If you are a small business owner and have finally come to the decision that you company needs a letterhead then you are definitely going in the right direction. However, there are some things to consider before you make your letterhead. After all first impressions are important and you don't want to send the wrong one. So what are some technique and design considerations for creating a professional letterhead that makes your company look like a thousand bucks! The guides, ideas and tips below will help you learn what goes into a great letterhead. You can use this if you are planning on making the letterhead on your own or even if you want to hire a designer to do your ltter head for you. Either way the tips will help build your knowledge and you will know what to look for.
KISS of Keep It Simple (Stupid)
Sorry don't meant o insult anyone on this one but one of the most important factors of a letterhead is to keep it simple. Many companies fall into the glamour and glitz trap as they add lots of bling, flashing text, and fancy lettering to their letterhead. However, just a little bit goes a long way and you do not want to overdo it on the embellishment. Typically a more professional technique is to go for a subdue or understated look. Thing classic when you are considering your letterhead design. You want to keep all extra elements off the page.
Where is your Focus?
Next you will want to consider what is the most important part of your business and make sure the design will provide enough interest and focus to hold the viewrs attention. It is important to plan how you want a view to look at your letterhead. Where to you want their gaze to fall first? How will their eyes move around the design and where do you want them to look last. Typically your business name is the most important branding piece of your letterhead and therefore it should be the focus. So you want to create some design elements that will draw the view into the area where you have your business name. Typically your business name should go in the center of the design with some type of lines or design elements flowing from it. This will ensure that the viewers gaze lands first on your name and then travels around the logo design and back to your business name at the end.
Space
The use of space is something to carefully consider. Typically the more classic look for a letterhead is to leave lots of open blank space. The larger and more open the design is the more impact it has. Typically if your clutter the design and squeeze lots of design elements into the letterhead then each element of the design will have less impact. So again this goes back to the first point keep it simple. Leave lots of open or negative space. You might even consider the font spacing in your business name. This can be drawn out so the business names takes up more space on the page and holds more of a presence.
Color
Color is another important consideration. Again like many of the other design elements one can quickly add to much color to their letterhead and make it look cheap. Unless you are in the entertainment or real estate industry then you will want to keep the colors to a minimum. Often by just adding one color you can really add a feel that will draw the viewer's attention in without over doing it.
Clean
You want to make sure that the letterhead looks really clean. If you are doing the artwork yourself make sure there are no mistakes or errors. You don't want to have left over pencil marks or spots left on the design. Make sure that all of your lines and design elements are crystal clear and clean. They should be smooth and easy to view. You want your fonts to look clean and uncluttered and easy to read. Make sure the most important information like the business names stands out while the other information is muted or stands in the background a little more. One effective technique is to use different shades of a gray scale to communicate what is important. Alternatively you can always bold or italicize text to highlight it's importance.
It really doesn't matter if you are designing your letterhead of choosing someone to do the work for you the elements are all the same. Don't assume that because you are paying a professional to do the work for you they have all the right answers. They might have a a different idea then your and want to add their artistic flair to the design. However you might be seeking something more traditional and classic looking. So make sure you communicate with your designer and express what you are looking for. If they are unwilling to bend and make changes then go with someone else and run always quickly. Any good designer will spend the time to listen to your thoughts and ideas and then adapt them into a design. This is the only way to ensure you get a professional letterhead.
For more great information on getting Letterhead Stationary check out http://www.letterheadsbusinesscards.com. The site is full of great ideas for getting all of your business stationary and marketing needs.
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