With over 50 years’ experience in the design and print of office stationery, Total Office’s John Thurgood shares some of his insight into establishing a strong corporate identity.
“Often, a potential client’s first contact with a company is through a business letter or business card, so it’s important that your business stationery is consistent with your brand. Think carefully about your brand’s colours, and how you use them in the design of every stationery item. Don’t be afraid to experiment, sometimes pulling a colour here and mixing a colour there will create a striking result without breaking the brand.
Many of our clients favour a simple, stylish design with elements of clean white space, these designs are great for helping your message stand out. A few years ago, many people were keen to fill their business cards and headed paper with QR codes and social media icons, while it’s great to highlight many ways in which to clients can connect with you, be selective, a design that is too cluttered will distract clients from paying attention to the crucial things on the stationery, such as contact information.
Believe it or not, selecting the right material can make or break your business stationery, it’s incredible how the same design can have such a different impact on different card or paper stock. Don’t try and cut cost by cutting down on the quality of your paper, if you received a letter of introduction that was printed on cheap quality paper, and stuffed in a mismatched envelope, what would that tell you about the sender? If you were passed a tatty business card with curled edges what impression would that leave? A client will notice the difference between standard photocopier paper and thick, glossy, high-quality paper. This small detail can be enough to improve the perception of your business in the mind of a potential client.
With so many different options of print and paper stock available, it’s important that you select an option fit for purpose, and a good printer will spend time explaining the options and providing you with samples to help you make more of an informed decision.”
For more information about Total Office’s print services contact the account management team on 020 7536 2345.
