Monthly Archives: March 2010

Do-It-Yourself Letterhead

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Letterhead is one of the key elements to your corporate identity. It is ground zero from a design standpoint. The layout, typestyles, and colors you establish here dictate the design of all the pieces that follow — from your business cards and envelopes to your website brochure.
Why the letterhead? Because it is typically used to present the most important one-on-one personal communications — introductions, proposals, requests, personal messages, and such — the written greetings that require you to look your best.
Creating a striking design will create a favorable impression for your organization.
Here are a few helpful hints for designing a great letterhead:
  • Choose a smooth paper for your letterhead. It will print more evenly in your office’s laser printers.
  • A strong logo, placed in a prominent position, creates a focal point for your letterhead.
  • Using a bleed in your letterhead design looks wonderful, but will add to the cost of the completed project, because it must be printed on oversize paper, and then trimmed to 81/2×11.
  • When choosing a paper for your letterhead, it is often a good idea to check with us to see if matching envelopes are available. You might also want to check the folding characteristics of the paper, since most letterhead are folded and inserted into a #10 envelope.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, design – 318.868.3351

Poster Design Tips

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At its best, poster design is the territory of the truly creative, and it has been used in the past as a public display of individual talent. When you are designing in this graphic form, the poster’s purpose and application should be your first considerations. The poster will normally be on display in a public area, where it will have to compete both with its surroundings and with other posters.
Poster Design Checklist:
  • Establish the information to be conveyed.
  • Decide on the size, proportion, and shape.
  • Research the locations for your poster.
  • Simplify the information to be communicated.
  • Produce scaled-down versions of the design.
  • Consider the space and its effects very carefully.
  • Select the typefaces that work for your design.
  • Make sure the message is conveyed clearly and dynamically.
  • Present a number of alternative designs.
When you are designing a poster, the first decision to make is the size and shape of the design area. This may be governed by the display site. For this example, three shapes have been explored: two differently proportioned portrait shapes and one landscape.
  • Portrait and Landscape: Most common sizes are 81/2×11, 11×17, and 22×34.
  • Large Format Posters: Most common sizes are 24″ wide and 36″ wide.
  • Both are available in unlimited lengths, but 96″ or less is most practical.