3 Things to Consider When Designing Your Company Stationery
Company stationery is an essential for any business, and it’s important in ways we sometimes forget. A business card or letter is often your first point of contact with a potential new client; and first impressions count. A poorly designed logo in the wrong colours can put customers off without them even knowing it. The way your stationery is designed makes a statement about your company. You just need to make sure it’s the right statement.
Reed Digital launched in 2006, but our family has been in the reprographic business since 1987. This gives us a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of design and printing. Read on to learn more about designing the right stationery for your company.
Providing your Pantone
Colour is key to any design, including business cards, but it could be more important than you know. The best designers think long and hard about the colours they use. Imagine a certain burger logo depicted in blue and green! Different designs demand their own specific colours, and getting it right is critical. Deciding on the colour is one thing; making sure it’s accurately reproduced on your stationery is another.
Pantone is the globally accepted authority on shades of colour. Using Pantone colours as guide means everyone – including designers, printers and manufacturers – is on the same page. Having decided on the perfect colours, you need to make sure they are assigned to Pantone colours. That way your print provider will be able to reproduce them with perfect accuracy.
Using a shorthand and full logo
We all know logos are important, and can set your company apart from the crowd. The famous Shell logo springs to mind as a classic example. But, there’s something else about that logo that raises it to another level. It has become so recognisable, that it now often appears without the brand name. Another example is the Nike ‘swoosh’. You don’t need the name to know who the brand is.
Clearly, it takes time to build up such instant recognition. So on your business premises you would probably display your logo along with your company name. But, if your logo is strong enough, you might consider using a shorthand version on your company stationery. On smaller items like letterheads and business cards, a strong logo can create a powerful identity for your brand.
Materials to print on
The overall quality of your company stationery is not just about design and printing. It’s also about choosing the right materials, so that they don’t just look good, but feel good, too. A business card printed on high quality 350gsm card creates the right impression with potential customers. A gloss or matt laminate is even more impressive. And, as we’ve already mentioned, first impressions count.
If you’ve ever received a letter on cheap copier paper with a computer-printed header, you’ll know how that feels. A letter with a well-designed letterhead on high quality paper says a lot about you. It lets people know you’re a serious company, and one worth doing business with. When ordering your next letterhead, call us for more information or advice. We can help you make the right choice for your business today.