Make a Certificate

It's important to recognize the efforts and achievements of students, coworkers, and anyone working in a team environment. While some companies spend thousands of dollars on prizes and rewards that go unappreciated, many employees will say that just having their work noticed is motivation enough to do their best. To create a simple certificate to do just that, all you need is some good quality cardstock and Microsoft Office. See Step 1 to learn how to make a certificate in both PowerPoint and Microsoft Word.

Steps

Sample Certificate

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Using PowerPoint

  1. Choose a certificate theme from the Design tab in the PowerPoint Ribbon. Here, you can pick a pre-designed certificate or design your own. You can choose a certificate theme that incorporates the same colors as your company's logo, or choose a different theme and edit the colors to your liking.
    • Try to choose a theme with few dark or bright colors outside of the text. This will help keep your certificate looking professional.
  2. Determine the purpose and type. Is your certificate for a generic show of appreciation, or will you be mentioning a specific goal the employee achieved or a training course completed? Plan out how much information will be necessary to include on the certificate to make an appropriate number of text boxes.
  3. Insert text boxes for your certificate of appreciation. To insert text, click the Insert tab, then click the Text Box icon. Click and drag from the first visible vertical gridline to the last visible vertical gridline. Release the mouse button.
    • If necessary, click the edge of the text box and move it or resize it until it lies just below the first visible horizontal gridline and is the height of half of the grid.
  4. Fill in the text. Right-click on the text box and choose Edit Text from the popup menu. Type your company's name in this box. Center the text within the text box by clicking the appropriate icon in the Paragraph section of the Home tab. Right-click on the text box again and choose Copy from the popup menu.
    • Right-click on the second visible horizontal gridline from the top of the page and choose Paste. If necessary, you can click and drag the new text box into its proper location. Click inside this box and revise the text to read "Certificate of Completion," "Certificate of Achievement" or "Certificate of Appreciation," depending on your purposes with the certificate and the achievement you hope to highlight with the certificate.
  5. Continue creating text boxes as necessary. Paste additional text boxes at the 3.75, 4.75, 5, 5.5 and 6.5 horizontal gridlines. Edit the text in each of these to contain "is hereby granted to," "Employee Name," "for (name of training course, achievement, or outstanding performance)," "Project or Team Name," "Awarded: Date" and "Presenter Name and Title."
    • You can use these generic form descriptions in your text boxes and save this certificate of appreciation as a template to be used in the future.
  6. Edit fonts and font sizes for each text box. Most graphic designers recommend using no more than 3 different fonts for any 1 published document, so it's usually best to go simple and go for the most straightforward choices.
    • Try the Georgia font, with size 14 applied to the "Company Name," "is hereby awarded to" and "Awarded: Date" boxes. Use size 32 for the "Certificate of" box and size 44 for the "Employee Name" box. Size 10 could be applied to the "for" description box and size 18 to the "Project or Team Name" box.
  7. Add a signature line above the "Presenter Name and Title" box in your certificate theme. Click the Shapes icon on the Insert tab in the Illustrations section and choose the first straight line example. Click and drag to draw a line from the third visible vertical line from the left side of the page to the seventh line. Release the mouse button.
    • Right-click on the line and choose "Format Shape" from the menu. Adjust the width to 1.75 in the Line Style section. Choose a color from the Theme Colors section which is in the Line Color section.
  8. Finish the certificate. Decorate your certificate of appreciation with a thick border, adjust font colors and weights or insert your company's logo in one of the corners. Save your certificate and print it on standard paper to review. You might consider showing it to some coworkers or your boss for feedback before finishing them all up and printing them on cardstock.
    • When you're satisfied with the product, print them on heavy cardstock paper, trim and frame.

Using Microsoft Word Templates

  1. Select a certificate template. It's a good idea to find a professional certificate template you like and can use quickly and effectively to fill out for whatever event or occasion in which people will be honored with a certificate. Lots of simple and elegant certificate templates can be found here and here.
  2. Download the template. Open it in Microsoft Word, preferably the '07 version or later, when you've found one that seems appropriate for your purpose. You'll be able to use the same one for annual awards or other achievements in the future.
    • Select the template and right-click to open the menu, then select Word to open the document.
  3. Customize the template for your purposes. In each section, labeled "Name" or "Date" you should be able to click in and type the information for the person or persons being recognized. It should be quick and easy.
    • If lots of people are going to get the same award, you might consider saving a version of the template with some of the information filled out ahead of time to save a little bit of time. Then all you'll need to do is fill in the names.
  4. Print your certificate. After you've got the name and specific information filled out, you should be ready to print them and present them. Use good-quality cardstock as opposed to regular printer paper to give them a more professional finish and quality. You can get this at most any office supply store for a few extra dollars.
  5. Have the certificate signed by the appropriate party. It's usually nice for certificates commemorating specific achievements to be hand-signed by the awarding party. If your boss assigned you to run off some certificates to give out at the office, present them ahead of time to give your supervisor enough time to go through them and sign them personally. It's a good idea that'll only take a few extra minutes and make the certificates mean a lot more.

Warnings

  • Be sure to complete all areas with the actual, relevant information. Delete any text boxes that are not to be used.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Heavy cardstock paper

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