While the world has changed gradually into a digital empire, there’s been improved interest in the power of printed materials. Things like attractive packaging, business cards, and of course, stationery for business.
When you think of stationery, the heavy designs of our parents’ annual newsletters or the strict fonts of a lawyer’s letterhead might come to mind. But stationery originates in many forms, from bold and fun to elegant and stylish and all in between.
And the best part is, it’s a part of your brand you can hold in your hand. An email dashed off can always get your simple message through, but there’s no disagreeing the weight of a real letter, whether you select to write it out or type.
How to organize the information
The primary phase is to take stock of the physical sizes of the stationery you are designing for. A set of products might feature standard A4 size for letters, as well as an A5 (half letter), covers, and business cards.
The copy and brand belongings will more limit the sum of space to work with. While a logo, web address, street address, email, and phone number might fit on the full sheet, the half sheet and business card might have to be cropped back to just the website, reliant on the design.
Next, offer some thought as to what the stationery wants to connect and how it will be used. If a customer will use the stationery for writing lengthy letters, they would necessitate more whitespace. If they just want to write out a personal note by hand, they would perhaps needless.
The design to the right arranges its info with ample white space and a dramatic logo. The oversized logo feels weighty but the padding of whitespace around it makes sure it doesn’t feel like it’s dragging down the page.
Branding and logos
Once you’ve assumed out the best method to establish the information, it’s time to move on to the fun stuff: the design! If you’re functioning with a previous logo, think about the diverse ways you can use it all over the branding.
The collection above uses the meek four leaf clover logo at dissimilar sizes and reversed colors to easily tie the products together. The largest logo is only half on the page, carrying interest to the background, as well.
To color or not to color
While orthodox understanding says soft colors are more professional, keep in mind a good design breaks all the rules. Take, for instance, 2+2’s super fun design for a referring firm. It demands consideration with its colorful palate, while still being specialized and polished. Your stationery should be the best stationery design.
Is it accurate for every brand? No, particularly seeing that color will impact the cost to print. But it will certainly help the client stand out in a crowded marketplace of boring consulting firms!
Typographic vs graphic
Other brands have gone in the route of clean, uncluttered, and modern designs like heavy graphic basics for simple, advanced text across each part of the brand identity. This is mainly effective for customers like lawyers, architects, and luxury brands who want their branding to feel luxurious, unproblematic, and uncluttered.
Finishing touches and printing techniques
Now you have a disciplined, great looking design, it’s time to consider about invention. If you want your design to truly stand out, this is the time to cogitate high-end printing choices. Letterpress, hot foil stamping, and opposite side printing bring a luxuriousness that your receivers will be able to experience in a tactile way when they open your envelopes.
While these choices will price more to print, if you intend to stand out, they are well value the expense. Even a local print shop might not be capable enough to handle all the bells and whistles like foil and stamping, so be ready to use a commercial printer.
Besides those lines: it’s vital to determine where the final products will be printed before you start thinking about important design elements. Will they be in black and white, written on an office printer? Or printed in sets by a high-quality offset printer? Maybe even downloaded as a PDF and sent automatically? The difficulty of the design needs to match what you or the customer want to use on production. Make sure your files are the suitable quality and in the precise color space for how they will finally be used.
It’s also vital to make sure you have the right files in hand at the end of the progression. You can use a collection of programs to design stationery and related ephemera but make sure the resulting files aren’t too difficult (or too simple) for the clients’ envisioned use.
For instance: say a nonprofit needs a simple logo letterhead and similar envelope template to send letters to their donors. In that situation, a complex Photoshop or Illustrator file might overwhelm them and it would be best to make a template file they can simply set up in their program of choice.
Stationery stands out
We all want to make a great first impression. Often your stationery, whether used for private or professional ends, presents you to someone far before you meet in person. Follow these tips and designs to make sure your stationery is somewhat to write home about.
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