Are you launching a new business or going through a rebranding process? If so, it’s likely time to start thinking about your company letterhead!
What is a company letterhead? Your letterhead refers to the design at the top of the stationery you use for any documents or letters you need to send that pertain to your business. Whether you’re writing to a client or updating your investors, you’re going to want to make sure that you have a professional letterhead to show that you mean business.
So, how can you start designing a company letterhead of your very own? We’re here to share the legal requirements and additional considerations pertaining to your UK business’s letterhead.
Read on for seven things to include when designing your company letterhead.
1. Your Company Name
This one can seem like a no-brainer, but it is a legal requirement and so it’s worth mentioning: start with your company name. Although it may be tempting to go with a commonly used nickname or acronym, use your full company name as it’s registered with the government.
We recommend placing your company name in the upper lefthand corner or in the top centre of the page. However, you can make a decision about this after placing your logo, which will be the true focal point of your letterhead.
2. Where Your Company Is Registered and Your Company Number
If your company is UK-based, we have another legal requirement for you: you must include where in the UK your company is registered. You will also need to include your registered company number.
Keep in mind that most recipients of your company mail won’t need to find this information. That means that while it needs to make it into the design, it doesn’t need to grab anyone’s attention. You can place it below your company name in a smaller font or place it in an empty corner.
3. The Address of Your Company Office
Now for the final legal requirement: you need to include the address of your company office. More specifically, you need to include the address of your company’s registered office. That means that even if you primarily work from a different location, that main office needs to land somewhere on your letterhead.
Many people choose to place the office address at the top of any additional contact information. This tends to look best somewhere along the bottom edge or on the upper lefthand corner beneath more eye-catching details, like the logo or company name.
4. Additional Contact Information
Now, onto matters that aren’t legal but make good professional sense. You’re opening up a dialogue when you send a letter, so it’s important to include contact information that can keep the conversation rolling. Yes, that includes your address for return mail, but in the digital age, there are probably a variety of ways to reach you.
Some letterheads include the primary company email address or the email address of a top executive or owner. Nowadays, letterheads also tend to include the primary company phone number as well as social media handles for platforms like Twitter or Facebook. (Keep in mind that you should only direct people to your social media if you actually use it–don’t send people to a Twitter account that has sat dormant for years!)
5. Your Logo
Here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the star of the show: the logo. No matter what kind of print marketing materials you’re designing, you should always include your logo. Why?
Any time you invest in any branded products, they should do the legwork to spread brand awareness. Plus, including your logo across platforms and marketing campaigns helps to establish brand consistency. You want your logo to be the first and last thing someone notices when looking at anything written on your letterhead, so make sure that it has enough room to breathe.
6. Relevant Names
Many people choose to add the relevant names to their letterhead and sometimes, this is, you guessed it, a legal thing. (If you’re not in the UK, it’s more of an industry standard thing.)
So, whose names should land on your letterhead? It depends on the type of business you’re running. For example, if you’re registered as a sole trader, you need to include your own name. If you’re designing a letterhead for a partnership business, you need to include the names of all of the partners.
If you’re not in the UK (or you want to go above and beyond legal requirements), another way to think about it is to ask yourself, “Who are our key players?” It’s not uncommon for law firms to include the names of every partner or for clinics to list the name of every doctor.
7. Additional Add-Ons
What are some other factors to consider? Start thinking about additional add-ons such as:
- colour (which is a must so that everyone knows you didn’t print your letterhead on an old crummy office printer)
- raised lettering
- custom watermarks
- paper preferences
Keep in mind that you don’t want to go too overboard with the additional features. For example, when you’re picking colours, make sure that you’re pulling one to three colours from your logo, rather than every colour of the rainbow.
Rely on Hippo Print for Your Company Letterhead and Print Marketing Materials
Your company letterhead is a bigger deal than you might realize. Any time you need to send out business mail, your company letterhead sets a tone, spreads brand awareness, and shows that you take your work seriously. Now that you know how to design your letterhead, we’ve got another hot tip for you!
Hippo Print is the UK’s number one online design and print shop that can put together your printed materials overnight. Take a look at all of the different customized materials we can prepare for you by the very next day. Let us help you with all of your printing needs!