When engaging in any form of official business communication, be it with clients, business partners, authorities, or other institutions of note, the letterhead is almost always the front page of any formal letter or document exchanged between parties. These institutions rely on your document’s credibility; your letterhead is the best way to communicate your brand’s repute. So, it is not a stretch to say that letterheads warrant as much detail and attention as your company logo and signage, lest they diminish your standing and set back your progress in standing out in your industry. Now that we’ve established how an attractive letterhead gives an impression of professionalism and success, to some extent, let us go over a few pointers on how you can achieve the same for yours.
1. Strike the Perfect Balance With Your Content
Before worrying about designing your letterhead, consider this key question — what information needs to be included? You need to strike the right balance of having enough to make your identity known but not to the point that you risk making your letterhead look cluttered.
Another aspect worth noting is how specific you have to be, such as whether your business will use the same design regardless of location or region or if there is a chance you will be relocating in the near future. If the latter is more likely, it may be best to omit your head office address in the letterhead design.
Similarly, website URLs and email addresses should only be included if you are certain they will be valid for the long term and apply in every use case. On that note, it may be best to use a more generic company email address so that everyone can easily reach out to your brand work no matter where the stationery ends up in the future.
2. Mind the Colours and Typography
The font and colours you use in your letterhead significantly contribute to its appeal. If you want to start from scratch with your typography, assess some of the basics first before going straight to font websites as it is easy to get overwhelmed if you are unsure of what you are looking for. The following are some of the key factors worth considering:
- Serif vs sans serif
If you are aiming for a traditional appeal, serif fonts are the way to go. In contrast, sans serif is more suited if you want to create a more modern impression. Of the two, sans serif is generally easier to read when printed small, which is why many deem it the best and safest font option for letterheads.
- Font size
Take care to visualise how large the pre-printed wording might turn out as the same font can appear surprisingly different once printed out compared to how it looks on a screen. What’s more, remember that the wording will be placed alongside the body text, with the latter potentially having a different style, font, or font size than the former. Hence, it is prudent to print out trial runs first to ensure your choice of letterhead font looks good in every situation.
- Font family
Fonts come in several variations or ‘families’ that all share a visual resemblance. Suppose you choose a font with a large family, like Verdana or Arial. In that case, you can expect lots of options to choose from, making branding easier since you can use many different yet related fonts yet still retain a consistent look and feel.
Moving on to colours, choosing those that reflect your brand’s design scheme is a no-brainer. However, that does not necessarily mean they must all appear in your letterhead design, especially if your company logo or font is already ornate or detailed enough. Do not forget that the letterhead’s role in a formal document can be likened to just a supporting actor, not the star of the show. A good place to start would be to choose from your brand’s official colour palette. If not, use your logo design as inspiration and choose a couple or more contrasting hues.
3. Select the Most Appropriate Layout
There are now a plethora of ways to lay out letterheads, so don’t hesitate to push the limits of convention just like with the other elements of your branding and try to find a unique approach. If you’d like to just stick to the basics, however, there are several tried and true ways to set out your letterhead. Also, keep in mind that your ultimate goal is not to create a finished artwork but rather a canvas for a letter. This means your design and branding only need to play a supporting role for the content of the letterhead, not overwhelm or compete with the wording. If in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to keep it minimal and print mock-ups to see which ones look best.
The following are some basic layouts and best practices you can use as inspiration for your designs.
- Full border
Colours and designs are all located outside the paper in a consistent square shape.
- Graphic border
Colours and shapes are creatively placed around the edge of the content or text.
- Header and footer
Place a small design only at the topmost and bottom sections of the page.
- Background graphics
Place watermark-style graphics with a low-contrast hue across the entire body.
Conclusion
With more and more businesses entering the scene, brands must spare no effort in making themselves memorable in their market. Making a good-looking letterhead, an essential graphic representation of your company, is one of the small yet effective ways to achieve this goal.
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For more information about our services, don’t hesitate to contact us today!