Have an idea for a party, event or business project but aren’t sure how to turn it into professionally printed artwork?
Perhaps you have found the perfect cake and would love matching decorations. You may already have an Etsy, Canva or AI-generated design that is the wrong size. Or you might have a corporate brief, logo and brand colours but need someone to develop the finished artwork.
Our custom design and artwork services cover each of these situations, but the right service depends on what you already have and how much design work is required.
This guide explains the difference between personalisation, print preparation, custom design and matching artwork so you can choose the right option without paying for work you don’t need.
Do you need personalisation or a new custom design?
These two services are different.
Personalisation is when you choose an existing Katie J Design and Events theme and provide details such as a name, age, date, wording or photo. The original layout and creative concept already exist, so standard personalisation is generally included with the printed product.
Custom design is when you provide a new idea or brief and ask us to create an original design for your event or project. This may involve developing the colours, layout, typography, imagery and overall creative direction before preparing it for printing.
If you have chosen an existing cowboy banner and only need the name and age changed, you do not need to purchase a separate custom design service.
If you want us to create a completely new theme inspired by a colour palette, cake, invitation or event concept, our Custom Party Theme Design Service is the right place to begin.
Option 1: Custom Party Theme Design Service
Our Custom Party Theme Design Service is designed for customers who cannot find the party theme they want or have a particular vision they would like us to develop.
You can upload:
- Cake photos
- Colour palettes
- Invitations or event styling references
- Inspiration images
- Preferred wording
- Photos you have permission to use
- Notes about the mood, age group or occasion
These references help us understand the creative direction. They are not copied, and all supplied images or protected content must be owned, licensed or authorised for use.
Current design packages include:
- One print format, $99: one finished custom design, such as a banner.
- Two matching print formats, $139: for example, a banner and matching poster.
- Three matching print formats, $169: for example, a banner, poster and water labels.
- Four matching print formats, $199: for example, a banner, poster, water labels and chocolate labels.
The design fee covers the artwork service. The physical banners, posters, labels, invitations or other printed products are ordered separately.
Explore the Custom Party Theme Design Service
Option 2: Matching Product Design Add-On
Already have an approved Katie J custom design and want to use it on one more product?
The Matching Product Design Add-On covers the work involved in adapting that approved theme to another print format.
A banner, poster, water label and chocolate wrapper all have very different proportions and print areas. Creating the matching item may involve more than simply changing the dimensions. Text, images and decorative elements often need to be repositioned so the new product remains clear, balanced and suitable for printing.
There are three adaptation levels:
- Simple same-layout resize, $29: for a closely related format requiring minimal repositioning.
- Standard matching adaptation, $39: when the theme needs layout changes to suit a different product shape.
- Complex matching adaptation, $49: when significant reworking, additional detail or a different content arrangement is required.
We will let you know which level suits the requested product if you are unsure.
View the Matching Product Design Add-On
Option 3: Artwork Resizing and Print Preparation
Sometimes the design already exists, but the file is not ready for professional printing.
You may have created artwork in Canva, purchased a design from another creator, downloaded an authorised Etsy file or generated an image using an AI tool. It might look fine on a phone or computer screen but still be the wrong dimensions, resolution or proportions for the product you want printed.
Our Artwork Resizing and Print Preparation service is $39 and includes:
- Assessment of one supplied artwork file
- Preparation for one finished print size or format
- Basic resizing, cropping or positioning
- Resolution and image-quality assessment
- Resolution enhancement or upscaling where suitable
- Basic bleed or print-area preparation where required
- One round of minor corrections
- Up to approximately 15 to 20 minutes of artwork time
Upscaling can improve many images, but it cannot recreate every missing detail or guarantee that an unsuitable file will become perfectly crisp. We will recommend the most practical size, crop or alternative if the supplied artwork is not suitable for the requested product.
The finished file is prepared for printing by Katie J Design and Events. Editable source files and files intended for printing elsewhere are not included unless agreed in writing.
View Artwork Resizing and Print Preparation
Option 4: Corporate and Government Design Services
Businesses, schools, community organisations, councils and government agencies often begin with a project brief rather than finished artwork.
Our Corporate and Government Design Services can assist with:
- Branded banners, posters, signage and event displays
- Corporate event and campaign materials
- Product, packaging, bottle and promotional labels
- Information and instructional print
- Community-facing materials
- Adapting approved brand assets across several print formats
- Resolution assessment and careful upscaling
- Print-ready artwork preparation
You can upload your project specifications, logos, approved brand assets, colour requirements and visual references as part of the brief.
Corporate design time begins at $132 for one hour, with two-hour and four-hour service blocks also available. Larger, ongoing or tender-based projects can be quoted according to their scope, deliverables and timeframe.
Explore Corporate and Government Design Services
When is additional design time needed?
Every custom design service includes a defined amount of work, concepts or revisions. This protects your budget while also making sure the time required to complete the project is properly covered.
Additional time may be needed when:
- You request extra revision rounds.
- The project changes to a new creative direction.
- New wording or content is supplied after approval.
- You request additional concepts, formats or versions.
- Existing artwork requires substantial rebuilding.
- The requested work falls outside the original scope.
Our Additional Custom Design Time is available in 15-minute, 30-minute and one-hour blocks. The 15-minute option is currently $27.50.
Please only purchase additional time after we have confirmed how much is required.
What should you send with your design brief?
The clearer the brief, the more efficiently we can develop your artwork.
Where relevant, please provide:
- The event or project type
- Required wording
- Finished product and size
- Preferred colours
- Deadline
- Logos and brand guidelines
- High-resolution photos
- Examples of styles you like
- Cake, invitation or décor inspiration
- Any printing or tender specifications
Please send the highest-quality files available and make sure you have permission to reproduce all supplied images, logos, fonts and design elements.
Why print preparation matters
Artwork that looks sharp on a screen does not always produce a crisp large-format print.
Professional print preparation considers the finished dimensions, resolution, crop, bleed, safe areas, text size and how the layout will work on the selected material. A wide banner may need a completely different arrangement from a narrow water label, even when both use the same theme.
Our role is not simply to generate an image. We review the brief, develop or adapt the layout, assess the supplied files and prepare the finished artwork for the selected Katie J Design and Events printing process.
Still not sure which service you need?
Here is the simplest way to choose:
- Existing website design with a new name, age or wording: order the printed product and complete its personalisation options.
- Your own finished artwork that is already correctly sized: choose the relevant upload-your-own or print-on-demand product.
- Finished artwork that needs resizing or quality assessment: choose Artwork Resizing and Print Preparation.
- A new party theme created from your brief: choose the Custom Party Theme Design Service.
- One more product using an approved custom theme: choose the Matching Product Design Add-On.
- A business, school, community or government project: choose Corporate and Government Design Services.
- Extra work beyond an agreed scope: purchase Additional Custom Design Time after we confirm the amount required.
You can view all options in our Custom Design and Artwork Services collection.
If you are still unsure, contact Katie J Design and Events before ordering. We are happy to point you towards the service that best fits your project.
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