Guide to Matching Letterheads and Business Cards
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways:
- Using matching business cards and letterheads plays an essential role in brand consistency, helps establish professionalism, and builds trust and credibility with your clients and partners.
- Their overall design aesthetic should be the same, despite having different layouts and functions
- When designing, keep in mind that a business card is for quick personal introductions, while letterhead is for formal correspondence, with ample space for body text.
Business cards and letterheads are tangible communication tools that represent your brand’s core values, personality, and message. They also reinforce your brand identity through consistent use of design elements, especially logos, colors, typography, and artwork.
When your business cards and letterheads share the same brand-centric visual style, they create a cohesive brand identity that makes your company instantly recognizable.
Business Card and Letterhead Standard Sizes
It’s easier to create matching letterheads and business cards when they come in standard sizes, since your artwork or design can be reduced, stretched, or cropped without leaving awkward margins or creating an unflattering layout.
Using standard sizes also ensures your business stationery set looks professional and fits standard envelopes.
Popular Business Card Sizes
The average business card size in the U.S. and Canada is 3.5” x 2”, although they come in other dimensions and shapes. Whatever size you choose, you’ll want your logo, artwork, and other relevant details to fit nicely on your card.
| Popular Card Types | Size (Inches) |
|---|---|
| Standard | 3.5” x 2” |
| Square | 2” x 2” |
| Rounded | 3.5” x 2” |
| Folded | 3.5” x 4” |
| Slim | 1.5” x 3.5” |
Popular Letterhead Sizes
Letterheads come in various standard sizes to suit different business needs and branding styles. However, 8.5″ x 11″ (US Letter) is the recommended choice, as it’s the standard document size throughout North America.
Depending on your business needs, you may need letterheads in two sizes.
| Standard Letterhead Sizes | Size (Inches) |
|---|---|
| Half Letter | 5.5” x 8.5” |
| US Letter | 8.5” x 11” |
| A4 | 8.3” x 11.7” |
| Legal | 8.5” x 14” |
| Tabloid | 11” x 17” |
Why Pairing Business Cards and Letterheads Matters
Using matching stationery ensures that every point of contact — from a quick introduction to a formal business proposal — reinforces your brand and builds credibility and recognition with customers and partners. Here are the key reasons why pairing business cards and letterheads matters to any business.
Ensures Cohesive Communication: When all your communication tools, such as business cards, letterheads, envelopes, and notepads, adhere to your brand style guide, they create a strong unified brand voice and image.
Builds Trust and Credibility: Brands using high-quality business stationery present themselves professionally. Partners and customers are more likely to trust a company that pays close attention to its communication tools.
Enhances Brand Recognition and Recall: A unified visual identity can make your brand more easily recognizable, helping it stand out from competitors in a crowded market.
Exudes Professionalism: Customers, employees, and stakeholders generally view well-designed business stationery as a sign of professionalism and credibility.
Creates a Lasting Impression: Well-designed letterheads and business cards help create a personal connection and a positive impression, differentiating the brand and influencing purchasing decisions.
How to Pair Business Cards and Letterheads Effectively
The following design elements should be consistent when creating your branded stationery set.
Logo: This design element acts as the face of your business by combining text, images, shapes, and colors to make it recognizable. When designing your business cards and letterheads, ensure the logo’s dimensions, colors, and layout are the same on both materials.
Color Scheme: Stick to one or two primary brand colors using the CMYK color model to avoid discrepancies during printing.
Typography: Check your brand style guide for the primary and secondary fonts for headings, body copy, and captions to create a uniform look and feel for your business stationery.
Contact Information: Ensure all essential contact details, including address, phone number, website, and email, are accurate and up to date.
Design Aesthetic: Although business cards and letterheads have different layouts due to their functional differences, their overall visual style should remain consistent so recipients can tell they come from the same company.
Mistakes to Avoid When Pairing Business Cards and Letterheads
Mismatched Logos and Colors: Ensure your logo is accurately represented on both the business card and the letterhead. Color discrepancies, inconsistent alignment, and inaccurate representation of any design element can negatively impact your branding.
Clashing Fonts: Using different font families, sizes, or weights on business cards and letterheads can confuse customers and weaken brand recognition. Always check your brand style guide to avoid this costly error.
Different Visual Style: While letterheads and business cards have different layouts and functions, their overall design aesthetic should remain consistent so that people can tell they are from the same brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do business cards and letterheads need the same design?
While they don’t have to look exactly similar, they should have a cohesive visual brand identity, with the same color scheme, logo, typography, and other essential brand elements.
What is the standard size for business cards and letterheads?
The most popular business card size is 3.5” x 2”, and for letterhead, it’s 8.5” x 11” (US Letter).
How do I make my business stationery look professional?
Focus on brand consistency, incorporate your logo and brand colors, and use a simple, recognizable style for your letterhead, cards, and envelopes. Also, work with a professional printing provider that offers extensive customization options rather than resorting to DIY.
The coordinated design of letterheads and business cards signals your brand’s commitment to quality and professionalism. Always review your style guide when designing to ensure your brand identity looks and feels the same on business stationery, printed marketing materials, websites, social media, and product packaging.
PrintPlace offers extensive customization options for a wide range of business essentials, including business cards, letterheads, envelopes, notepads, brochures, flyers, and presentation folders.
PrintPlace’s mission is to provide customers with unparalleled printing services through the knowledge and expertise of its employees.