OVERVIEW
Stationery design is all about functionality and readability. With email's growing popularity, stationery has taken on a more serious tone. Letterhead is used less and less for general correspondence, and is instead used for legal documents such as contracts. As well, business cards are being supplanted and supported by vCards, a kind of electronic business card used via email.

• Context: The most important aspect to stationery design is considering what will be done with the various printed elements: what will be added to them (usually via laser printer), and how they will be distributed.
• The Logo: Paradoxically, the smaller the logo is reproduced (within reason), the larger the company will appear.
• Flourishes: The same holds true for design flourishes like brand elements, lines and shapes. Less is more.

LETTERHEAD (Illustration 1)
The goal of designing letterhead is simple and singular: provide enough room for the user to type a letter. Illustration 1 shows the various parts of a successful letterhead:

• Areas marked with a 1 are the only safe areas for incorporating pre-printed content, such as the logo and address.
• The area marked by a 2 is the shape of a typical letter.
• The Area marked by a 3 is the type-safety region, which should be an inch or more all around.

Pre-printed content can include:

• office address
• office phone number
• office fax
• website address

ENVELOPE (Illustration 2)
The goal of designing envelopes has more to do with postal regulations than aesthetics. Bleeds should be avoided. Illustration 2 shows the various parts of an envelope:

• The area marked by a 1 is the only safe area for incorporating pre-printed content, such as the logo and return address.
• The area marked by a 2 is the mailing address area.
• The Area marked by a 3 is generally reserved for post office usage. A height of 1" should do it.

Pre-printed content can include:

• office address
• website address

BUSINESS CARD (Illustration 3)
The business card is a different beast altogether. There is no need to leave room for content; the card must include it all before printing. But the size and placement of the logo, and the readability of the copy must be perfect. If the logo is too big, too crowded, or the font is too large, the company itself can appear small, cheap, or unrefined. This can all be made worse by the addition of too many colors, too many design flourishes, or not enough white space.

Illustration 3 shows a typical business card layout, designed to represent a company that is successful, confident, and refined:

• The logo is smallish, and given plenty of room to breathe.
• Each of the content elements are divided into sections. Typical font size is 8 points.
• There are no additional design flourishes.

Pre-printed content can include:

• employee name
• employee title
• office address
• office phone number
• office fax
• direct phone number
• personal cell phone number
• email address
• website address