certify

certify produces formal landscape PDF certificates with configurable color themes, optional logos, decorative borders, laurels, and corner ornaments. The package is built on grid only — no LaTeX or Quarto installation is required.

Installation

# install.packages("remotes")
remotes::install_github("cwimpy/certify")

Usage

library(certify)

make_certificate(
  path          = "jane_doe.pdf",
  recipient     = "Jane A. Doe",
  title         = "Certificate of Achievement",
  award_name    = "Outstanding Student",
  organization  = "University of Somewhere",
  program       = "Bachelor of Arts in Political Science",
  citation      = paste(
    "in recognition of exceptional dedication, scholarship,",
    "and service to the academic community."
  ),
  academic_year = "2025-2026",
  signers       = list(
    list(name = "Alex Chair, Ph.D.", title = "Department Chair")
  )
)

Themes

Three preset palettes are included:

• cert_theme_classic() — navy and gold on parchment (default)
• cert_theme_formal() — black and silver on cream
• cert_theme_warm() — burgundy and gold on warm cream

For full control, build a custom palette with cert_theme():

my_theme <- cert_theme(
  primary      = "#003366",
  primary_dark = "#001f3f",
  accent       = "#c0a062",
  background   = "#fbf8f1"
)

make_certificate(
  path      = "custom.pdf",
  recipient = "Recipient Name",
  theme     = my_theme
)

Two signers, custom logo, custom page size

make_certificate(
  path      = "award.pdf",
  recipient = "Recipient Name",
  title     = "Certificate of Recognition",
  citation  = "in grateful recognition of years of devoted service.",
  signers   = list(
    list(name = "President Name", title = "President"),
    list(name = "Secretary Name", title = "Secretary")
  ),
  logo      = "path/to/your_logo.png",
  width     = 11.69,    # A4 landscape
  height    = 8.27,
  theme     = cert_theme_warm()
)

License

MIT © Cameron Wimpy