How to Create a Great Letterhead
A great letterhead is like the front door to your house or office. If it is attractive and intriguing, people will want to "come in" and find out what you have to say. A great letterhead is often your first chance to make an impression on your customers or letter recipients. With the advent of desktop publishing, and graphics and word processing software, you can create a great letterhead with little expense.
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Instructions
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1
Decide what elements need to be included in your business letterhead, such as your company name and/or logo, street and suite address, plus city, state and zip. In addition to your phone number, you may wish to add your fax number, email and website information. If this is a personal letterhead, many of the same elements will be needed. Instead of a logo, use a creative lettering treatment of your name.
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2
Type all the contact information from step 1 into a new document on your word processing program. Select all text, then click "Edit" and "Copy."
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3
Open your design program, such as Adobe Illustrator. Click "File," "New," and in the dialog box under "Artboard Setup" click the small down arrow and choose "Letter." Set the orientation for "Portrait," and choose "CMYK" for color mode. Click "OK."
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4
Decide on a color scheme that will coordinate with your logo, your décor or your signature colors.
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Click "Edit" and "Paste" to insert the text you created in your word processing program. Place the text 1 to 2 inches down from the top on the right side of your letterhead (it can be adjusted later). Click the "T" on the toolbox. Change the font to 11 points using the Trajan Pro font. Click "Window" in the top toolbar; choose "Type" and then "Paragraph." Choose the lines representing "Align Right."
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6
Click the "Rectangle Tool" on the toolbox and drag it to your document. Create a rectangle extending from the left to the right side of your letterhead, approximately one-half inch high.
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7
Click "Window" on the top toolbar and in the drop-down menu, click "Graphic Style Libraries." Choose a graphic style in colors you prefer such as "Raised Edge Mouse Down" in shades of blue. Click and you will see your rectangle fill with a blue gradient. Use the "Selection Tool" at the top left of the toolbox to move your gradient rectangle to the top of your letterhead.
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8
Click "Edit," "Copy" and then "Paste" to duplicate your gradient rectangle. Use the "Selection Tool" to move the duplicate to the bottom of your letterhead.
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9
Click "File," then "Place," and in the dialog box, go to the file containing your company logo. Click "Open." Right-click on the logo to scale it to a size that will balance the text box on the right. Adjust the logo placement until it is parallel with the text box.
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10
Click "T" to make an initial cap design treatment, if you do not have a logo. For instance, for a shop named "Yolanda's," type the letter Y in a large text box and change the size to 125 points using "Poplar Std Black" font. In "Graphic Styles," click "Bubble Aqua Normal" to give the Y a beveled, embossed gradient effect. Choose "T" again to make a smaller text box in which to type the rest of the name. Or click the "Ellipse Tool," make a small circle at the foot of the "Y" and fill it with the "Bubble Aqua Normal." Now you have a giant "Y" punctuated with a giant period as an initial cap design treatment.
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11
Click on the "Rectangle Tool" and fill it with the palest blue. Adjust the size to 8.5 by 11 inches. Right-click on the rectangle, then choose "Order" and "Send to Back."
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12
Review your letterhead. Make corrections in the text, or adjust sizes of elements until the design is pleasing.
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13
Click "File," then "Save as" and save your letterhead design as an Adobe PDF with Illustrator editing capabilities so that you will always be able to open it, make additions or corrections or paste in the text for letters.
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Tips & Warnings
You can add a drop shadow to your type or initial cap treatment by clicking "Filter," then "Drop Shadow."
If you use colored paper to print your letterhead, skip step 11.
To write a letter using your new letterhead, compose the text in your word processing program. Then click "Edit" and "Copy" the letter. Open your letterhead file and "Paste" the body of the letter into the letterhead.
Print letterhead as needed on your own printer, with or without letter text. If you need large quantities, have a professional printer print from your Adobe PDF file.
Be sure to save your letterhead under a new file name when you are including the body of your letter, otherwise your original letterhead file will not be preserved.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit blank sign in hands image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
