Introduction to Stationery Design
A company’s stationery is much more than just a piece of paper and its use is much more than just the transferring of information.
It can be used to reflect an organization’s image as well. These can include letterheads, envelopes, labels, packaging, and even business cards.
As we all know that we are living in a digital age and most of our communications are carried out using e-mails or other electronic means of communication.
This has led many organizations to focus less on their stationery which is not good at all. Old fashioned stationery is still important as it can be seen as an extension of the brand.
Whether you are sending an industry-wide memo, presenting your business card at any corporate event, or sending an important document to your client.
Stationery should represent the brand clearly and appropriately. In this blog, we are going to shed light on the importance of stationery and also tell you about the ways through which you can improve your stationery design with optimal effect.
Importance Of stationery and its design:
Many businesses these days give very little to no attention to their stationery in this digital age as most of their communications are carried over the internet.
While there certainly is a decline in the need for stationery, this does not mean that there is a decline in its importance as well.
In fact, stationery has always been a key element in representing an organization’s image. Calling it an effective marketing tool would not be wrong at all, as a business card or a letterhead is most likely the first thing that is provided to create an acquaintance.
It also demonstrates professionalism, flaunts creativity, and even cements a business’s legitimacy. A thoughtfully designed stationery can go a long way in attracting new customers. Here are a few tips that can help you to improve and effectively optimize your stationery design:
Keep it simple:
Overcrowding a simple design with complex combinations of shapes and colors with different design elements may very well come off as stylish and intricate sometimes, but not always.
In fact, most of the time they may come off as visually irritating and overwhelming for the user. This may downplay the intended effect and the whole effort might go useless.
Sometimes using clean and simple designs can do wonders as they will be only there to support and enhance your content and not overshadow it.
Using minimalist designs and colors can help you achieve this. Also, try to incorporate white spaces if possible, this will break up the content into intervals providing an even more clean and simple look.
Incorporate the brand:
A brand identity is created with the use of different color combinations, logos, fonts, and even images.
While designing the concept of stationery for any organization a brand’s identity should be kept at the basics.
Whether it is the business cards or the letterheads they should be designed in such a way that it represents all aspects of a particular brand.
There is a lot that the designers could play with over here. Each brand has a specific logo with different color schemes, fonts, and shapes, this allows creativity to flow freely.
A brand’s logo can be used as a background for the business card while it can also be used at the top of a letterhead.
Use the best paper and software:
As we all know that a brand or a business can be judged based upon the designs of the stationery that it uses.
Similarly using the best papers for your stationery can also take the business a long way. The feel of the paper can also sometimes play a part in attracting your clients.
It helps in expressing an organization’s professionalism and affirms that the business is serious. A fine quality paper also enhances the overall presentation of the content that it carries which can also play a part in attracting potential customers and impressing existing clients.
The software used for stationery design is also of the utmost importance. Not many software can support detailed and complex designs causing the end result to come out as lackluster and less impressive.
On the other hand, software that can support complex designs will help in making the final output look visually appealing.
Organize optimally and effectively:
The content that a stationery carry is also equally important to the way that it is designed. At times it gets very difficult to differentiate between relative and unrelated information.
This means that sometimes even an unnecessary piece of information ends up being a part of the final product.
This may cause distraction and the reader may easily lose track and consequently his/her interest. It is very important for the content to be optimal and only used if necessary.
A very important part of designing is the optimal arrangement of the content that it carries. So, make sure to exclude all the irrelevant information before finalizing a design.
Maintain consistency:
Consistency is a term that is very easy to understand but very difficult to maintain. A disoriented stationery design not only reflects unprofessionalism it also reflects the nature of inconsistency among the business that it belongs to.
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Make sure that all your letterheads, business cards, envelopes, and even packaging have a consistent design layout and similar in tone.
Keep in mind that any type of stationery whether it is a business card an envelope or even the letterhead that its carries can often be used as a first point or one of the initial phases of contact between a business and its client.
The overall aesthetic and design of the stationery can be used to influence the customer and if done right an optimally designed stationery has the power to literally make or break a deal.
As we enter 2021 having an effectively designed set of stationeries can help you create a place for yourself in this fiercely competitive market.