What Is a Letterhead?
The labels, texts, and/or graphic elements found at the top portion of a letter paper or stationery is referred to as a letterhead. The letterhead usually includes the company name, logo, address, phone and fax numbers, and email address. Aside from business cards, letterheads also serve as supplementary promotional material for your business.
How to Create a Letterhead
Having a well-formatted letterhead design greatly helps you maintain your company’s branding. Moreover, it would establish credibility and exhibit professionalism. To get you started, we have provided you six easy to follow steps in creating an effective letterhead.
1. Draw an Outline
Before you start creating a sample letterhead in computer software, grab a pen and paper first then sketch a draft of the design you want to achieve. This way, you will have a clear idea of how the text and image/s will fit together.
2. Choose a Program
After you have an outline, choose a program that would enable you to design a letterhead. You can make use of Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, and Apple Pages. If you want to save time and effort, this page has loads of ready-made letterhead templates which you can purchase or download for free.
3. Select the Right Colors and Fonts
A study from Loyola University in Chicago reveals that colors increase brand recognition by 80%. Selecting the right colors and fonts is the key to a beautifully designed letterhead. Choose a color scheme that would look modern and would best represent your company. Keep in mind that a letterhead is a brief introduction of your business which is why it should elicit a good impression to the reader. In selecting fonts, make sure that it is legible in both print and digital media. Remember to keep it simple yet visually attractive.
4. Type in the Details
Now that you have selected the colors and fonts, start typing in the necessary details. For a business letterhead to serve its purpose, it needs to have the company’s name, address, and contact details. You may also include your company’s tagline if you want to. In entering the details, it would be helpful if you use a hierarchy in your design. This means that the most important information should be positioned in a way that would be accessible to the readers.
5. Add a Logo
Make your company recognizable by attaching a logo in your letterhead. An ideal spot for a basic logo is at the top of the letterhead just beside or above the company’s name.
6. Save
Take time to review your design and save it afterward. To make your branding consistent, it would also help if you use the same letterhead format or design in creating an envelope. There are letterhead and envelope mockups in this site that you can utilize or take inspiration from. Statistics show that brand presentation consistency increases a company’s revenue by 23%.