9+ Death Announcement Card Designs & Templates – PSD, AI, InDesign
The pain that we all bear is caused by different reasons: an imminent heartbreak from a dying relationship; a bitter disappointment for failing to achieve a certain smart goal; or a loved one’s unforeseeable death. Death. A word that resonates even to the very core of our being. It shakes our souls, troubles our minds, and shatters our hearts. That’s it. Death. A word that sounds so logical but our minds still have a problem in processing it. It’s one of the most tragic events in one’s life that those that were left behind were spared with only the body lying silently and lifeless in a perpetual white prison six feet under the ground. The smiles that you often wear have been torn down and the gleeful eyes are now brimming with sorrowful tears.
Our once an impenetrable wall weakens as we wear our vulnerability like a veil. But, no matter how unbearable the pain has been since a loved one’s passing, as his/her family or friend, we need to put up a front of strength in this trying time. There are important matters that we need to attend to, like giving out death announcement cards to let everyone close to the deceased know about their passing. You can design your own death announcement card if you want to. But, given the hectic schedule of planning a funeral, it would be ideal to use a template instead. So, to help you choose which design to use, we have prepared a list of designs and templates for the death announcement card below.
Traditional Death Announcement Card Template
What is a death announcement card?
Announcement cards are what people use to spread information or announce a certain event they want others to get involved with. In this case, a death announcement card is made when someone has passed away and is given to the family and friends of the deceased to let them know about it. They usually contain the following details:
- Name of the deceased
- Date of birth (DOB) and date of death (DOD)
- Funeral date, time, and venue
Knowing these details, it is no wonder that people often get confused about how different the death announcement card is to the funeral card.
1. Death Announcement Card vs Funeral Card
A funeral card is for informing people about the funeral that will be held to honor the life that the deceased has lived, while the announcement card is merely for announcing someone’s death. Their differences lie mainly on what subject they are pertaining to: one informs about a funeral and the other acts as a messenger of the unfortunate news. But, in recent years, the death announcement card has been infused into the funeral memorial card or vice versa. This is because the details included in their content are mostly, if not all, the same.
Their merger allows for a lesser budget allocation for informing about the depressing news, especially those who are on a tight budget. Well, everyone is, right? These days, someone’s death would require a huge amount of money to sustain the wake and the funeral. The influx of guests who come to mourn such a tragic loss requires the family of the deceased to prepare for their accommodation, such as the food and the venue of the wake since not all wakes are held at the family’s house. Also, coffins are expensive. You may also like card templates.
Although some of the expenses will be covered by life insurance, it would still help a little if the death announcement card and the simple funeral card will be fused to one. Another thing is that you don’t need to create separate designs for each of them. The lesser the effort, the lesser the expenses. You can create one yourself or you can just pick any of the templates that we have provided in this article.
Sample Death Announcement Card Template
Green Death Announcement Card Design
Why is there a need for a death announcement card?
Since the dawn of the digital age, it has become more convenient and efficient to disseminate information. It only takes a single text, chat, or call to spread information. Mass communication has been made possible with a single click of a button. And with the influence of social media, information dissemination has never been this far-reaching.
There are countless ways in order to inform people of a certain person’s passing. And, the best method to do so is to send a death announcement card. Other than knowing its purpose of information dissemination, there are other reasons why you should use a death announcement card. You may also like invitation card designs.
1. Express your grief
The details on the death announcement card may be minimal, but you don’t have to limit yourself to what’s standard. If anything, you should put everything that can be included in the content of the card. For example, you can write a certain message for the deceased. You can express your grief for the loss and your love for the deceased in a number of ways, and these are the following:
a. Personal message
You have been putting up a face that everything is okay, that you are keeping yourself strong in these trying days. The grief swelling up inside that you have been suppressing (or openly showing) might reach a point where it consumes you whole, leading you to a bottomless sea of darkness. From time to time, it would help to express the surging emotions that you have been keeping this whole time. We cope up with this kind of situations differently and writing all of your pent up thoughts and emotions is one of those that will actually help you. You may also like funeral invitation templates.
It may not be your ideal way of dealing with this situation, but writing down everything that you want to say about your dear departed will help ease the heavy feeling that you have been carrying this whole time. This can be heart-wrenching to write as you put all your pain into every letter of the words. Random episodes of flashbacks invade your mind as you type every word of your message. The laughter, the pain, the suffering, the sorrow—include everything that has been weighing you down. You may also see obituary card templates.
Let the swirling emotions of love and sorrow take control of your hands as you write the most heartbreaking love letter that you could ever write. Release every thought, pour out every ounce of emotion as you passionately scribble the happy moments that you had with the departed. Throw words of admiration, give praises, recall the best times you had with the departed, tell everyone how he or she has impacted your life and the life of others. This way, you are honoring the existence of the departed and immortalizing it with your words. Give the people the story of the decade.
b. Poems
Poems can elicit as much emotion and impact as that of a personal message. Also, writing a poem lets your creativity out on the loose. In writing a poem, you let your emotions take over you as you type every word of your composition. Feel every word, visualize every scenario in your flashbacks. Use every adjective to describe how beautiful and amazing your dear departed is. Don’t worry if it’s not the best poem out there or if it can’t compete with the best poets. What matters most is that you have expressed your sentiments with the words that you have conjured and written with so much passion.
Aside from your own poem, you can also put the favorite poem of your dear one (if he/she has any) as an alternative. Or, you can put a poem of your choice or any of the family members’ that you think will suit the occasion. This is a great option if your the container of your creative juice is as dry as the desert. There is a sea of poems spread across the internet or in books, so narrow down your choices as much as possible. Choose a poem that you can relate to or a poem that expresses the beauty of one’s life. You can also choose a poem that might help people cope with the situation because sometimes they read this kind of message to lighten their feelings. Give the people the most beautiful poem that will make them either tear up or smile, or both. You may also see examples of cards.
Rustic Death Announcement Template
Creative Death Announcement Card
c. Prayer
This is a good alternative for a message on your death announcement card. You can pick any prayer that celebrates one’s life or you could create a prayer of your own. A prayer that you create will feel more personal and it creates a connection with everyone who receives the death announcement card. The recipients can use this prayer to pray for the deceased one’s soul. Also, you can use this prayer as you and the other people attending the funeral pray it in unison. Give the most heartfelt prayer that the soul of the departed will be thankful for. You may also like funeral announcement cards.
d. Song
A song can also be a great alternative to a message just like the prayer. Songs convey personal stories of the artist use them to express their buried thoughts and emotions. And, as listeners, there are times when we can relate to their songs. You can choose a song that would be appropriate for the situation or anything that people will be able to relate to. Or, you could use your dear one’s favorite song instead. If you it is what you will include, the recipients of the death announcement card will know a part of the departed that some of them may not have known until then. This will create a personal connection with the recipients and the departed, and it might even trigger some flashbacks of the moments that they had spent with him/her. Also, putting a song on the death announcement card can be used for the song to sing at the end of the funeral. All of those who are attending can sing in unison for one last time before your dear one returns to the earth. Singing it will definitely set the mood and will call upon a tsunami of tears, so you better prepare a handkerchief. You may also like obituary templates.
2. Let out your creativity
Some people opt for a very simple and minimalistic design for a death announcement card, but there are others who will go an extra mile to give the best death announcement card ever created for the loved one. We all want the best for people that we love, right? So, if you are in charge of the design, then you need to let your creativity out loose. Create a masterpiece that even the soul of your loved one will be proud of. You can have your own twist on whatever design you can come up with, but you can also adopt a style that fits your dear one or one that he/she likes the most.
3. Formality
Call it old-age or traditional, but modern times have watered down the essence of cards like this. The existence of social media and other messaging platforms have dominated the sector on information dissemination. But, no matter how far the advancement of technology may go, giving out a death announcement card will still be the most formal approach to informing people about your beloved one’s passing. So, don’t ever hesitate to give out formal invitations such as this one if there are important events that people need to know about. This type of cards will always be classy, sophisticated, and classic.
Feather Death Announcement Card Design
Death Announcement Card
Black & White Death Announcement Card
Gothic Death Announcement Card Template
Have you found the right design?
As you approach the final section of this articles, your eyes are probably brimming with tears already. It may have been painful for you to look at the designs and templates as they remind you of your dear one’s departure. Take a moment to relax and breath. Right now, you have to get through choosing the design for the funeral memorial card because that’s what you need to get done. It’s going to be hectic from now one with all the arrangement for the funeral. In order to do what is needed for the preparation, you need to have a clear mind and let your emotions sit back for a while.
You have done your best in reaching the end of this list. The designs, as you have seen, range from simple to fancy. Choose the one that will best accentuate the image of your beloved on the death announcement card. Also, you can choose the design that will best showcase the personality and character of your beloved. Once you have the final design, you can freely edit or change any element of the template is it is fully customizable. After all the changes are applied, you can then print the announcement cards so you can start giving them out to the people close to your dear one. You may also see funeral examples.
In these trying times, you may feel alone as the grief swallows you gradually. But, before it drags you into a dark corner of your mind, always remember that you can reach out to your family and friends if everything is already too much to handle. Tell your family or friends about what you think and feel; it will help you release every pent-up emotion that has been weighing you down lately. Or, you can also write it down if you think that these personal matters are too private to share. You can also find activities that will distract you from the pain, like going out, traveling, or going to the gym. It’s going to take some time before you get over this painful situation, but with the help of those close to you, you’ll definitely get there. We offer our prayers and condolences to you and your family. You may also see funeral program templates.
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