The Moon Phase element shows the moon as it actually looked on a given date. It is photographic, not a drawing: the craters are real, the lit fraction is real, and the shadow falls where it fell. It is the element behind birth-moon cards, anniversary prints and “the moon on the night you were born” gifts.
Compared to a star map, a moon is one object rather than a whole sky. It stays readable on a card, a mug or a small pendant, where a sky full of faint stars turns to mud.
Set the date
Add the element
Open Elements and click the Moon Phase tile.
Choose the day
Date, under Content on the Design tab, is the date the moon is drawn for. This is the value that prints if the customer changes nothing, so set it to something you would be happy to ship.
Choose the place, if it matters
Seen from takes a place from the search, or coordinates under Fine-tune. Location changes how the moon is oriented, not which phase it is: the phase is the same everywhere on Earth on a given date, but which way up it appears is not.
Get the orientation right
Two settings under More, in the Look section, separate a moon print that is correct from one that only looks correct.
- Hemisphere on Auto mirrors the moon for places below the equator. A waxing crescent lit on the right in Amsterdam is lit on the left in Sydney. Choose North only when you want the northern view for every place.
- Tilt on Auto rotates the moon so the lit edge points where it actually pointed from that place at that time, rather than sitting neatly upright.
Both start on Auto. Choose North and Off only when you want a stylised, always-upright moon, and know that you are choosing a graphic over an accurate one.
Tint it to your design
The Look section on the Design tab holds the rest.
- The look gallery recolours the photograph while keeping its detail. Looks include Natural, Silver, Gold, Rose, Cool Blue, Amber, Blush, Copper, Lavender, Sage and Ice. Natural is the untouched photograph.
- Shape crops the moon to a Circle, Heart, Star, Hexagon, Oval or Plaque.
- Glow is Soft or Strong, and Edge adds Gold, Silver or Dotted around the shape.
A gold look with a soft glow on a dark background is the most-sold combination for a reason: it prints well and reads as a keepsake rather than an astronomy chart.
Let the shopper choose their date
Two switches under What customers can change on the Personalize tab decide what the shopper picks:
- Date is on from the start. It is the whole point of the element.
- Place is off from the start, because the place only changes the moon’s tilt. Most shoppers do not realise location affects orientation and will not miss the control.
Above those, the Field section sets the Label, Placeholder and Help text the shopper reads, and Required to order makes the date compulsory before they can order.
Linked text
Linked text, under Content on the Design tab, publishes the moon’s own data: Moon phase name, Moon date, Day of week, Location, Coordinates and Country. A caption reading “Waxing gibbous, Friday 21 June 2024” writes itself and follows whatever date the shopper picks. The phase name is translated into the shopper’s language, so a Dutch customer reads “Wassende maan”.
Full list: Auto-filling captions from an element.
Next
Star Map marks the same moment with the whole sky, and Calendar marks the month around it.