Ransom-style lettering is a fun, colorful graphic trend that you can use to add some personality to your social media posts! Originally created from scraps and cut-outs from advertisements in printed newspapers and magazines, letter by letter and pasted into words to form a ransom letter, we’ve taken this style of lettering and created our own digital version, just for Easil users!
What makes our version special? Well firstly, it moves! Each letter of the alphabet has been created by our design team by combing several typefaces, allowing it to continuously flip through in that fun ransom letter style! With each of the letters being constructed as its own animated GIF image you can also increase and decrease the size of the letters, rotate them, or even apply filters when you montage them together!
The options are unlimited.. but to get you started, we’ve got free editable templates, and lots of design tips!
How to use ransom style lettering in your DIY Designs
Think of a ransom style heading as the focal part of your design. They can become the ‘hero’ image, or work in with a focus word within the header text of your graphic. There’s no need to totally ditch your brand fonts for this style – just use the animated letters to inject some playful fun into your design in a small way, that provides a big impact!
Where to find the animated letters in Easil
Start by creating a social media sized graphic in Easil – either by beginning with a pre-designed template, or by selecting a blank size. We always suggest a template is better for non-designers!
Once you have your design open, think about which word you’d like to focus on – it’s best to start with just one short word for best legibility.
- Head over to the right sidebar within the Easil editor, and click on ‘Elements’.
- Click on the Animations category within the Elements tab, and then enter ‘Ransom’ in the search input box.
- Click on any letter to add to your design, or drag and drop.
- Reposition the letters by dragging into place, and adjust the size by dragging a corner of a graphic outwards.
Hot tip! If you would prefer not to scroll through searching for every letter individually, we’ve compiled a single file with all the letters displayed in alphabetical. Click here to open it in Easil, and then follow these steps to copy into your new design:
• Click on the Layers tab in the right sidebar
• Select the Letters folder within the design layers.
• With the group selected, click on your design, being careful not to de-select the letters.
• Right-click, and press ‘Copy’.
• Click on the ‘E’ at the top left of the screen to exit, and return to your Workspace.
• Locate your new design, open it, and then right-click, and ‘Paste’.
The folder of letters will now be available in your current design, so you can easily copy whichever you need. When you’ve finished, you can ‘hide’ the layer group by toggling the visibility off.
7 FREE RANSOM STYLE LETTERING EDITABLE TEMPLATES
By combining these animated letters together, you’ll create a unique design every time – even if you’re starting with a template base! Sign up for your free 30 Day trial of Easil Plus, and then click on the link for each template to open it in the Easil design editor to begin creating.
FREE TEMPLATE #1
RANSOM STYLE FLASH SALE
Our Flash Sale template takes the collage look of ransom lettering a step further by including a pasted up photo image that you can easily replace with your own!
- Upload your own image (via the Images sidebar in the editor).
- Click on the image placeholder, and then locate your image in the sidebar Images tab. Click to replace the placeholder.
- Click on the ellipsis on the left side of the page […] and use the slider to adjust your page play length.
- Click on the Download button, and select MP4 to get your final video file.
FREE TEMPLATE #2
RANSOM STYLE MEET THE TEAM
This is a fun way to introduce [or re-introduce] team members to your social channels.
- Upload your images to Easil via your Workspace > My Images.
- Use the background remove tool [available on the Plus plan, excludes the free trial], on your image.
- Replace the placeholder images with your new images. We added a black & white filter to each of our placeholders that will apply to yours too!
- Double-click on each text box to update names and titles of each team mate.
- Adjust the page time duration, and download as an MP4.
FREE TEMPLATE #3
DID YOU KNOW?
Grab attention for a sale code, or change the message to work with the Instagram Story question sticker – the option is yours!
- The first 2 words – Did and You – are standard fonts that can be edited by double-clicking and updating your text.
- The ransom style lettering in KNOW can by updating by adding new letters from the Elements tab > Animations.
- When you’ve completed your updates, adjust your page duration by clicking on the […] on the left side and moving the slider, and then download as an MP4 video file.
FREE TEMPLATE #4
IMPORTANT DATES LIST
A post style that is perfect for promoting everything that’s on in your business for the next week, or month!
This template can incorporate your brand elements by changing the background color to yours, and adding one of your brand fonts to the main text contained in the table.
When you’ve made your changes, hit the Download button and select MP4 for a video file, or PNG for a static option.
FREE TEMPLATE #5
GOING LIVE POST
Promote an upcoming Live stream with this cool typographic design! Easily update the colors and fonts by clicking on each element and selecting from the editing options in the top toolbar to make it your own.
When you’re posting to Instagram Stories, don’t forget to add the Countdown Timer sticker so your audience can be reminded of the time you’ll be live.
FREE TEMPLATE #6
NEW PODCAST ANNOUNCEMENT
Promote your latest podcast, including a picture of the host of your latest guest, with this phone frame image.
After uploading your own images, drag it on top of the image placeholder and your image will snap into the frame. Then you can apply your own podcast brand colors to the background and update the text. All done in less than a couple of minutes!
FREE TEMPLATE #7
RANSOM STYLE LIVE MUSIC
We’ve saved our favorite for last! This template for live music can be updated for many other topics!
Try switching out the image to a speaker, and the wording to ‘Going Live’ for another live stream announcement image. Or repeat SALE in the background text, insert a model with your product, and change the ransom lettering to ON NOW.
[You get the idea.. these templates are super flexible! Just try to stick with the supplied layout to stay looking professional!]
OVER TO YOU
Will you be using this ransom style lettering design trend for your brand, or your personal socials? Tag us in your designs with #MadeInEasil so we can check them out!
