Giant Checks (Signs)

Nobody banks a giant check. Its entire purpose is the picture — the one that goes on the website, in the newsletter, to the local paper and across everyone's social feeds, where it will be seen by far more people than attended the handover.

Which means the check is not paperwork. It is a piece of signage that happens to be shaped like a check, and it should be designed as signage: legible in a photograph taken from ten feet away, on a phone, in whatever light the room has.

That reframes every decision on this page. Big amount, big names, high contrast, nothing small.

Custom sizes are available. If the check is being presented on a stage or photographed from the back of a room, go larger rather than smaller — a check that is too small in a wide shot is the one thing you cannot fix afterwards.

Work from the photograph backwards. Two people will stand holding the check, one at each end, and their hands and bodies will cover the outer edges and the bottom corners. Everything that matters belongs in the middle.

The amount, very large. This is the headline of the photograph and it should be readable when the image is a thumbnail. Numerals, not words.

Pay to the order of — the recipient. Second largest. Get the spelling and the legal name right; this is the thing the recipient will notice.

From — you. Your logo and name, clearly but not competing with the amount. The generosity should look bigger than the branding.

The occasion and date. Small, and useful later when nobody remembers which year the photograph is from.

Keep the written-amount line and the signature line if you want the check to read as a check — they are what make it work visually — but keep them small.

Leave the amount blank if you do not know it yet. Plenty of organizations print the check with a clear space and fill it in with a marker on the day, once the total is final. Tell us and we will leave a proper writing area and pick a surface that takes a pen.

Consider a reusable one. If you present checks regularly, a check with your branding and a blank recipient and amount is a much better buy than a new one every quarter.

Think about carrying it. These do not fold and do not fit flat in a normal car trunk. Plan the journey to the event before you pick the larger size.

Order before the week of. A giant check is remembered two days before the presentation more often than anything else we print.

Corporate giving teams presenting to charities. Nonprofits receiving and publicizing donations. Schools and PTAs with fundraiser totals. Churches with mission and building fund milestones. Golf tournaments and charity events. Sports clubs and booster organizations. Banks, dealerships and realtors sponsoring community causes. Anyone with a number worth photographing.