Business Cards & Documents
July 27, 2018
It can impress new and potential clients and help make your company more memorable.
The great thing about a letterhead design is that it can be used both online and off. The design that you’re using for your company stationery can easily be carried over to your emails, electronic newsletters, thank-you cards, invoices and much more.
If you’re not sure where to begin, we’ve compiled 10 tips that will help you design a more effective business letterhead:
Adding a small border frame to your letter will give it a nice finishing touch. Try to keep the border very thin, or it will take away from the rest of the design (unless that’s how you intended on designing it). A thick border can restrict the letter and make the text appear constrained.
A border can really tie the entire design together but be careful. An office printer will have a very hard time printing the border (and then someone has to cut it manually). It’s best to let a professional printer such as AlphaGraphics handle the printing aspect as they can get the bleed and trim down just right.
If you have business cards, letters, and other printed materials, be sure to keep the design as congruent as possible. By promoting consistency across all of your stationery items, it will make your brand appear professional and that will have a clear reflection on how people view your business.
Yes, using a higher quality paper will increase the cost a tiny bit, but this is not the place to count your pennies. As small as it may seem, using high-quality paper can really add to your brand and how people view your company or organization. Cheap stationery speaks volumes…
You don’t need a proverbial Sistine Chapel design on your business stationery. Combine your logo and business colors with simple shapes. If the overall design is too busy, it will make it hard for the text to be read.
The focus of the letter should be the text, so the design should complement, but not over-shadow. The design should frame the text professionally without distracting from the overall message.
Choosing the right font is just as important as choosing the right color and design. Instead of using Arial or Times New Roman, try using a typeface that will compliment your design and your brand. Be sure to keep the typography in check as you could easily stray into “weird” territory if you use a font that’s too wild.
If the design is for a fun, young, creative company, then try creating a fun letterhead. This is where you can really let your creativity run wild. However, if the design is for a distinguished law firm, then a more reserved, stately design should be used.
When it comes to design, curvy, repetitive, colorful shapes are generally thought of as “fun.” Having the colors and designs “peek out” from the bottom left or right-hand corner are easy to do and will add a fun element to the overall design.
Traditional letterheads have always been placed at the very top of the page. This is more tradition than a general rule. Many designers make good use of all four corners when it comes to stationery design.
The logo, contact info, location, and tagline can be in four separate corners and still look good. Just make sure that the design is minimal enough so that it doesn’t take over the entire paper, otherwise, you’ll find that it will be hard to fit a decent amount of text on a single page.
If you find yourself staring at a blank computer screen after reading the above 7 tips, perhaps you should consider hiring a professional graphic designer? At AlphaGraphics, we have helped countless companies of all sizes design the perfect letterhead for their business stationery.
To learn more about how AlphaGraphics of New Bern can produce and design your next project, you may email us, request a quote or call us at (252) 633-3199.