The Loveliest Letterhead Templates For Special Occasions

Everything There Is to Know About Letterheads

For centuries, handwritten letters have been a primary means of communication between families, lovers, politicians, and savvy merchants alike. In the 21st century, correspondence has mostly gone digital with emails, text messages, and Slack updates replacing typed letters.

Yet, there are still various occasions when sending a letter is a more appropriate, tactful, or memorable way to communicate an update. From customer relationship management to wedding invitations, a fine-looking letterhead template can make your update look more attractive.

So What is a Letterhead?

A letterhead is the topmost area of a sheet of letter paper, designed to serve as an introductory heading. A standard letterhead template includes the sender’s name, address, logo, and sometimes extra graphical elements.

Letterheads emerged in the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution when printing machines were invented and the commerce world started booming. Businesses progressively departed from using handwritten letters, as well as bougie design styles, associated with the Art Nouveau and the Victorian era.

Instead, many switched to using “utilitarian” aesthetics, readily available from a growing number of printers, operating in bigger cities.

The letterhead rose to mass popularity during the 20th century. At the beginning of the century, the modern concepts of “branding” and “corporate identity” started to emerge, much thanks to the smart advertising men from Madison Avenue. Letterheads became another way to differentiate a business — and ensure better brand name recall.

At present days, letterheads still remain popular in corporate and personal correspondence — but creating them became much easier! You now have a ton of well-designed letterhead templates to instantly customize in word processing software and then print them out at home.

What Should Be Included On the Letterhead?

Typically, a professional letterhead includes:

• Sender’s name
• Address
• Contact details
• Corporate logo
• Border design
• Occasional graphic elements

Depending on the purpose of the letter, you can choose to omit or add other information. There are also no rigid rules for designing letterheads. As long as it occupies about one-fifth of the page, you are doing fine.

Does a Letterhead Need a Logo?

A logo on letterhead is optional. Most businesses include one for easier visual identification by the recipient. Making a letterhead with branded company details — logo, trademark, corporate colors — also helps improve your company recognition and brand name recall. So if you have a professional logo, include it on your letterhead.

How to Make a Letterhead Step-By-Step

You have two ways to make a letterhead:

1. Design a simple version in Microsoft Word or a graphic design app
2. Download and customize a pre-made letterhead template

In both cases, you can make a professional letterhead without much effort, though using letterhead templates speeds up the design process.

Here’s how to make a professional letterhead.

1. Select and download a letterhead template. Pick several options to then test which one would better suit your purpose.
2. Customize your letterhead template in Word (or a similar app). Open the downloaded template in a word processing app to include your details – name, address, phone, email, etc.
3. Adjust the fonts. Change the font sizes if the area looks crowded. But don’t go below size 10 as it would make the letterhead hard to read.
4. Add a logo or other design elements. To make your letterhead more attractive, add some extra graphic elements, representing your business or your agenda for writing (e.g. inviting to an event).
5. Tweak the color scheme. Tune up the contrast a bit to make the letterhead area pop. Or go with the tested color combinations such as grayscale; navy and blue cream; or white and fresh green.
6. Save and print your letterhead. Once you are done, save your custom letterhead design and print it at home or send it over to your printing partner. For extra appeal, chose high-quality white, ivory, or cream letter paper. Or you can opt for a glossy finish.

Once it’s hot off the print, carefully fold your letter and send it over to the happy recipient!