Share the Love With Stickers This Valentine’s Day

Break with traditional Valentine’s Day cards and try using stickers instead.

Sharing valentines — whether cards or gifts — every year on Feb. 14 is the quintessential way to tell people you care about them, or even open the door for a new relationship. Countless blogs and boards are devoted exclusively to creating unique valentines. This year, give a valentine that with a message that will stick — give stickers. Unlike a card that may end up lost in storage or flowers that will last a week or two, stickers allow your valentine to spread the joy you shared with them throughout the year.

For the low down on all things stickers, we spoke with the folks at Sticker Mule, company that has been helping people design and order custom stickers since 2010. Here’s everything you need to know to create your own stickers for Valentine’s Day — or any occasion.

Roses are red, try printing stickers instead

Whether they’re for your bestie, a niece or nephew, or a co-worker, traditional stickers never get old. And there are a variety of sticker formats — size, shape, color, material, and use — to choose from.

Maybe a bumper sticker is the right valentine, or a sticker sheet can be printed with different “I love you because…” stickers. Weatherproof vinyl can be used indoors or outdoors.

“Die cut stickers are a popular choice because they can be any size, and there are no limits to creative style or purpose,” says David Traver, VP of marketing for Sticker Mule.

Whatever your choice, there are some important best practices to remember while working on your custom designs. David shares a few tips to ensure stickers deliver the quality you want.

• Design your sticker in high resolution. Vector images are best since they’re scalable and can be modified easily. If your design contains a photo or raster image, David recommends 360 pixels/inch resolution at the size it will be printed. For example, a 3 x 3 inch sticker should be 1080 x 1080 pixels.

• Design a shape that won’t damage easily. Stickers are great for handing out to lots of friends, but delicate designs or ones with sharp edges can be difficult to handle. Nothing is more disappointing than a sticker that rips. It’s been known to make children cry. Use the offset path feature in Illustrator CC to bulk up your design, add a border, and round the corners. Then specify your cut line with a 1pt stroke.

• Decide whether you want a white border or a full bleed. If you prefer a border, Sticker Mule recommends that it be 0.125” wide for best results. If you want a full bleed, extend the design 0.125” beyond the cut line.

Want to try making your own sticker? Check out this quick tutorial on how to design a sticker in Illustrator.

Violets are blue, online stickers need no glue

Although traditional paper stickers are hard to beat, the recent digital reinvention of stickers is catching on. Over 6 billion emoji and digital stickers are shared online every day. Creating your own digital stickers is fun and easy.

A great way to create digital stickers is with Adobe Spark. Adobe Spark makes it easy to create custom stickers and share them across a variety of platforms. Make a Valentine’s post for social media, share a special shout-out to your boo, or create a custom card. Spark has even curated a valentine-centric collection that you can personalize with your own photos, customize with funny quotes, and share anywhere you want. The possibilities are endless.

Click to remix this design

You can also let inspiration guide you and create a personalized sticker pack for iOS — no coding knowledge required! You can use GIFs and custom illustrations, or even turn favorite photos into stickers. Send it out to everyone you know, share it on social, or let it be that special thing between you and a friend.

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when designing digital stickers — and many of these tips apply to paper stickers too.

• Consider how your stickers can make an impact. The most common use for stickers — especially digital stickers — is to convey a reaction or an emotional response. Do you want to make someone laugh? Make them feel loved? The best stickers will either supplement a conversation or replace the text itself. Stickers are all about visual language, so let the stickers do the talking.
• Don’t overthink your design — stickers are small. You don’t need to worry about adding elaborate detail or additional text that will be difficult to read on a phone or tablet screen. As you design your stickers, try zooming out frequently to see how the sticker will appear in a smaller view.
• Keep your stickers proportionate. The ideal is a 1:1 ratio – the height equal to the width. If your sticker is too tall or too wide, it won’t appear well on screen. This will also make your stickers ideal for posting on Instagram.
• Provide contrast. Remember that most screens in messaging apps are white. Steer clear of using colors that may be harder to see against a white backdrop.

If you need some more help with where to begin, Sticker Mule has free templates to get you started on your project.

No matter who you’re sharing Valentine’s Day with, stickers are the perfect way to say you care. Design something special that represents the favorite things about your valentine and make it a personal gift for them.

Up for a Valentine design challenge? Use Illustrator to start designing and then share your work with Adobe Illustrator’s Twitter (use #AiLoveYou and #Contest) or Facebook (Comment in our Valentine’s day sticker thread) by Monday, February 12 for the chance to win a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi + Cellular 512GB) or one-year subscription to Creative Cloud! The Valentine winner will be announced on Wednesday, February 14. See contest instructions here.