single template, Envato still has you covered. If this is your goal, head for GraphicRiver. There, you’ll find hundreds of stunning certificate template Word designs for sale individually.
How to Make Certificate Designs in Word Quickly (With Templates)
Once you choose your template from Envato Elements, download it and launch it in Word. You've got the blueprint. to learn how to create a certificate in Word. Now, it’s time to learn how to create a certificate in Word using templates.
Want to follow along with our tutorial? We’ll be using the beautiful Certificates Word template from Envato Elements. Join Elements and download it today!
1. Customize the Certificate Text
When you think of how to design a certificate using Microsoft Word, know that you won’t be starting from scratch. This is the true beauty of premium templates. Instead of spending time creating your own layout, you can fill in the blanks instead.
This has two key advantages. First, it saves you time and effort. Second, it guarantees a good impression. Most of us aren’t expert designers. Templates let us leverage the work of those who are.
Text, of course, is the most important component of any certificate design. Specifically, the name comes first and foremost. Everyone loves seeing their name in print, so this is the perfect place to start.
Notice that the certificate template Word has text already on it. This is placeholder text, and it shows you where to put your own words. For example, to customize the name, begin by clicking into the name text box. Then, select the contents. Finally, type in the recipient’s name, using your keyboard. The placeholder text will disappear, replaced with the name you’ve typed.
From here, you can click into the other text boxes on the certificate. Repeat these same steps: select existing text and replace it. In moments, you’ll have the certificate customized to fit the lucky recipient. This is how to make an award certificate that’s personalized and looks its absolute best.
Don’t forget the small details, like the signature lines and the company name up at the top. Again, the steps are the same, but it’s essential that you don’t forget and leave any placeholder text behind.
2. Change the Font Design
Customizing the certificate text isn’t the only font adjustment you can make. Once again, this demonstrates the power of premium Word certificate templates. Text placeholders save time, but they don’t require you to give up any creative control. You can still add a variety of font effects and style changes to make every certificate unique.
To get started, make sure that you've got some text selected. Any adjustments you make to fonts and text effects will apply only to selected text. Once you've got text selected, go to the Home tab. You’ll find this on Word’s ribbon, the series of menus across the top of your screen.
Clicking on Home, you’ll see an array of options in the Font group. From the dropdowns, you can change the font style and size. The buttons below control the effects. For example, you can apply bold font, add italics, or underline a few key words.
Wondering how to make an award or gift certificate in Word unique? Try using a custom font design. Everyone has seen a basic font. Why not try something special?
Once again, Envato Elements has you covered. As a subscriber, you've got access to thousands of unique font designs. Every one can be used on your certificate template Word. This is another example of how to create a certificate in Word that’s sure to impress.
3. Rearrange Objects
As you can see on the template, this certificate has a variety of objects on it. Of course, we’ve already customized the text, which itself is contained in a series of text boxes. But you can see other objects, like the border shapes and the ribbon in the bottom center.
While you might think these objects are static, they’re in fact editable and dynamic. By moving them around, you can change up the look and feel of the certificate.
For example, the shape immediately above the name placeholder can be moved. In this case, you can click and drag the shape to move it downward. Word will display guidelines to help keep the shape aligned with other content.
Having repositioned objects, you can also resize them. The ribbon at the bottom center has room to grow. Enlarging it helps it stand out and make the award certificate look even better. To resize an object on your certificate, click to select it. Then, you can pull on one corner to enlarge or shrink it.
Notice that when you pull on the shape, it may become distorted. That’s because the aspect ratio isn’t locked by default. In other words, it’s easy to make the shape too wide or too narrow. To avoid this, hold down Shift on your keyboard as you pull on the corner. This locks the aspect ratio, ensuring that the object keeps its shape.
Again, you can repeat these same steps anywhere on the slide. It’s how to design a certificate using Microsoft Word that works best for you.
4. Change the Color Scheme
Wonder how to make an award certificate that fits with your style and brand? The answer: creative use of color. Fortunately, premium templates in Microsoft Word make this easy. In this case, you might want to change the color of the border. The gold default style is beautiful, but you can always adjust it.
To change the color scheme of your certificate, you’ll first need to select an object. Here, that might be the solid gold outside border. When you click anywhere on the border, you’ll see that Word selects the entire object. And when you click, you’ll see a new tab on the ribbon: Shape Format.
Click on Shape Format with your object still selected. On the menu, you’ll see a collection of options. The one you need here's Shape Fill, which looks like a paint bucket.
Click the dropdown arrow beside it, and you’ll see a color chooser menu appear. Each of the colorful squares is a new color that you can apply. Choose one and click to change the color of the selected object. Watch as Word instantly changes the color of your selection.
Once more, you may need to repeat these steps to complete the transformation. Click on other areas that you want to modify, return to the Shape Fill menu, and choose new colors.
5. Export the Finished Certificate
We’ve just learned how to make a certificate in Word. Now, it’s time to export the finished product and share it with recipients. Keep in mind: the last thing that you want is for your design to change after the fact. That’s why it’s a great idea to export your Word certificate in PDF format.
By choosing PDF format, you unlock many advantages. Your design will lock in and won’t alter if someone opens it in a different version of Word. Plus, you’ll be able to share it with more people. PDF files are readable on almost any device. People won’t have to install Word to open a PDF.
Once you’ve finished your design work, find the File > Save As menu. File is in the top left corner of your screen. When the Save As menu appears, begin by giving your certificate a name. Then, click on the File Format dropdown.
From the list of options, choose PDF from the Export Formats section. Finally, click Export. Of course, Word will default to the standard .docx format if you prefer not to use PDF.
That’s all it takes! You learned how to make an award certificate in Microsoft Word. Now, your beautiful design is ready to share with the proud recipient. This is how you make a lasting impact in a short span of time.
More Options for Certificate Template Word Designs
Need more options while you learn how to make an award certificate? We've got you covered with the web's best certificate template Word designs.
Check out more options for certificate template Word designs below. You can use these to create an award or recognition that's sure to wow someone. Use some of them to even learn how to make a gift certificate in Word!
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Learn More About How to Use Microsoft Word
You've learned how to design a certificate using Microsoft Word. You might want to learn more about how to work within the app we're using, Microsoft Word. We've built a deep learning library in our guide, Learn How to Use Microsoft Word (Beginner Tutorial Guide.)
Check out these tutorials to learn more about how to use Microsoft Word. Many of these tips will help you design your own award certificate, too!
How to Create, Open, and Save New Microsoft Word Document Files
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You Just Learned How to Design a Certificate Using Microsoft Word
In this tutorial, you learned how to create a certificate in Word. With the help of templates, it's easier than ever to design a certificate to award an employee, team member, or friend. Make your own certificate template customizations with these designs to save time and create great results.
Stop what you're doing, and ask yourself: who should I recognize with a certificate template Word design today? Grab a design, then follow this tutorial to make someone feel appreciated.
