Creative Invitations: Perforations at their Finest

Perforated paper is simply delicious. Those tiny dotted punctures have a nice look, have a fun feel, and make you want to interact with whatever it is they're on, whether it's something being used for functionality purposes or not. Ideally, they also tell the viewer what to do without actually telling them what to do, which can be pretty convenient when you want an uncluttered design.

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In vite verb |inˈvīt| [ with obj. ] make a polite, formal, or friendly request to (someone) to go somewhere or to do something

Invitations tend to go hand-in-hand with the traditional carnival ticket as a form of entry to an event. By means of tradition and sentimental memories, utilizing the idea of a ticket in design doesn't always mean to literally include carnival tickets (but that can be a cute addition that never gets old, too!).

Wedding invitation booklet using digital, letterpress and perforation - by dolcepress.com

In these dramatic wedding invitation booklets (above), simple perforation was used to create a tear-off RSVP postcard. This postcard tear-out is an excellent idea as it cuts down on providing an extra envelope while also using a portion of the invitation to re-use (tearing out and mailing the RSVP).

Wedding invitation with letterpress and perforation for tear-off RSVP card by dolcepress.com 

Per fo rate (as adj. perforated) : a perforated appendix.• make a row of small holes in (paper) so that a part may be torn off easily.

Opening night, restaurant invitation  by lunalux.com

Perforations can be implemented from delicate to heavy in order to portray a mood or theme. Those tiny punctures can provide an involved experience by presenting the idea of a ticket stub or coupon tear-off.

LUNALUX designers applied the carnival ticket idea in this restaurant invitation (above)—theming it with an oriental flair—utilizing a change of font and border pattern, and maintaining a recognizable ticket layout with a decorative border and numbers on the end.

Sarah's Shower Invites by wabisabievents.com

The above carnival-themed invitation included ticket stubs that were printed out on a heavy-stock paper, hand-cut and perforated with a sewing machine (without thread to simulate actual ticket stubs). Ingenious!

Nine-ten-eleven wedding invitation by pprwrkstudio.com

Even the idea of perforated paper by using dotted print lines, can add appeal to an invitation, delegating areas without heavily implying divisions in the design.

Wedding invitation using perforation by smokeproofpress.com

Invitation by Sarah Hearts Design using perforation

The two great examples above use a minimal perforation technique versus literal holes punched in to the paper—this is used more in classic design and is less distracting to the eye.

 Wedding invitations by Design With Chon using letterpress and perforation

You can see that perforation goes nicely, hand-in-hand with letterpress, a style where thick paper is imprinted with an indentation of the design. Both techniques involve a morphing, or rather a sort of sculpting of flat paper to give it texture and function outside of being an announcement or invitation.

Where have you seen perforation used in creative invitations?

header credits: invitation by merrimentdesign.com (left) | invitation found at ohsobeautifulpaper.com (right)