A customer of ours was delighted with his new logo and business stationery – (Bigger Fish Ltd). We got their logo created from a short brief – and it was ‘right on track’ with the message and look and feel they wanted to convey. 

We worked on the colours of the brand considerably – and I recall that with the design happily in place, we played around with some different colour influences for them until we hit on the perfect fit.

The customer, utilised the printing services we recommend – for low-cost good quality services, printing.com. We have used them a lot for ‘general’ printing of business cards and stationery and they tend to turnaround the jobs on time and are good value for money.

Our customer on this occasion wasn’t unhappy with the quality of the print – the business cards looked great – however, the colours on the letterhead and compliment slip looked less impactful than the business card.

Now, as someone who has worked in the advertising, design and marketing arena for a considerable number of years – to me, of course, I knew this would be the case. The stock (term for the type of card) used for the business cards was totally different to that used for the letterhead and compliment slip and therefore paper absorbency will impact the colour when put side by side.

This really is something that we at Logotastic need to ensure that all customers are clear on – as whilst we don’t predominantly focus on ‘print’ – (that’s not our core business), once we’ve designed – then customers are more than likely going to print some form of business stationery.

So here are some pointers to consider when printing your logo and business stationery:

When you see your design on ‘screen’ (ie through a pc/mac/laptop monitor) you are viewing it in what we call RGB (the colour balance is based on the mix of Red, Green and Blue). However, off line – commercial printers work to CMYK (the colour balance is a mix of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black).

Therefore, it’s unlikely that what you see on screen is exactly as you are going to see it off screen. It’s unlikely that you’ll really notice any difference as most printers will colour match pretty precisely based on the CMYK readout that the designer provides to him. However, if you are investing in a big print run then you really should get a printed proof from your printer so that you can check you are happy with the way it’s going to look once printed. Nowadays, many budget printers provide you with a PDF proof – but be aware that you’ll be viewing that PDF in RGB mode via your monitor!

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Colour is a powerful force; it grabs you at a deep psychological level and helps you remember. The world’s most successful brands have made good use of this fact. We know that Coke is red, British Airways is red, white and blue, UPS is brown and Apple Macs come in all the colours of the rainbow. Their use of colour gives them instant brand recognition. But colour can also send out more complex messages, with each shade evoking a range of emotions.

To help you get it right it’s worth bearing a few basics in mind.

Colours roughly divide into two camps; the warm vibrant ones with lots of energy and zing, and the cool calm ones.  So think about what you want to say and then pick a colour that helps you say it. Once you’re happy, make sure the colour you choose appears on all your promotional material including your logo, website and packaging.

BLUE  
Calming and relaxing like sky and sea, blue is a spiritual colour. But blue can also be dependable, intelligent and conservative and is often favoured by financial corporations.

RED  
A headline grabber, demanding attention. It makes the heart beat faster and is particularly important in Asia, often being seen as lucky.

YELLOW  
Optimistic and positive. Some say it makes you alert, clear-headed and decisive. It is the colour of sunshine.

GREEN  
The colour of nature of health and calm. It soothes the emotions. Darker shades, like British Racing Green equals class and wealth.  

ORANGE  
Fun and outgoing, it can lift the spirits and is associated with youth and humour.

PURPLE  
Mysterious, psychic and creative colour, suggesting imagination and intuition. Traditionally associated with royalty it is also the colour of mourning for widows in Thailand.

PINK   
Light pinks are romantic, hot pinks are young and exciting.

BROWN  
Stable, traditional and lasting like the earth.

WHITE  
Pure, clean and simple. It is the colour of space and freedom but can also seem cold and alienating if over-used.

BLACK  
Classic, sophisticated and serious, maybe even a little sexy, but it is also the colour of death and infinity. Just a ‘blue’ is the colour for little boys in the UK, black is the colour for little boys in China.