The Importance of Letterhead design

Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about the importance of business stationery, and how business cards are such an essential part of selling your brand.  Today I want to discuss the importance of letterhead design.

Why your letterhead is important

Your Company logo

Your business has a logo for a reason. This logo will define and identify your brand, and will help your customers to recognise you. So by putting your business logo on your stationery you expose your brand and what it stands for, in turn giving you a far greater brand awareness in your industry and among your customers.

It backs up your brand

Every business wants its customers to know that it offers the best service or the most affordable products, then your letterhead therefore needs to reinforce your brand message.

If your brand is all about providing a professional, bespoke service (for example) then you should make sure that your letterhead reflects this, whether that’s with a clean design, or by colours and fonts. Once you’ve chosen the particular identifiers, make sure to stick to them across all of your business’ communication for consistency.

It shows legality and authority

Not only does your business letterhead present who you are, which helps to identify your brand; but it should also be used for all official documentation. It reinforces your brand’s authority and gives the remainder of the letter credibility.

What makes a good letterhead design?

letterhead-adelaide-graphic-design-1

Clean and simple

Your letterhead should be easy to read, so it’s important for it to be a clean and simple design. Your letterhead should consist of your logo and any contact details.

Contact details

It’s important that your customers can contact you by looking at your letterhead. This means ensure your contact details are relevant and up to date.

Two font rule

Now this is in the eye of the beholder, but we feel you shouldn’t use any more than two fonts in your letterhead design. Try to choose a font which reflects your logo. You may decide to use a specific typeface for all of your marketing communication.

Company colours

You should make sure that your letterhead contains any corporate colours from you logo. A business which sells items specifically related to food for example will likely opt for green and red, rather than purple, it’s simple logic.

Good examples of successful letterheads

Below is a look at some examples of what we think is successful letterhead designs. Just remember as long as you include the right information, and keep any design consistent with your brand’s identity, you can’t go wrong.

letterhead-adelaide-graphic-design-2

Simply in the shape of a comb, this works great for a barber shop.

letterhead-adelaide-graphic-design-3

Choosing a corporate colour must have been a bit of a no brainer with a name like Redbrick.

If you want to chat to DesignLab about how we can help with your business stationery in Adelaide, call Spiros 0n 0431 926 575.

August 5, 2015 Branding, Branding Adelaide, Graphic design, Graphic Design Adelaide Comments Off on The Importance of Letterhead design

Adelaide Festival Signage

Last Friday February 27th 2015 saw the opening night of the 2015 Adelaide Festival, and we got to be part of a very special VIP cocktail reception followed by an amazing extraordinary show named Azimut. And at 9m, Blinc was switched on at the banks of the River Torrens, which saw the area transformed into an outdoor digital art party (see video below).

For us at DesignLab it has been another successful year being part of a design team whose skills are on signage as well as other services such as graphic design. This year we worked again with Visualcom who are one of Adelaide’s largest and best signage installers. Signage plays a very important role in the Adelaide Festival, we design and develop a lot of different materials such as bus and trams wraps, bus shelter posters, corflutes, large street signage, car decals and much more!

As a business are you aware that your signage is vitally important?

Yes it is! When you stop and think, it makes sense that signage is crucial to your business. In many cases your signage is the first thing a potential customer sees about your business.

Every business has competition… whether it be a little or a lot, and to stay ahead of the pack in a competitive world of business in the 21st century, you need to communicate with prospective customers through your signage, by making sure you are sending a clear message effectively and quickly that says your business is the best choice for them.

What Signage Can Do For Your Business!


Here are some of the basic things good signage can do for your business:

  • Encourages impulse “stop and shop” customers
  • Bolsters and reinforces your other media marketing techniques
  • Helps to make future sales by letting people see your business is there

Signage can be very effective at building your business if you incorporate your corporate identity that help identifies what your business is about. One benefit of branding with signage is that once your logo and brand is firmly established in a locality, it helps reduces the amount of money you need to spend on other advertising. Signage offers an economical and highly effective way of presenting and reinforcing your message to the public.

Whatever type of signage you use for your business, it needs to be carefully designed so that you will reap the maximum benefits of attracting potential customers. DesignLab are always ready to help you create the ideal signage for your business.

To make sure your business makes the best impression, contact DesignLab for all of your signage needs!

March 3, 2015 Graphic Design Adelaide, Signage Comments Off on Adelaide Festival Signage

Brilliant print advertising

Print advertising is still the most powerful way to communicate the right message to your target audience. Unfortunately over the past couple of years in Adelaide there only has a small number of advertising agencies, but things are looking better for Adelaide and South Australia, as smaller design agencies are starting to produce more clever advertising.

If print advertising in brochures, print catalogues, flyers, posters and billboards is done in a creatively funny way, getting attention will be a lot easier. Most businesses today make sure to achieve this idea for their print advertising campaigns to stand out among their competitors.

With digital media such as viral videos, it’s easy to overlook the creative art of print advertising, but it’s still relevant and as powerful as old vintage posters ever were, whether it’s small scale or a massive form of advertising. As the saying goes ‘It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be’.

You still need a good well thought out concept that’s going to stick in people’s minds. Take a look at these funny, amazing, innovative ads and we guarantee you’ll be jumping with inspiration by the time you reach the bottom.

01. Rolling Stone

print-adverts-adelaide-9

Rock music meets Photoshop, with this cool, simple and sleek ad.

02. Ashtanga Yoga

print-adverts-adelaide-8

This brilliantly inventive ad hones in on the benefits of yoga practise for your back.

03. Moms Demand Action

print-adverts-adelaide-10

Moms Demand Action as if a Kinder Egg is banned in the US to protect children, why not assault weapons?.

04. Whiskas

print-adverts-adelaide-5

The ‘Big Cat, Small Cat’ campaign depicts a small furry feline as a big cat in the wild.

 05. Mini

print-adverts-adelaide-6

We love this clever Halloween-inspired Mini campaign.

05. McDonald’s

McDonaldsPotatoes

This cool new print ad featuring a box of fries carved out of a potato.

07. SANCCOB

print-adverts-adelaide-3

Inspired by the artwork of Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, these print ads feature clever optical illusions.

08. Publinews Braille Edition

print-adverts-adelaide-11

Lady Gaga’s illustration is accompanied by the braille caption ‘She recovers in a golden wheelchair’, which refers to her recent request for one after hip surgery.

Band Aid: Hulk

print-adverts-adelaide-1

We love the Hulk. This print advertising campaign from Band Aid showcases the ability of using a well-known here to the maximum effect.

There’s no text or tag-line; just the image of Hulk’s hand, along with the product in the bottom left-hand corner. It perfectly executes the product’s strength thanks to applying it to the world’s strongest character.

French Ministry of Health

print-adverts-adelaide-2

This ad campaign for the French Ministry of Health highlights the growing issue of obesity in children.
The copy reads “L’obesite commence des le plus jeune age,” meaning “obesity starts at a young age.”

November 5, 2014 Print Advertising No comments yet

Video production in Adelaide – Titanium personal water filters

Safe drinking water on the go. Game changing Titanium personal water filters. Guaranteed for life.

When the team at Go Walkabout approached us to film a video production in Adelaide for the world’s first titanium water filter, we just knew straight away that we had to get involved and help them with their Kickstarter campaign.  Our brief was to create a video that not only showed the product, but also inspire, motivate and captivate an audience that can kindly donate to the campaign so the team at Go Walkabout can produce and supply family – and village-sized filters to help provide communities in developing countries with safe drinking water, through both donation and sustainable microcredit plans.

The video consisted of a two day shoot in the factory plant at Advanced Metallurgical Solutions located in Lonsdale, South Australia. We felt that the factory was the perfect opportunity to show the audience where Matt, Craig, Josh and Gilbert invented the titanium water filter. There was a discussion about super-imposing the boys over a green screen and adding some fancy digital effects, but when we thought about it we realised that investors want to see these talented team in their natural surroundings, a place that is honest and real.

Editing consisted of one day to meet the short timeframe of under 2 minutes on the final cut. We know from experience with other Kickstarter campaigns that you only have a couple of minutes to grab a potential investors attention.

A little about the Walkabout Ti and Walkabout Ti Ultralight.

Titanium – is used for jet engines, medical implants, mens titanium wedding rings and now personal water filtration.

The Walkabout Ti and Walkabout Ti Ultralight are groundbreaking, world first titanium personal water filters. All other water filters are made of a hollow fiber plastic materials that can break or fail easily, but not titanium.

Personal water filters are great, they can save you the hassle of carrying big water containers when you in the outdoors and avoid any risks of drinking tap or bottled water from unknown sources. They are also useful in the event of “boil water” advisories, which are becoming more and more common. They also help reduce the number of plastic bottles made and disposed of for bottled water.

You have to be careful with personal water filters, you never really know when other water filters are going to fail.  This can be dropping, freezing, sitting on and overheating. And often you don’t know if they have failed. You can be sure that titanium won’t fail.

Walkabout Ti filters are an amazing and lightweight personal water filter that you can count on to give you safe drinking water when you go walkabout, or any other recreational activity.

video-production-adelaide-go-walkbout

Support the Go Walkabout team by pledging a donation through Kickstarter by clicking here.

 

October 29, 2014 Graphic Design Adelaide, Video Production Comments Off on Video production in Adelaide – Titanium personal water filters

Adelaide Festival 2015 Program Launch

Last Thursday 16th October saw the launch of the program for the 2015 Adelaide Festival. The 30th Adelaide Festival program was unveiled with the full line-up presented by Artistic Director David Sefton, and we had front row seats.

This being our fourth year working with the Adelaide Festival we feel very privileged to be invited to the launch party, especially when we get a mention from CEO Karen Bryant in front off all government officials and the media at the VIP party before hand about our graphic design work.

As a nod to the very first Adelaide Festival poster, the artwork for the 2015 Adelaide Festival of Arts is an interpretation of the iconic ‘double A’ from 1960. This was designed and developed by Voice.

The 2015 Adelaide Festival features over 22 Australian premieres and exclusive events including the ambitious digital arts event Blinc, which will open the Festival on Friday 27th February 2015, and will continue every night of the festival for free. Artistic Director David Sefton says Blinc is the “most ambitious public art event the festival has ever presented”.

Danny Elfman, will be in Adelaide for his production Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton, which is a showcase of some of the memorable scores he has composed for famour director Tim Burton which includes Batman, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands. The concert will be held at the Entertainment Centre and will be performed by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Other highlights of the program include Unsound, Tommy: which is a radical jazz reimagining of The Who’s double album, Fela! The Concert: A concert version of the Broadway musical about Afrobeat originator Fela Kuti, Blow the Bloody Doors Off!!: instrumentalist Terry Edwards celebrates the music of the iconic Michael Caine film such as Alfie, The Italian Job and Get Carter.  Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet: The US company makes their exclusive Australian debut and Bill Viola: The work of the American video artist will be presented across three venues, The Art Galley of SA, Queen’s Theatre and St Peter’s Cathedral.

adelaidefestival.com.au

The social photos above in the slider were taken by Tony Lewis and you can see more by clicking here at Indaily’s website.

October 22, 2014 Branding Adelaide, Events, Graphic Design Adelaide No comments yet

Adelaide Festival Design Posters

For more than 50 years Adelaide Festival audiences have been delighted in an mix of challenging, inspiring and entertaining artists and performers. This vital and prestigious celebration of art from around the globe has defined South Australia as the nation’s premier festival state. With internationally acclaimed theatre productions, an eclectic array of world-class musicians, breathtaking dance pieces and striking visual arts displays, Adelaide’s warm March days and starry nights provide the ideal setting for this highly accessible event.

We have had the privilege of working with the Adelaide Festival for the past three years, and are luckily enough to have just been signed on for a fourth year. It has been a great experience working closely with the team for both parties.

As we are working with design talent Voice on the new artwork for 2015, we thought wouldn’t be good to have a look back at some of the Adelaide design posters to see how far graphic design has come.

0abea1f60e8092c8a9b8fc792264e4bd 0c8db53a4a024ccd36b066dca7a89989 0e20b530da34518687e35a9c6a842f35 1a1cd8da2b63ea0ab4a92898fded2a1d 1e69c3cb61050a4dae49e5e65bdfc7f4 2 4b91320d4eb108f70058dbc2d687ce2d 5eec3b5d34d33d6c01b0319293626f40 35e8e8e2a3b07557bc9ce3d0eaa2e489 37fe04bea001025bcbfb3ed29d3fd636 163_0141 290d429a5026be26af0fa42156b16266 921ef28627861de19ef8785a7d23272e 6386a26d47c7fc39130379c2e9eba5e0 39651b03610ffff62a9ee237936c7dbd 370170ec8e2201dd21f4380a4c27f716 41474131907276811 ad58398e97cb7d52dbd8b452a4575f3e c6cf908f8a67d5901875d8b1a8b05223 cde466d61d200494c80419df9c59b8ec ce15404ac9febf91f8436f48c0273c85 d25ace1f690e0e03132dcf1fab780a30 d261d364c49237e85da25e7c7f474acb efc824bbfcc57bfd26fd3a634566e625 saweekend-375702

August 14, 2014 Graphic Design Adelaide No comments yet

Happiness in a glass – Branding

Nook Nosh is a small bar located just out of the CBD on Unley Road, Unley. Here they serve great boutique wine, craft beers, a range of classic spirits, and tasty grazing foods, with a strong focus on local South Australian producers.

This “lovingly created” bar has a warm and inviting setting and is designed to be a welcoming place to share love for sips and nibbles. The owners, Chris and Lisa promise an easy, feel good experience, in which to share good times, and some of the good things in life, with great friends and friends-to-be.

We were lucky enough to be asked to create their branding.

Find Your Everything has put together a neat little video on Adelaide’s cosy little bar.

Address: 111 Unley Road, Unley, 5061
Phone: 0405 005 447
Website: http://www.nooknosh.com.au/
Email: sips@nooknosh.com.au
FAcebook: https://www.facebook.com/nooknosh

 

 

May 6, 2014 Branding Adelaide No comments yet
Recent Posts
Categories