Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing
The Golden 5 of Stationery Design
David Dresen
I appreciate your unrelenting desire for punishment. It seems that there are some people out there that are actually reading these articles, and between you, my editor, and myself, I have a following of at least three. Thank you for your time and support. I addressed the different types of logos last month, and why or why not you should choose a specific type. This month I’d like to address the next step in the process: your stationery design.
You now have a logo that represents you, your company and your future. Congratulations, now what? How do you take that image, that first impression, and make it work for you? How do you continue to establish that important brand? The next step in doing so involves you personally. It is your business card and stationery design. This step should not be considered lightly since your business card is sometimes the very first impression people will receive of your company. The design should solidify your brand that was created through the logo, and also provide vital information for your customers to get a hold of you. Before you start to think of every item you sell or every service you provide, STOP!
The same design principles that I have talked about in every article still apply here. A clean, professional, functional look is vital. I have a list of 5 items you need to consider before you start to add all that clutter to your business card and stationery design.
1. Lets start with the biggie first, MONEY. How much are you willing to spend? This topic alone could be an article in itself because of the multiple factors involved in the process. I might have to address this in a future article, but for now, here is a quick sampling of items you need to consider.
· Is the design a standard size? This applies to both the letterhead and business card.
· How many colors are you using?
· Are you going to utilize both sides of the letterhead and business cards?
· Are there any bleeds, meaning does the ink go off the edge of the page?
· Is there going to be embossing, foiling or die-cutting?
· The stock you’re printing on plays a big role in the cost. Don’t use any stock that is a special order from your printer, unless you understand the cost involved.
If you have money to burn, take advantage of some of the fun things technology has for you, but don’t get carried away!! Remember, a strong, clean design will always be better than a cluttered, expensive one.
2. How much is too much? The use of SPACE in design is probably one of my favorite design elements to use, and one that the customer doesn’t usually understand. “There is too much wasted space.” “I could easily use that space for more products, or listing all my services.” “How about using that area for putting all my credentials and certifications.”I hear all these things. But before you have this conversation with your designer, consider the following: White space, or space in general, is vital in a strong design. Allowing elements to stand out without blasting them at the viewer through color or size is very beneficial. A cleaner design will not only allow the viewer to recognize important elements faster, but it will also entice them to actually look at something longer. What a concept; someone actually looking at the business card you just gave them!
3. This may reduce my readership down to two, but I have to bring up WATERMARKS.
I have to admit, there might be a use for these, but there is definitely no excuse for using a watermark in more than one color. First, a watermark by name is not meant to be readily seen. If you go and get a piece of cotton letterhead stock, and look at it through the light, you will see something magnificent, an “actual watermark”. That is how they are intended to be used, something very subtle, elegant and clean. Keep watermarks to a minimum, and only use a single color when you do.
4. Does the design interfere with FUNCTIONALITY? That funny text in the middle of the piece of paper is there for a reason. The sender usually has something important to communicate to the reader. A good design should NEVER interfere with the message being delivered. The design elements are there to compliment and strengthen, not distract, the reader.
5. A good design will incorporate KEY ELEMENTS of the logo into the design. This can play a major role in the branding of the identity the designer has created. If done correctly, you will be able to push your branding beyond just using the whole logo or mark. For example, the Bahamas logo uses a stylized leaf pattern, and that leaf pattern is used to expand their brand throughout their collateral material. The result had been an extremely strong, impressionable marketing campaign that has helped them boost their tourism revenue.
These are just a few of the things to be considered when starting your stationery package design. I want to re-emphasize the theme that I have established in all my articles, that of a clean, professional look. There is no amount of money that can make up for a poor design that in turn establishes a poor impression on your customer. Your stationery design is meant to be an extension of your brand, but more importantly, retain its functionality.
Posted on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 4:11 pm and is filed under Design, Graphic Design, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
