How to Design a Certificate in Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft Publisher allows you to design a certificate for any situation. The many templates available let you customize a certificate for official use or as a simple reward to a co-worker or friend. Designing a certificate is simple and there are many options available in Publisher to create one that works best for your needs.

Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Publisher on your computer.

2. Go to “File” and “New.” The “New Publications” box will appear on the left side of the screen.

3. Select “Publications for Print.”

4. Click on “Awards Certificates.” Several certificate templates will appear. Scroll through them to find one that you like or that works for your purpose.

5. Double click on the template that you like and it will open on your screen. The “Personal Information” box also might appear. You can either fill in this information here or on the actual certificate. Doing it on the actual certificate will likely give you more control over where the information actually ends up on the page.

6. Click inside each text box to fill in the required information. Be sure to include the name of the recipient and the name of the person or company presenting the certificate. Also, include what the certificate is for and the date it is being presented. Make sure that there are signature lines for everyone that needs to sign. You can add more text boxes to the template if you need additional information on the certificate.

7. Add your own graphics or company logo as needed. You can add graphics or pictures to the template or replace the default ones that already exist.

8. Move text boxes and graphics around. You can put this information wherever you want on the page.

9. Change the color of the certificate. If you don’t like the color of the template, go to “Format” and “Color Schemes.” A list of color schemes will appear in the box at the left. Click on a color scheme to select it and all of the colors on the certificate will change.

10. Change the style of font by going to “Format” and “Font Schemes.” As with the color schemes, click on the different fonts and it will show changes on the certificate.

11. Change the color of the font by highlighting it inside a text box. Then, click on “Format” and “Font.” Click on the drop-down arrow under “Color” to select one. Colors in the font scheme will show up first – it is best to choose one of these so that everything matches. When you’ve chosen the correct one, click “Apply” and then “OK.”

12. Print the certificate once you have a solid design. It is best to print the certificate on a thick paper.

Tips & Warnings

• Templates are not set in stone, rather they give you a strong guide. You can customize just about everything in the template.

• The possibilities of designing a certificate in Publisher are endless. The best thing to do is to just play around with it--add graphics, change colors and so on--to figure out how you want it to look.