How To Create A Business Header

A business letterhead is a pre-printed heading on documents like letters, memos, and notes. Including one will make any document look professional and help keep your branding consistent.

Creating your own custom letterhead is easy, especially if you start with a business letterhead template.

Keep reading for helpful tips for how you can design your own business letterhead.

Letterhead examples (click to jump ahead):

• Company letterhead
• Official letterhead
• Simple letterhead

With the Venngage My Brand Kit feature, businesses can automatically apply their brand to designs. You may also be interested in our post on business letter templates.

1. When in doubt, use a simple letterhead design

If you feel like a flashy letterhead design is too much for you, there's nothing wrong with keeping it simple. In that case, simply include your logo and contact information, like in our company free letterhead:

 

This simple but professional letterhead design takes it up a notch with more accent text and a footer:

 

2. Use directional cues in your company letterhead to guide readers

Directional cues are visual indicators like arrows, lines, and images of fingers pointing. They indicate the direction a reader is meant to look.

While directional cues aren't necessary in a business letterhead, they can help your information flow. A simple way to add a visual cue to your letterhead is to use an arrow shape in the header that points to the beginning of your text.

For example, this free university letterhead template uses a simple arrow to give the design movement:

 

3. Add a creative footer instead of a header in your official letterhead

Another way to mix up your business letterhead template is to use a colorful, creative footer, instead of a header.

You can create balance in your design by using the same color as your footer for your business/organization name, your name, and any other information in the header.

Take a look at how a creative footer is used in these sample business letterhead examples. The first one uses a bold red line to draw attention to the contact information:

 

This sample letterhead example uses a playful wavy green footer and icons to organize the company's contact information:

 

4. Use a photo or illustration to frame your letter

Instead of using a standard header or footer, you could use an image to frame your letters. This is a great way to add some personality to your business communications.

Typically, you will want to use an image that has a transparent background. That way, your image will blend well into the rest of your design.

For example, this free business letterhead for a design firm uses a flower image in opposite corners for a creative, balanced design:

 

5. Pick two or three contrasting colors for your letterhead design

A custom letterhead is an opportunity to add a bit of color to your business communications. You can add color to the border, header, and even key parts of the body text.

Don't be afraid to use bold colors. Bright, contrasting colors are one of this year's biggest graphic design trends.

For example, this sample business letterhead template uses yellow and two shades of blue to create a vibrant color scheme:

 

This letterhead template draws upon the blue and green in its logo to add a graphical detail to the bottom of the page. It gives the document a modern edge to an otherwise conservative template.

 

One way to approach color selection is to pick two complementary colors (colors opposite each other on the color wheel). Our brand colors guide has more tips for choosing the right colors for your company.

Here is another example of contrasting colors in a business letterhead sample:

 

6. Position your logo near the top of your letterhead

The purpose of a letterhead is for your branding to be recognizable across all of your business communications. That's why people typically put their logo at the top of their letter.

A simple way to incorporate your logo seamlessly into your design is to use color accents that match your logo. This company letterhead example uses the orange in its logo for the accent text:

 

For example, the purple and white logo in this sample business letterhead template are complemented by the purple address section and accent text that showcases their brand fonts:

 

In this next example, a business letterhead template is used to communicate a job offer. The logo takes center stage on the front page, immediately informing the successful candidate that they have been hired.

For consistent branding, the logo is repeated at the bottom of the second page—albeit smaller and less prominently displayed, since the reader already knows which company has contacted them.

 

Need a new logo? Our logo maker tool makes it absolutely painless to create your own logos from scratch. Or browse our logo design tips blog post.

7. Use a solid background color for your letters

If you want to make your branded letters recognizable at a glance, try making some slightly riskier design choices. One way to do that is to use a solid color background for your letters, instead of the standard white background.

Once again, remember to use light text for dark backgrounds, and dark text for light backgrounds.

Take a look at how striking the navy blue background and gold text is in this letter template:

 

8. Give your business letters a colorful border

Don't underestimate the power of a simple border. A border can tie your design together with a neat bow.

For a more subtle border, use a shade like grey or charcoal. But if you want your communications to be particularly striking, you could opt for a bold color.

For example, this business letterhead template takes the bold route with a hot pink border:

 

9. Create a striking header design using geometric shapes

In preschool, we were given an activity in art class where we had to create an abstract design by drawing geometric shapes and then filling them in with different colors.

My teacher was on to something. Simple geometric designs are eye-catching. They also make for a creative business letterhead.

You can create your own geometric pattern design by drawing lines and filling in the sections with different colors. For a slightly more advanced design, you could even add some graphic design texture to your shapes, like in this business letterhead example:

 

This free letterhead example uses more subtle geometric shapes in its header:

 

10. Create a slanted or asymmetrical header for your company letterhead

To give your communications a fresh look, use an asymmetrical business letterhead. You can do this by simply drawing your header line on a slant.

The result is a visually interesting design with movement. Movement is a basic principle of engaging design. When your design has movement, people are more inclined to look at it.

Take a look at how this business letterhead template uses a slanted header that crosses behind the logo:

 

11. Use a dark colored background for a striking design

If you want to defy your readers' expectations, try inverting the standard color scheme for letters by giving your text a dark background.

As a rule of thumb, only use light text on dark backgrounds. Otherwise…no one will be able to read it!

Take a look at how striking this business letterhead template is, with its white header and dark grey background:

 

Check out our other quick hacks to customize your template and make it pop.

12. Create a custom-shaped border

You don't have to stick with a standard rectangle border. A custom-shaped border can add an engaging quirk to your business letters and compliment your official letterhead.

Try out variations like rounded corners, dashes instead of solid lines, or a framing image.

For example, the custom border in this business letterhead template gives the impression of the page being turned:

 

13. Add quirky illustrations to your letterhead design using icons

Icons are a great way to add some creative flare to your company letterhead. Depending on your audience and the purpose of your letter, you can change the icons to fit the occasion.

Remember to use consistently styled icons. Decide what style of icons fit your brand guidelines, and use those whenever you're decorating a letter.

For example, this business letterhead template uses line art icons to for a friendly conference follow-up letter:

 

14. Use a color gradient in your header or spine column

Color gradients are making a comeback. If you want your business communications to be up to date with design trends, you might want to incorporate them into your letterhead design.

That doesn't mean you have to go for a super gaudy gradient. A more subtle gradient of shades of the same color can be quirky but make for a professional letterhead.

For example, this business letterhead template uses a subtle pink color gradient in the spine column. Icons also help to illustrate the content of the letter:

 

15. Divide your business letterhead template into columns

If you aren't sure how to approach your design, a good place to start is to divide your page into columns. Then, you can figure out where to put your header or spine column, proportionate to the rest of your page.

Take a look at how this business letterhead template divides the spine column from the body of the letter using a thin line:

 

16. Use your header and footer designs to create a visual hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is a fundamental principle in design. To put it simply, visual hierarchy is the arrangement of elements in a design to indicate importance.

Visual hierarchy indicates which information is most important, or which information should be read first.

Your header and footer can contribute to the visual hierarchy on your page. For example, you could make a heavier weighted header and a lighter footer.

Take a look at how the footer in this business letterhead template mirrors the header, without taking away from the emphasis of the header.

 

Now you have the tools to create your own custom letterhead. Remember, it's easy if you start with a template!

Follow these steps to use a business letterhead template:

1. Pick a business letterhead template that fits your goals.
2. Add, remove or rearrange elements using the drag and drop canvas.
3. Insert your logo, name, and address.
4. Customize the colors, fonts, and icons to fit your brand.
5. Save your custom business letterhead template and use it over and over again.

Letterhead FAQ

What is a business letterhead?

Business letterhead is the header at the top of a company letter. Letterhead usually includes a business's logo, name, address and contact information such as phone or fax number, email address and company website URL.

What is the purpose of a letterhead?

The purpose of letterhead is to:

1. Reach out to prospective clients
2. Brand your corporate contract templates
3. Submit a cover letter for a new job
4. Write invoices
5. Prepare legal documents
6. Record meeting minutes
7. Send personal correspondence

How do I make my own letterhead?

Here's how you make your own letterhead:

1. Open a new document
2. Insert your logo in the top left corner of the document
3. Add a text box in the top right of the document, aligned horizontally with the logo
4. Enter your company name, address and any contact information such as phone or fax number and email address in the text box. The text should be right justified.
5. Apply your brand fonts or colors to the text
6. Save the document and create a copy of it whenever you want to write a new letter
7. You can also use letterhead templates from Venngage to make your job easier

What information should be on a business letterhead?

The following info usually goes on a letterhead:

• Company logo
• Legal business name
• Registered physical address
• Contact information: phone number, fax number, email address
• Company website URL
• Company registration number, if applicable
• Email address
• VAT number (legal requirement for invoices)

More business design guides:

10+ Crisis Communications Templates for Leaders

31 Consulting Proposal Templates to Close Deals

How to Make a Brochure in 5 Steps

30+ Business Report Templates You Need to Make Data-Backed Decisions

40 Email Newsletter Templates, Tips & Examples

How To Create A Business Header

Source: https://venngage.com/blog/business-letterhead-template/

Posted by: baileylierearmeng.blogspot.com

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