Work design magic with Word templates
Weave a little wow into your next document when you work with a customizable design template for Word. From professional documents to schoolwork, there’s a Word template that’ll take your next project to the next level.
Start with the best Word templates
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Frequently asked questions
You can use Word document templates to design resumes and cover letters, create business invoices, customize annual calendars, and more. There are also templates that you can use throughout your business’s internal operations. Use Word document templates to create a business plan, design and share your org chart, and make printable letter head.
You can make your own Word document templates from scratch. Create documents that fit your exact needs since the options are limitless when using Word. If you don’t know how to begin, you can also edit existing templates and customize them so that their content, colors, fonts, and media are curated for you.
You can find Word templates by using the search bar. When you search «Word,» a variety of templates will come up in the results. You can customize their colors, text, media, and more.
Explore other templates
When you create a new document in Microsoft Word, it looks decent right off the bat. But sometimes you want to make your page look much better than the default.
Use Microsoft Word’s page layout design tools to make easy-to-read documents that reflect positively on you and your business—even if you’re new to Word.
You can make page layout designs in Microsoft Word from scratch. Or, skip the grunt work by using Microsoft Word templates.
Envato Elements and GraphicRiver are both great sources of print templates for Word. Each template is made by professional designers. Elements makes a compelling offer. Download unlimited templates, fonts, photos, and other creative assets for one fixed subscription price.
But, if you only need the occasional template for MS Word and prefer to pay for each single use, then look to GraphicRiver.
How to Make Awesome Page Layout Designs in Microsoft Word (Video)
If you create or modify documents in Word, you may want to change the standard Microsoft Word layout. There are a number of changes you can make.
Watch this quick screencast to find out what you need to know about Word page layout options:
To learn more about changing page layouts in Microsoft Word, study the complete written tutorial below:
Why Learn About Page Layouts In Word?
Page layout settings in Word determine how your document looks when you print it out. It includes the page orientation, margins, and columns, for example.
It’s important to pay attention to the page layout of your document for several reasons:
- It ensures consistency. This gives your readers a good experience while consuming your document.
- A good page layout makes your document more readable. When your document is aesthetically pleasing and has a consistent look, your audience is more likely to read, comprehend, and remember your content.
- A well-designed document reflects well on you. It reinforces your credibility and authority in your field.
Microsoft Word has robust page settings that allow you to control your page layout design. Everything is designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible. Yet, doing page layout in Word can be daunting if you’re new to the software.
This article breaks things down for you. So, you can follow along, step-by-step, and take control of how your document looks.
Types of Documents You Can Create in MS Word
You can create all kinds of printed documents in Microsoft Word.
Make business documents like:
- resumes
- cover letters
- business letters
- reports
- proposals
- invoices
- certificates
- forms
MS Word is also very handy for creating marketing documents. Create everything from:
- flyers
- brochures
- advertising inserts
- and more
For education or training use Word to prepare:
- handouts
- workbooks
- manuals
- certificates
You can also produce postcards, invitations, newsletters, and signs. If you can print it, then you can whip it up in Word.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use Microsoft Word’s page layout tools to produce the print materials you need.
How to Work With Templates to Quickly Change Your Design
The quickest way to change or apply a page layout is by using a print template for Word. For the examples below, we’ll be using the SEO Proposal template from Envato Elements.
When looking for a print template for Word, it’s a good idea to choose one that uses paragraph and character styles. The styles feature will allow you to quickly format text even in a long document.
Below are some roundups of Microsoft Word templates you can choose from:
Now that you’ve chosen a template with a good page layout in Word, it’s time to learn how to use it.
1. Download the Template
Download the template of your choice to your computer’s hard drive. Unzip the file, then copy the template. This way, you’ve got the original template file intact, if you want to revert to it.
2. Customize the Template With Your Own Content
Replace the text with your own information.
If you want to change the text formatting, change the settings for fonts and paragraphs.
To add your own image, click on an image placeholder. The Format Picture dialog box opens. Under Fill, select Picture or texture fill. Under Picture source, click Insert….
Find and select the image you want to use. Click Insert.
Now, the image is inserted.
To replace an existing logo on the template, click on the logo, then click on the Picture Format tab.
Click the Change Picture button on the ribbon. Find and select the logo file, then click Insert.
If necessary, click-and-drag one of the handles of the logo to resize it.
Next, I’d like to change the color of the rectangle on the cover page. To do that, select the shape, then click the Shape Format tab.
The Shape Format ribbon is displayed. Click on the drop-down arrow beside the Shape Fill button. Select from the color options shown or click More Fill Colors… to specify the color you want to apply.
This is what the customized proposal cover looks like now:
Repeat these steps to customize the other pages of the template.
As you can see, when you start with a template for Word most of the design and page formatting decisions are already made for you by the template creator.
But, if you prefer to start your document from scratch, follow the steps below to change the default page format settings.
Type or paste your text into the document. Apply text and paragraph formatting to modify settings for fonts, spacing, alignment, and more. Then, you can move on to the page layout.
3. How to Set the Microsoft Word Page Orientation as Portrait or Landscape
To set the Microsoft Word page orientation of your document, go to File > Page Setup….
The Page Setup dialog opens. Click on the button for either Word portrait or landscape layout orientation.
4. How to Set the Print Size of the Paper
From the Microsoft Word Page Setup dialog, you can also change the paper size when you print the document. Click on the Paper Size field to show the different paper size choices available.
Select the size you wish to use. You can also click Manage Custom Sizes… to specify your own size.
5. How to Split Your Text into Multiple Columns
Sometimes you may want to divide your text into columns. This can make the document more readable and adds variety to an otherwise monotonous layout. Columns are popular in magazines, newsletters, and similar types of materials.
Arrange the Entire Document into Columns
To change the MS Word layout to columns, follow these steps:
1. Go to Layout > Columns.
The Columns dialog box opens.
2. Select one of the Presets or manually set the:
- number of columns
- width and spacing
- apply to the whole document or from that point forward
3. When you’re happy with the settings, click OK.
Apply Columns to a Part of the Document
You can also apply columns to only a specific part of the document.
1. Select the text you wish to display in columns.
2. Go to Layout > Columns.
3. In the Columns dialog box, choose the settings you want to apply.
Notice that you now have the option to apply the column settings to Selected text. Click OK.
Now, only the selected text has been broken into two columns. The rest remains in one column.
6. How to Add Page and Section Breaks
Sections in Microsoft Word enable you to apply different layouts to different parts of your document. This is useful for making creative layouts, especially to long documents.
Insert a Page Break in Word
A page break separates text, so that anything after the break is moved to a succeeding page. It’s useful for dividing up a document into chapters and sections.
To insert a page break, place the cursor at the point where you want the break to be, then go to Insert > Break > Page Break.
In our sample document, the title page is now on a separate page from the rest of the text.
Insert a Section Break in Word
If you wish to apply varying formatting on different parts of the document, then you’ll want to break it into sections. This includes varying the columns, headers and footers, pagination, borders, and other settings.
To create a section break, place the cursor where you would like the section break to be. Go to Insert > Break > Section Break.
Select the type of section break you want to insert:
- Section Break (Next Page) creates a section break and moves the next section into a new page.
- Section Break (Continuous) keeps the two sections on the same page while allowing you to apply different formatting settings for each.
- Section Break (Odd Page) starts a new section on the next odd-numbered page.
- Section Break (Even Page) starts a new section on the next even-numbered page.
Take Control of Your Page Layouts with Microsoft Word
Use Microsoft Word’s page layout tools to give your documents a consistent, readable, and professional look. You don’t have to be an expert in Word to take better control of your document’s page layouts. With Microsoft Word’s page layout tools, you can make any document look the way you want it to.
You don’t have to start from scratch, either. You can have professional designers make most of the design and layout decisions for you by using print templates for MS Word. If you want unlimited downloads of templates as well as photos, fonts, icons, and other creative assets—all for one small, fixed fee—then Envato Elements is the best source for you.
For one-off Word templates and other desktop publishing tools, look to GraphicRiver. Here, you can access everything you need to create impressive print materials on a pay-per-use basis.
And when you use a template, the skills you learned in this post will help you customize and adapt it to your needs.
Editorial Note: Video added by Alexis (Lexi) Rodrigo.
Everyone knows Microsoft Word. But you’d be amazed what you can accomplish with it, given a bit of training, and a super-polished Word template!
We’ll be walking you through how to use Microsoft Word in ways you hadn’t considered before, giving you end results that look like they’ve been professionally designed.
Plus, we’re collecting some of the best Word templates for different uses. Resumes, proposals, invoices, business plans, stationery, and so much more. These templates give you a super-quick way to get started on a professional project.
Latest Microsoft Word Template Articles
1 Mar 2023
10+ Tips for Modern, Pro Page Layout Designs in Microsoft Word
If you are ready to amp up your designs in Microsoft Word, this is the right place. Here – with templates as examples – we are going to look at a variety of ways you can create more modern, professional-looking page layout designs using this common tool.
Microsoft Word is capable of so much more than you might expect with page layout. You can build modern, on-trend documents, and push the software further than ever before.
Forget the old days of Word Art and choosing between six fonts. Let’s take Microsoft Word into a new world of improved design and typography!
16 Feb 2023
30+ Best Business Plan Templates for Word 2023
Are you writing a business plan for a brand new startup? Or updating an old business plan for an established brand? Then this collection of MS Word business plan templates will definitely come in handy.
The key to making an effective business plan brochure that wins over investors and inspires employees is to use a modern and attractive design.
No one wants to read through a 100-page brochure that looks like a VCR manual from the 1960s. Today, people prefer cleaner brochure layouts with proper paragraph formatting that offer a much smoother reading experience.
Designing such modern business plan documents is not that difficult. In fact, you can easily create them using Word templates.
In this post, we showcase high-quality business plan templates for Word that have been designed by professionals. They feature modern designs and clean layouts that are perfect for all kinds of startups, businesses, and corporate companies. Have a look.
15 Feb 2023
35+ Best Business & Project Proposal Templates for Microsoft Word 2023
Microsoft Word is the perfect tool for quickly putting together a professional brochure or a proposal in a very short amount of time. What makes it even better is the ability to use templates.
With Word templates, you can instantly produce a high-quality brochure design without having to spend hours perfecting it. They simply help cut your work time in half.
In this post, we feature some of the best proposal templates for Word that you can use to create beautiful brochures for various types of business proposals. Be sure to keep a few of these templates saved on your computer to use whenever you need to create a quick project proposal.
9 Feb 2023
45+ Best Microsoft Word Templates (Modern, Downloadable Word Documents)
Microsoft Word is a multipurpose tool you can use to create not just letters and documents but also resumes, brochures, flyers, and everything in between. This collection of Word templates will show you how versatile this software can be.
Whether you’re working on an important report for a client or making a simple flyer for an event, you can save a great amount of time by using a Word template. Templates come with pre-made designs so all you have to do is edit them to copy-paste your own content.
In this post, we share with you all kinds of Word templates you can use to quickly design professional documents without expert design experience.
What is a Microsoft Word Template?
A Microsoft Word template is a document type that creates a copy of itself when you open it. Templates are especially useful for things that you will create multiple documents that should have the same visual structure, such as letterhead, business documents, and other collateral pieces.
A template ensures that you start with and use the same header and footer, logos and fonts, and other design elements every time you start with the same template file.
A Microsoft Word template can be very simple – with a static header and footer with a content area you can fill in (such as letterhead or stationary) or it can contain more complex layouts (such as a resume or brochure).
Microsoft Word has some starter templates you can use “right out of the box,” you can create your own templates for use and reuse, or download a template from a third party with the design elements that you prefer.
5 Reasons to Use Word Templates
Many people love starting with a Microsoft Word template because it is a quick and easy way to create a document with the look and feel you want without having to design it yourself. (Although that is also an option.)
Here are five reasons – and projects – that are perfect for using a Word template:
- Word templates help you establish design consistency for multiple users. Every time someone starts with a templated document, it will look the same from the start.
- High design quality is a must-have element and is expected of premium Word templates. Many of these starter documents are highly visual and can help you create designs – from basic letters to brochures – that would otherwise be cumbersome in Microsoft Word.
- Templates are available for any number of document types, sizes, and design styles. There’s something for almost every eye and you can pick the design before starting, making it easy to collaborate with a group and get a project started and finished with full team buy-in.
- Automated elements are often included in Word templates for more complex documents that require paginated elements such as tables of content or linked page numbers. This can be tricky to figure out on your own and templates make it easy.
- Templates help you make quick and efficient work of what could otherwise be complex design projects. Find a template with a layout you love, fill in your content and you are ready to publish.
Free vs. Premium Word Templates: Pros and Cons
You can find both free and premium (paid) Microsoft Word templates from a number of sources and marketplaces online. (We love the quality and selection available from Envato Elements.)
Free Microsoft Word templates are a practical and quick solution for simple documents. You may even use some of the starter templates that are included with the software package.
The biggest downfalls to free templates are variety and selection may be limited and using Microsoft’s built-in templates might result in your documents looking like everyone else.
Premium templates can range in price from a few dollars to as much as $30, depending on what type of design you are working on. The nice thing about premium templates is that all the features to complete a project are typically built-in, they include theme color and font palettes that you can use or swap easily, and help you create a more custom feel with the design than an out-of-the-box template from Microsoft.
Premium templates have a lot of variety and you can probably find something that’s exactly what you are looking for in terms of document size, style, and ease of customization.
Further Microsoft Word Template Reading
22 Jan 2023
17+ Best Organizational Chart (Org Chart) Templates for PowerPoint 2023
An organizational chart, or org chart, is the best approach for visualizing the hierarchy of a company. With the organizational chart templates on this list, you can design one in just a few steps.
While there are many different types of organizational charts out there, the main purpose of an organizational chart is to offer a visual overview of an organization’s structure. Needless to say, a good design plays an important role in making a proper organizational chart.
That’s where organizational chart templates come in. So we brought you a collection of organizational chart PowerPoint templates to help you design modern and professional organizational charts for your company.
These PowerPoint organizational charts come in various styles of designs but they all look amazing. You can simply download and customize them however you like. Have a look.
15 Dec 2022
25+ Best Invoice Templates for Word (Free & Pro) 2023
Most businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers don’t pay much attention to the design of their invoices. For them, even an automatically generated invoice is enough as long as it gets the job done.
But the important thing to keep in mind is that even your invoice is part of your brand. So using a professionally-designed invoice that fits your brand identity is crucial to delivering a memorable experience to clients.
The good news is that you don’t have to look too far to find a great-looking invoice for your business. With the help of MS Word invoice templates, you can easily create an on-brand invoice without having to spend hours designing one from scratch.
In this collection, we bring you lots of choices for finding the best Word invoice template to get started. They are fully customizable, printable, and come in various styles of designs.
Grab a template and start making some money!
1 Aug 2022
How to Make a Flyer in Word (Using a Quick Template)
Everyone has to make a flyer at some point. It’s easy in Microsoft Word with a quick template that you can download, replace content, and use. You’re probably already familiar with MS Word, so why not use that as a jumping off point for a simple flyer project?
Here, we’ll take you through everything you need to know to create a flyer from a professional template, from thinking about content to preparing the file for printing.
We’re going to use a template from Envato Elements (where there are loads of great options!), but you could use any flyer template for Word that you’ve tracked down online.
22 Mar 2022
30+ Best Cover Letter Templates & Docs for MS Word
The cover letter is a key component of your resume. You use it to provide a brief background of your professional career. But it’s much more than just a written document.
The design of your cover letter, the formatting, the colors, and the themes used in your document are just as important for crafting an effective cover letter. And, more importantly, it has to match the design of your resume/CV as well.
Designing such a resume and cover letter from scratch can be a very time-consuming process. The easiest way to make a professional cover letter and a CV is to use a pre-made template.
We handpicked a collection of premium and free cover letter templates you can download and use in Microsoft Word. These templates are designed by professionals and they will help you to easily win over any HR manager.
10 Feb 2022
20+ Pro Resume Templates for Microsoft Word 2023
Microsoft Word is the go-to software for designing CVs and resumes. But you often have to settle with dull and outdated designs to make your resume using the app.
That won’t be the case if you use a pre-made Word resume template. When using resume templates, you get to choose from modern and unique designs made by professional designers. These templates help you create resumes that get noticed and stand out.
Most of these resume templates have incredible designs that it’s actually hard to believe are made with Microsoft Word. Just take a look at the resume templates we handpicked for this collection and you’ll see for yourself.
There are Word resume templates for all kinds of professions in this list. We also included a few free templates as well. Have a look.
18 Mar 2021
How to Create an Invoice in Word (In 3 Simple Steps!)
From small businesses to one-off needs for freelancers, Microsoft Word can be a reliable – and easy – option for creating quick invoices. Most people have it, and you can get a surprisingly well designed invoice made with relatively little effort!
You can use a template that comes with the software by default, create your own, or download a predesigned option from a marketplace such as Envato Elements. (The latter option is the easiest by far.)
Here, we’ll walk you through how to create an invoice in Word using an example template. You can download it here and follow along.
11 Mar 2021
How to Open, Use & Edit a Template in Microsoft Word
Templates are the super tool of regular Microsoft Word users. Templates establish a set of style rules and visual guidelines so that your documents have a unified look and feel.
Templates are a great starting point for elements such as letterhead other documents.
Here, we’ll look at how to open, edit, and use templates in Microsoft Word. The whole process is really simple, and can open up a whole new level of flexibility for how you work with Word.
3 Mar 2020
20+ Best Microsoft Word Letterhead Templates (Free & Premium)
Creating a letterhead is more than just copy-and-pasting a logo into a blank document. It needs to represent your brand and match the brand identity. If you don’t have time or the money to design a professional letterhead, then use a letterhead template!
In this post, we feature a collection of the best letterhead templates for Microsoft Word. These templates feature designs made by professionals. They are fully customizable as well. All you have to do is open the template in MS Word and start editing.
We managed to find letterhead templates with various styles of designs. Whether you’re making a letterhead for a creative agency or a corporate brand, you’ll find a fitting design in this list.
Looking to download Free and Modern Word templates? Finding great, perfect and modern looking templates in Microsoft Word for free is not an easy job. However, we are here to help you with lots of editable Microsoft Word templates 🙂
Best free Microsoft Word templates
We are giving away professional-looking templates. You can find here the following printable templates: Beautiful CVs / resumes in Word, awesome book designs, free newsletter templates, editable flyers, company letterheads & free invoice templates in Microsoft Word.
All our premium templates in Microsoft Word are highly customizable and these are completely free to download. Check them out, you would definitely love these free Microsoft templates.
Clean and editable Word templates
Even if you don’t have Photoshop or InDesign skills, still you can download here many Photoshop-like templates with clean and editable layouts. We add freshly made Ms Word templates almost every other day.
Try our 100% free Word templates, you would definitely be amazed with such professional-looking designs in Microsoft Word. All these templates are properly formatted by some experts and these have easy-to-use layout.
Using these modern Word templates…
Go to any Word template you like, read it’s description to know its details and download it to have your template in editable Word format.
Everything has been properly formatted in these Word templates so you don’t need to worry about the formatting. You can fully change or rebrand these perfect Ms Word templates as per your needs.
Fresh resume templates in Word
Free doctor CV template in Word — Looking for an easy layout for resume in Word? Try this free doctor cv template! If you are a medical student or a professional physician wanting to create a doctor… … Read more
Iconic personal profile template for Word — Are you a fresher looking to make your first personal profile for a job? COVID-19 caused a great havoc in the job industry! During the recent COVID-19 outbreak, more people… … Read more
Word design for executive assistant resume — Do you want a readymade CV to create a resume for an executive assistant role? We are providing you with this free executive assistant resume! It can turn your traditional-looking… … Read more
Free template for designing good resume — Do you want a boost in your IT career? Those IT professionals who desire to advance their careers by applying to some latest job vacancies should try this free template… … Read more
Free fashion designer resume in Word — Looking for a brand new career in 2021? Why not use our handmade and very attractive resume for applying to your dream job! This is easy, download this fashion designer… … Read more
Clean letterhead templates in Word
Simple letterhead design for manager — How do you design a blank letterhead in Ms Word? A simple answer would be first choosing a proper page size then setting 1″ margins on all sides. Then adding… … Read more
Free professional letterhead design in Word — Looking for a professional letterhead designer? Before hiring any letterhead designer, try our professional letterhead design, you can download this letterhead in 100% customizable Word format. Moreover, you can use… … Read more
High quality official letterhead for Word — Are you in need of making an official letterhead in Word? You can create a full fledged letterhead for your personal or company use through this free yet high quality… … Read more
Free beautiful formal letterhead in Word — Every business needs a proper letterhead for writing its official and branded letters. If you are also looking to create your own letterhead pad in Microsoft Word then simply use… … Read more
Free best school letterhead in Word — Looking for an extremely useful letterhead doc in printable Word? Before buying some not-so-really-editable letterhead templates, you should try this custom letterhead template! As with all our Microsoft templates, this… … Read more
Word template for creative letterhead design — Are you a business startup looking for creating a letterhead in Word? Check this out our free creative letterhead design in Microsoft Word! This creative letterhead is far more great-looking… … Read more
Amazing flyer templates in Word
Simple product leaflet design in Word — Electronic flyers are the best ways to quickly market any product. If you are also planning to launch your latest product, the first step would be to prepare a professional… … Read more
Simple template for company profile in Word — Are you looking for an editable marketing template to make a business profile for your company? If you want a minimal Word template for writing a short company profile then… … Read more
Free mockup design in Microsoft Word — A simple yet clean and modern looking mockup design in Microsoft Word. If you don’t have Photoshop or InDesign installed and want to have your design ready as a mockup… … Read more
Premium flyer design in Microsoft Word free — A FREE, perfect and premium flyer design in Word. This is a modern flyer template and you would definitely not find such a professional looking and editable flyer design anywhere… … Read more
Corporate flyer design in Microsoft Word free — A sleek, elegant and corporate flyer design in Word. This is a premium design and you would definitely not find such a professional looking and editable flyer template anywhere else… … Read more
Professional book templates for Word
6×9 book template Word for non fiction — Are you looking for a free template for writing a book in Word? Try this format for manuscript, an editable Microsoft Word template for book. You can simply download and… … Read more
Editable template of book in 5×8 size — If you are an author who wants a free book template then try this editable template of book! This is our latest book format in Word that is completely free… … Read more
Business report template in Word format — Does your job require you to write business reports frequently? Use this free business report template as this is a perfect report format example for writing monthly, bi-monthly or annual… … Read more
Manual template for syllabus writing — Are you looking for an easy way to write your academic manual? We are giving away this free manual template for syllabus writing! This free Word syllabus template is completely… … Read more
Free meeting report sample in Word — Do you want to write meeting minutes in Word? If you are looking for a perfect meeting minutes example then you can use our free meeting report sample. You can… … Read more
Free business plan template in Word — Looking to write a simple business plan sample to forecast your organization’s performance? You can create a business plan in Word by using this free business plan format! Our business… … Read more
Great-looking invoice templates in Word
Free billing format invoice in Word — Are you looking for a beautiful yet editable invoice generator in Word? Try this wonderful looking & free billing format invoice in Microsoft Word. This superbly clean and editable invoice… … Read more
Modern invoice design in Microsoft Word, free — Every business needs invoicing so here we’re with our modern invoice design in Word for 100% free. This is a fully editable invoice template for Microsoft Word. You would only… … Read more
Free websites to download premium templates
Templates by Microsoft Office
https://templates.office.com/en-US/templates-for-Word
Canva Word templates
https://www.canva.com/templates/
CreateSpace book templates
Need help for using our Word templates? No worries, simply write to us through inbox or in the comments box below, we will definitely help you in getting your Word template ready for you.
Want some custom templates in Microsoft Word? Let us know so that we can also prepare a custom and on-demand Ms Word template of your choice, without any price 🙂
Hope you like our Word templates.
After my posts about creating monograms, labels, and banners in Word, I have received quite a few questions asking if it was possible to make other graphics as well. It is! Today I’m going to show you a couple examples of how to create your own graphics and let you in on my little graphic-making secret. 😉 Let’s get started!
Make Your Own Backgrounds
Have you ever searched and searched for a background graphic to use only to become frustrated that nothing is “just right”? I have definitely been there, so I started creating my own simple backgrounds. I actually make a lot of them in Photoshop Elements, but the same thing can easily be accomplished in Word as well.
1. Use Gridlines
The first thing I do is, under the “View” tab at the top of the screen, check the “Gridlines” box. This way you’ll have a guide to help you make sure your patterns are straight and evenly spaced.
2. Start with a Shape
Let’s say I want to make a plaid pattern. I will go to the “Insert” tab, click on “Shape” and choose a rectangle to begin my pattern. I made my rectangle two boxes high and ran it the full width of the gridlines.
3. Pick your colors.
I can then go to my “Drawing Tools” toolbar to change the outline and fill colors of my shape. I chose pink. {Because who doesn’t love pink in the spring?!}
4. Continue Adding Shapes.
Continue this same process with each shape until you have the pattern you want. {Shortcut: You can copy and paste the shape if you’re using the same one over and over.} I used a combination of vertical and horizontal rectangles and the “Line” shape to make my pattern.
5. Group Your Shapes.
Next, like we did in the labels and bunting banner tutorials, I am going to “group” my pattern. To do this. I select each shape by holding down the “Ctrl” key and clicking each shape individually. I then right click and select “Grouping” and then “Group.”
6. Save As Picture in PowerPoint.
Here comes my little secret when it comes to making graphics. In order to use this as a graphic, we need to save it as a .jpg or other picture file. While Microsoft Word doesn’t let you do this, PowerPoint does. So the next thing you’ll do is right click your shape and select “Copy.” Then paste it into a PowerPoint presentation and right click it. Select “Save as Picture…” I usually save it as a .jpg file as opposed to .png or .tif, but you can test them out and see what works best for you.
Use Your Background to Create a Graphic
You can now use your graphic as a background in Word or another program or to fill a shape, like we did in the bunting banner tutorial. I used my background to create a graphic for my blog in Word.
I drew a shape, then under the “Drawing Tools” tab, I clicked the “Shape Fill” drop down and selected “Picture.” I picked the pattern .jpg that I just created.
Next, I drew a white rectangle as a background for my blog name.
I wanted to make sure the circle was defined, so I drew another circle of the same size and put it directly over my existing circle. I chose “No Fill” as the fill color so that I could have a well defined outline while still seeing my patterned circle.
I then went under the “Insert” tab and used the “Word Art” feature to add my blog name. {For more details on how to format your Word Art, see my Bunting Banner Tutorial.}
Finally, you will want to follow steps five and six above to group the graphic and save it as a picture using PowerPoint. Then you can use it like you would use any other .jpg picture file!
If you’re just starting to experiment with graphic design and aren’t ready to invest in designing software, Microsoft Word has a surprising amount of options available and is SO easy to use! The possibilities are endless!
Do you have any design tips in Microsoft Word?
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