There is a stark difference between receiving a document written on a blank sheet of paper and a neatly designed letterhead. Letterhead functions are similar to your business card along with performing its role as a document. It allows people to engage with your brand and also lends credibility to the material written or printed on the page. 

Needless to say, a stunning letterhead is crucial for you and your enterprise. But designing one that makes an impression can be challenging. However, if you take one thing at a time and use the various design tools available, you can create a spectacular letterhead.

Make A Draft Design

Before you do anything towards making your letterhead, you must first think up a rough design to take forward. It doesn’t have to be perfect but it will guide you as you go forward and help with object placement. 

You want to give ample room for the document to be written or printed while still retaining the design elements. When making your draft design, you must ask yourself; is the design distracting the reader from the contents? If you are in doubt, then it is better to switch to a simpler design. 

You should get the bulk of your design elements from your brand and other marketing materials that you have, such as business cards. This will make your job a lot easier as you can take different existing elements and replicate them on your letterhead.

Use An Online Design App

Once you have a basic draft of your design, you must then choose the tools with which to make the letterhead. Most people would use designing software, however, there are many online designers available as well. With online design apps, you don’t have to go through the hassle of acquiring the software, installing it on your computer, and then getting to use it. Online designers can be used instantaneously. 

There are several such options available including PosterMyWall where you can create a letterhead using hundreds of professional letterhead templates. Simply choose the one you like, fill in the details, and modify the design according to your brand and you will have your required letterhead design. 

Choose An Appropriate Font

Typically, you’d want the same font that you used in other documentation and materials for your enterprise. That way you will have some consistency in every marketing material that you have. However, there are some liberties that you can take and change things up slightly while still largely adhering to your brand theme.

Fonts such as Roboto or the Futura LT family are good formal-looking and modern fonts that look excellent on letterheads. They are easy to read, look professional and make a good impression. You can use them throughout the letterhead where you give information such as your main office address, phone numbers, or email.

An example shows the font in use where it is used to give company information along with the actual text itself. 

Create A Layout

Using the draft as a guide, set the layout using the different design elements available on the PosterMyWall editor. Depending on the template you chose, many of these will already be present in the editor which you can modify. However, if you choose, you can upload your own clip art and images and work with them instead.

Some basic layout choices you will have to make include whether or not to put on a full border around the whole letterhead, whether to use a graphic border around the body of text, how to use a header or footer, and whether to use background graphics. Answering these questions will refine your layout. 

Simplicity is key when it comes to a letterhead design. You don’t want to clutter things and take space away from the area where you would put text and you certainly don’t want to assault the user’s eyes with too many design elements. Keep things simple and offer the essentials and your letterhead will turn out great.

In this example, the designer has chosen to keep things on a subtle end. They have used a partial border incorporating the company colors and placed the company on the top left side and details on the top right leaving ample room for the document text. 

Paper choice

When anyone holds your letterhead in their hands, the first thing they will notice is the paper quality. Generally, the heavier the weight of your paper, the more premium the finish and feel will be. But that can be expensive. Lighter-weight paper is cheaper but the document may turn out to be fragile in terms of handling and may rip easily. 

You will also need to consider the color of the paper as well. The pure white paper is the best choice for a majority of businesses and the like. However, you may also try a warmer shade of white, cream color, or pale blue if you feel like trying something unique. As long as your choice matches your overall letterhead design and brand identity.

Complement other stationery

To complete the full set, consider also designing, making, and ordering other complimenting stationery. Business cards, envelopes, and note cards with similar design layouts will complete your set which will come in handy later on. 

Someone opening your letter in a branded envelope and finding the document that you printed on your letterhead and a business card will have a much stronger and positive impression of you and your enterprise.

A well-designed letterhead will allow you to deliver your message in a more effective and attention-grabbing way than on a blank sheet of paper. It makes a positive impression and also does some marketing for you since it has your company information on it. It is, therefore crucial to have a well-designed letterhead for your brand that will get the job done. By following the advice listed above, you too can make a letterhead for yourself that will set you apart from the rest of the crowd and create a lasting impression with your clients.