Stationery designs are often overlooked by several businesses when considering print designs for effective marketing and branding.

And this is surprising given the fact that business stationeries, especially in a B2B setup, are the front line communicators that help in laying the foundation for a brand in the making.

They provide the required brand recognition by sharing the brand message and creating a strong brand identity that establishes a clear recall value.

All this proves how important it is for businesses, whether big or small, to have professionals work on their stationery designs.

So, today, we decided to share with you 5 very important rules for creating impactful and effective stationery designs.

These rules define the basic application of graphic design elements in order to create designs that are relevant and useful.

Let’s take a look.

It should stick to the purpose

Several print materials can be put under the category of business stationery, such as;

- Letterhead

- Business card

- Notepad

- Invoice book

- Calendar

- Envelope

Now, each of these stationery types solves a different purpose. So, the overall structuring and planning of the design will depend upon the type of stationery that is getting designed.

For example, while, both, letterhead and a business card can have the company logo, address, contact details, etc. the purpose of the two is different.

A letterhead is mainly used to write and share professional updates and messages. So, it would require comparatively more whitespace.

Additionally, the placement of each design element is also important and will have to be done considering the type of stationery that has to be designed.

It should ensure brand recognition

It is important to ensure that business stationeries are designed in such a way that they help create strong brand recognition.

One of the main elements that should be used to make sure of creating brand recognition is the company logo.

Apart from that, you should make note of the following;

• Use of brand colors (specific color shades used throughout all your business designs; such as website, mobile app, brochures, etc.)
• Shape of the design (for example, any particular shape you want to provide to your business cards that would relate with your brand’s ideology or identity.)
• Using the brand tagline (It is one of the most impactful ways to ensure brand recognition)

Each of these elements must be consistent throughout all types of stationery designs used for your business marketing. 

Check out this article to know more about the basic elements of graphic design.

It should be colored only if necessary

Color is one of the main elements of graphic design and is extensively used for almost every type of design project. But, it is interesting to remember that even white is a color. 

So, even if you do not use any color for your stationery designs, and leave them blank (white), you are not letting your stationery going unrecognized.

Yes! Colors do create a specific image for a brand in the eyes of the consumer, but they should only be used if it suits the theme of the brand.

If you believe that your business stationery designs do not require specific shades of color, don’t use any.

Whitespaces, after all, are good for creating a strong visual hierarchy. Something that we’ll be elaborating more on in the next point.

It should follow a visual hierarchy

One of the most important rules to remember when creating stationery designs is ensuring a proper visual hierarchy. 

Most office stationeries are meant to provide some kind of information that the user is meant to read and understand.

Now, establishing a visual hierarchy in stationery designs would help the user to understand what to read first and follow the trail of information accordingly.

Also, establishing proper visual hierarchy helps brands to communicate the most important information first; minimizing the chances of the users missing out on that information.

It should not overdo with typefaces

The basic rule of graphic design suggests that there shouldn’t be several different types of font styles used. Be it creating a website design, a label design, app design, etc. every design project must stick with a maximum of 3 font variations.

Using too many different font styles in your stationery can create confusion and legibility issues for the users. Also, it signifies that the business doesn’t really care about its brand image by not getting the designs done by professionals.

Check out these 30 fresh Serif fonts for creating unique graphic designs.

To conclude…

Business stationery can prove to be a very effective tool for effective marketing and branding. All it requires is a proper application of design rules and principles.

Looking to get professional stationery designs for your business? We can help!

Get in touch with us at support@graphicszoo.com today.