Corporate Stationery Design

It’s Not Just Paper. It’s Perception.

You send a proposal worth £50,000. Do you want it to arrive in a cheap, windowless envelope? Every physical touchpoint is a signal. Cheap paper signals a cheap service. Premium stock signals authority. We don't just design the layout; we manage the tactile experience. From paper weight (GSM) to foil finishes, we ensure your brand feels expensive before they even read a word.

The Non-Negotiable Core

For almost any serious business, a few pieces are essential. Get these right first.

• Business Cards: The obvious one. A pocket-sized introduction.
• Letterheads: For any official correspondence, from contracts to welcome letters.
• Compliment Slips: For adding a brief, personal note to something you’re sending out.
• Branded Envelopes: The first thing they see. An unbranded envelope is a missed opportunity.

The ‘Context is Everything’ Extras

Beyond the core, other items might be useful depending on your business model.

• Branded Presentation Folders: Essential if you’re handing out packets of documents.
• Appointment Cards: If you run a service-based business with bookings.
• Branded Notepads: Can be a nice client giveaway or useful for internal meetings.

The Fluff: Where Money Goes to Die

Then there's the tat. The branded stress balls, the cheap plastic pens, the mouse mats.

Unless you have a very specific and clever marketing angle, most of this content is essentially landfill. It cheapens your brand more often than it builds it. Focus your budget on making the core items exceptional, rather than producing a multitude of mediocre items.

The One Thing You Can't Fix Later: Your Foundation

You can reprint a business card. You can change your paper stock. But if your core brand identity is flawed, you're just putting lipstick on a pig.

Your stationery design doesn’t start with picking paper. It starts with the building blocks of your brand.

It All Starts and Ends with Your Logo

Here’s a hard truth: a bad logo on a £5-a-sheet, gold-foiled, triple-thick card is still a bad logo. It’s actually worse, because you’ve spent good money to draw attention to how poor it is.

Your logo is the heart of your visual identity. It must be professional, and it absolutely must be versatile. Can it be reproduced in a single colour and still be recognisable? Does it work at a tiny size on the corner of an envelope and at a huge size on a banner?

If the answer is no, you have a logo problem, not a stationery problem.

This is why getting the core logo design right is non-negotiable. It’s the single most important investment, and it underpins everything else you do. Fix this first.

Your Colour Palette Isn't a Vague Suggestion

Brand consistency is crucial for building recognition and trust. Seeing slightly different shades of your brand’s blue across different items is jarring. It feels unprofessional.

Your stationery will be printed. That means your colours need to be defined in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) – the four-colour process used in printing. Your website uses HEX or RGB (Red, Green, Blue). They are not the same.

A good designer will provide you with the exact CMYK values for your brand colours. Use them. Every single time.

And don't go mad. A strong brand rarely needs more than two or three core colours. Simplicity is confidence.

Typography That People Can Actually Read

Fancy, elaborate fonts have their place. And that place is rarely mentioned on a business card or letterhead.

The primary job of your stationery is to communicate information clearly. Legibility always trumps quirky creativity.

Establish a simple typographic hierarchy:

• One font for headlines (your name on a business card).
• One font for body copy (including the address and details).

They can be different weights of the same font family or two complementary fonts. That’s it. Keep it clean.

A Practical Look at the Key Pieces

Theory is one thing. Execution is another. Let’s get practical.

The Business Card: Your Tiny Billboard

The business card is not a miniature brochure. Its purpose is to exchange contact information quickly and effectively.

I have a pet peeve about this. I was once handed a card by a marketing consultant. It included their name, phone number, email, website, social media links (X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok), and a QR code. My eyes glazed over. I couldn't find the email address in the sea of icons. The card was a failure.

Here’s the rub: White space is your most valuable tool.

A great business card needs only this:

1. Your Logo
2. Your Name
3. Your Title
4. Your Company Name
5. One Phone Number
6. One Email Address
7. Your Website URL

That’s it. That’s the lot. All this information should be presented clearly and cleanly. Anything else is noise.

The Letterhead: Your Official Voice

A letterhead frames your most important communications. Its design should be professional and understated. The content of the letter is the hero; the design is the supporting act.

Your logo and contact information should be present but not overbearing. The top of the page is traditional, but a design that places it at the bottom or side can also work, as long as it's out of the way of the main content.

A crucial point people miss: test how it looks as a PDF. More and more “letters” are sent as email attachments. Does your design translate well to the screen? Does the file size remain manageable?

The Compliment Slip: The Handshake on Paper

The compliment slip has one job: to make a generic mailing feel personal. It exists to carry a short, handwritten note. “Thanks for this.” “Here’s that document you asked for.” “Great to meet you.”

The design should be minimal. Your logo, “With Compliments,” and basic contact details. Don't clutter it. Its power is in its simplicity and the personal touch it enables.

Paper and Finish: Where Good Intentions Go Bad

Once the design is solid, you choose your materials. This is where people either smartly elevate their brand or make it look tacky.

Understanding Paper (The Simple Version)

You’ll hear printers talk about GSM, or ‘Grams per Square Metre’.

It’s just a measure of weight and thickness. Standard office paper is about 80-100 gsm. A decent business card starts around 350 gsm. Heavier paper generally feels more substantial and premium. It’s that simple.

You’ll also choose between finishes:

• Uncoated: Natural, slightly textured feel. Absorbs ink. Great for a rustic, organic, or seriously corporate look. Easy to write on.
• Matte: A smooth, non-shiny coated finish. Makes colours look crisp. Professional and modern.
• Gloss: Shiny, reflective coating. Makes colours pop. It can appear somewhat cheap if not used with care. Often used for flyers and photos.

Choose the finish that matches your brand’s personality, not what’s on offer. An eco-friendly food company should probably use uncoated, recycled stock. A high-tech startup might lean towards a matte finish.

A Word on Special Finishes

Foil stamping, embossing (creating a raised effect), and die-cutting (for custom shapes) can add a “wow” factor. But they can also scream, “I have poor taste.”

Here's the rule: use a special finish to highlight one specific element, such as your logo. Don't foil your name, emboss your logo, and die-cut the card into the shape of a van. It’s desperate.

These techniques are seasoning. A light sprinkle can enhance the flavour. Too much ruins the dish. Ask yourself: Does this serve the brand, or is it just a gimmick?

Sustainable by Design.

Looking professional doesn't have to mean being wasteful. We specialise in specifying high-quality recycled stocks and eco-friendly finishes. This isn't just “green-washing”—it's a modern business requirement. Show your clients you care about the details and the planet.

The Inkbot Standard: What We Deliver

Standard 1: Print-Ready Perfection.

• No more blurry logos or incorrect margins. We deliver files that professional printers love (CMYK, bleed, crop marks included).

Standard 2: Visual Consistency.

• Your invoice should resemble the company logo and branding used on your website. We unify your visual language across every document.

Standard 3: Function First.

• We design for the real world. Business cards you can actually read. Letterheads that don't break your Word processor.

Building a Cohesive Stationery System

Think of your stationery not as individual items, but as a family. They need to appear cohesive. They share the same DNA: the same logo, colours, fonts, and general layout principles.

A simple one-page brand style guide can be your best friend in this situation. It specifies your colours (CMYK values), your fonts, and rules for logo usage. It’s the blueprint that ensures consistency for you, your staff, and any printer you use.

When your physical stationery perfectly matches the branding on your website and your social profiles, you create a seamless brand experience. This builds trust. It shows you are organised, professional, and in control of your image.

It’s a Tool, Not an Ornament

Let's circle back.

Your business stationery is not an afterthought. It’s not something to be ticked off a list with the cheapest template you can find.

It’s a powerful, tangible tool for communication. It’s a physical manifestation of your brand’s promise. When you hand someone your business card, you are handing them a small piece of your company. It should be considered. It should feel professional. It should feel like you.

Getting it right shows attention to detail. And in business, the details are everything.

If you’re realising your brand’s foundation isn't as solid as it should be, that's a problem worth solving. For direct, professional input on building a brand that works everywhere, from a screen to a business card, you can request a quote here.

For more brutally honest observations on branding and design, you’ll find plenty more on our blog.