Baby Announcement 2026
This is a digital announcement card I designed to welcome a baby girl named Jood, a name that means generosity. A birth announcement is one of the first things a child ever "receives" in Kuwait, so I wanted it to feel soft, joyful and a little ceremonial, like opening a handmade card rather than a notification. It was made to be shared on screens, but it carries the feel of something printed and kept.
The card is shaped like a scalloped paper doily, with rounded edges, dashed stitching and little fan-like cut-outs along the border. The colour fades from a dusty periwinkle at the top to a warm blush pink at the bottom, which reads as the soft light between dusk and dawn. A fine grain runs through everything, so the gradients feel like printed paper and the flat illustration doesn't look sterile.
The centrepiece is the name. "جود" is set large in white, in a rounded, flowing calligraphic style, and one thin line from the final stroke of the letters swoops up and around the text like a ribbon. Above it, a small line reads "رزقنا الله بـ" ("Allah has blessed us with"), so the name arrives like a gift being unwrapped. Two Arabic texts frame it on a gentle curve. The top is a thankful prayer, praising God who blessed us and made a share of life's adornment ours. The bottom is a dua asking Allah to let her grow well and be the delight of her parents' eyes.
The floral frame is built as a mirrored arrangement, with the left and right sides reflecting each other like a bouquet in a vase. Calla lilies, roses, tulips, a sunny yellow bloom, blue petals and pink blossoms wrap around the text, joined by a single winding vine that runs around the whole frame and loops at the corners. The construction drawing shows how it was built, as three tiers of overlapping flowers and leaves stacked on a central rose. I designed one half in detail, then mirrored and layered it so the composition feels full and abundant but stays balanced. The palette of soft pinks, creamy whites, buttery yellows and touches of blue stays sweet without becoming sugary, and the olive greens ground it.
The finished card also works as a printed piece. I mocked it up on layered vellum and textured paper to show how it could translate into a physical keepsake, with the translucent sheet softening the colours just a little.
Digital baby announcement card illustration and design.