Just like business cards, business stationery is no longer used just to provide basic information about yourself and your company. Today, more and more companies are using creatively designed business stationery to convey the image and personality of their businesses to leave a long lasting impression. In this post we have listed 20 of the best tips to creating business stationery.
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Representation
Business stationery offers a form of direct representation for your company. In this case, any correspondence or exchange of stationery items should depict your business in a professional and credible manner, and the quality of which will uphold this representation.
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Consistency
Custom printing stationery can take a number of forms – business cards, letterheads, brochures, pens, mouse mats, mugs – the list goes on and on. But with each printed material there should be the same consistency throughout with the visual design, tying in your stationery with the same look and feel.
Branding
Branding is a top priority for most businesses and allows consumers to build up recognition for your logo/slogan. Consumers are always willing to purchase from an established brand as their trust will be unfailing, so custom printing stationery items can not only help you build your brand but also act as a marketing campaign.
Logo
Logo design is one of the more difficult tasks when designing a business identity. The logo has to be simple, effective and versatile as it will be implemented into various methods of printing and will need to be scalable to suit items as big as billboard banners and small for items like pens and business cards.
Slogan
Not every business will employ a slogan, but it is a great way of not only acting as a brand builder, but it also portrays your “promises” to your consumers. Your slogan may not be present on every piece of stationery, but where possible it can be included to compliment the whole branding package.
Contact Information
As obvious as it sounds, make sure you always include contact information on your custom printing items, and you will have to choose the most appropriate and important contact details for each stationery item (as some of the items may not be big enough to fit them all on!).
VAT Number
If you are a VAT registered company, be sure to include your VAT number on your business letterheads. This not only means you are playing by the rules, but it also gives the consumer the reassurance that you are an established business and can be trusted.
Domain Name
It’s a digital world and most people will try to find your products or services online, so ALWAYS include your URL address on your stationery! Of all your contact details, this could possibly be the most important!
Font Type
Whilst most businesses will try and stand out from the crowd with their custom printing designs, make sure that you do not opt for unreadable or complicated fonts. Consumers will be looking for text that is easy on the eye, that can portray information clearly and efficiently.
Colour
Colour is always a great tool with stationery and other marketing materials – it attracts attention and makes the read all that bit more interesting! Think carefully about your branding colours, and how you incorporate them into the individual stationery designs, and make sure you are aware of the cost difference between pantone, spot colour and CMYK as this may just change your mind!
Imagery
It’s a known fact that we process imagery far quicker and easier than text, so where possible include pictures and images to break down your stationery, but make sure the imagery is always relevant to your business or the marketing purpose of each stationery item. Also, make sure you obtain permission for any copyrighted pictures and always use high resolution imagery to avoid blurring and pixilation.
Space
Never be afraid of white space! Whilst you may be tempted to fill in every inch of your stationery with information or pictures, this may result in your stationery becoming too “busy” and a reader will lose interest quite quickly. White space can help break down areas of your stationery and allow you to form sections and prioritise the area of importance.
Design or Designer?
Business stationery designing is no easy task, but yes it is possible (with the right software) to do it yourself. However, with such an importance on your stationery’s representation, it might be worth seeking out the skills of a professional designer to assist you to reach your potential with your designs.
Substrate Quality
Quality says everything about a business. If you produce a flimsy and poorly designed piece of custom printing stationery – let’s say a brochure – your consumers are likely to compare the quality of your brochure to the quality of your services. Bad move. Always think quality over quantity and use quality substrates for your custom printing that will depict your business in a professional light.
Printing
Similarly to designing, yes you can print a lot of stationery items (like business cards, brochures, letterheads etc) from the comfort of your own home or office. However, depending on the equipment you have and the amount of printing you need to do, you may well be better off getting in touch with a local or online printing company to help you out. They’ll not only produce high quality finishes but will be able to assist you in all areas of stationery creation.
Proof Read
Another obvious one perhaps, but ALWAYS proof read your designs before sending them off to print. Just one mistake can have significant consequences and portray you as incompetent in the simplest way.
Adapt For Online Use
Any stationery designs that you prepare for custom printing should be versatile enough so that you can adapt them for online use – such as online business cards and letterheads, and logos etc. These will need to look the same as your printed versions in order to build up that recognition of your brand.
Bulk Buy
If you are using professional printing services, your budget will benefit from buying in bulk. You’ll not only get more for your money, but you’ll have enough materials to last you. Most printers will offer various business packages, where you can print a number of different stationery items all at the same time for a discounted price.
Distribution
No point in creating all these custom printing stationery items if you haven’t thought about any sort of distribution! Brochures, business cards, compliment slips, pens etc can all be utilised in an efficient marketing campaign that can greatly benefit your revenue, so get to thinking about how your stationery can work for you.
Enjoy! So you’ve designed, printed and distributed your stationery items. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the results! Good luck!
Front Cover Image provided by Shutterstock
Image:Stationery design set via Shutterstock
