While a lot of traditional business memos, letters and the like are now replaced with e-mail, the need for custom letterhead does still exist. The good news is that long-gone are the days where young businesses had to shell out hundreds of dollars for thousands of sheets of letterhead. Digital printers can handle smaller quantities at very reasonable prices. Others take it a step further and create soft-copy templates in Microsoft Word, which gives them the ability to either distribute electronically or print in-house on an an as-needed basis. Custom letterhead with your company’s look reinforces your branding, so look for opportunities to use it: invoices, fax cover sheets, thank you letters…all great ways to remind people who you are and what you do.

And speaking of YOU, do you have personal stationery as well?  Notecards, with either your name or that of your company, are a great way to add a personal feel to your business. Sending a quick hand-written note to thank someone that referred business to you, re-introducing yourself to someone you met at an event or congratulating someone that is celebrating something exciting is a perfect opportunity to show that you genuinely care.

A good logo has flexibility. It is easy to read at any size and works well in black and white, as well as color.  It should also say a bit about the company image through the design: is it classic and clean cut?  Modern and edgy?  Stylish and fashion-forward? Don’t expect the logo to say too much (that’s what the rest of the collateral and messaging is for), but do be sure it reflects the overall spirit of the company at a glance.

Attorney Parker Layrisson of Ponchatoula, LA, is undergoing a name change and recently tapped LLB Designs to help develop a new identity package. An updated logo, business cards, letterhead and envelopes were all on the list and it was also important to the client to maintain consistency with the firm’s old brand while transitioning to an updated look. We kept the colors and much of the overall layout the same, but updated the font to a slightly more classic style and adjusted the typography to work with the new name. LLB Designs provided color and black and white versions of the new logo in both print and web-appropriate file types, as well as a cheat-sheet outlining the fonts and color breakdown as a reference for future use. A local printer printed the letterhead, envelopes and business cards, and the final result is very clean and professional, fitting right in with the rest of the firm’s existing branding.

Meet Dropcam, an exciting young bay area company that makes easy-to-use video cameras that let you watch your baby, your puppy, your employees — whatever you want — right over the internet. You just plug in the camera and it connects to the internet so you can watch from anywhere using a browser. Neat, right?  We were thrilled when they came to us at LLB Designs with a packaging project: a custom instruction sheet to fit into the box that the product ships in. The project included fine-tuning the company’s colors and overall look, as well as custom illustrations of the product and the simple set-up process. The finished piece is clean and un-cluttered, emphasizing that the product is sleek and easy-to-use .

This foodie and dinner party aficionado from Dallas, TX recently started a fantastic food blog: DinnerAndConversation.com. If you are at all interested in food, cooking or eating (and surely you are?) you definitely need to check out the site for recipes, tips and genuinely entertaining and real tales from a modern day family kitchen. We at LLB Designs got to help out with the logo, which was a treat for sure. The client had a pretty specific picture in mind involving a black and white color scheme, a stylized image of a fork and classic typography. We played around with the different elements in a few fun ways and the final result is above: bon appétit!

And here is a quick peek at some of the earlier ideas and iterations that were tossed around…

The Jet Group team out of Cedar Park, TX came to LLB Designs looking for new business cards. The company includes two divisions, Jet Group Realty and Jet Group Management, each with their own logo. When tackling the business cards it was important to give each a unique look while maintaining the overall company’s brand. Mixing up the colors and imagery worked like a charm. The management group’s cards featured layers of buildings and housing with a striking blue background. The realty team got crisp white cards highlighting their names and contact information. Both are appropriate for the target audience and easily distinguished from each other, while still coordinating well and re-enforcing the Jet Group name.

When bay-area based Cubes & Crayons came to LLB Designs asking for a logo and corporate branding for their new venture, we jumped at the chance to jump in and help out. Outside the Cube is their new professional division providing co-working space for entrepreneurs, professionals and students. This young, hip target audience warrants a clean, minimalistic approach that is fresh and sophisticated, while also coordinating with the parent company’s existing collateral.

First on the list was a brand new logo, with clean lines, easy-to-read, stylish fonts and a streamlined color palette. LLB Designs pushed these same elements a step further through business cards, and then worked with the company’s web developer to coordinate the website layout. Crisp black and white lines, hints of their trademark blue and pops of color through photography all work together to form a chic, modern look.

LLB Designs has worked with Pro-Care Spine & Medical Center on their marketing collateral and branding for over two years. A strong color palette, consistent fonts and high-quality imagery give this top notch medical center, with offices in both Austin and San Antonio, TX, a sharp and professional look that is fresh and engaging. Business cards, brochures, folders and various forms of signage work together to establish and re-enforce a strong corporate brand and messaging.

For another look at high-impact Pro-Care collateral, check out their poster series!

Entrepreneur turned blogger extraordinaire M.F. Chapman asked LLB Designs for some help sprucing up her internet presence.  First was her Cubes & Crayons blog, which boasts updates and information from her amazing bay area company offering co-working space alongside drop-in childcare. Brilliant! The blog is pretty content heavy, so keeping the header and background colors clean and simple creates balance and simplicity. Which is, after all, what Cubes & Crayons is all about!  And of course the colors, fonts and other elements are all in line with the company’s brand, so that the corporate visual identity is reinforced with each (and every!) visitor to her blog.

Next up was Cake, a more personal blog, where she serves up ideas, thoughts and opinions that pop up in the everyday life of an entrepreneur/supermom. The cake theme was a given, Chapman having long advocated that we can all have our cake and eat it, too.  LLB Designs helped develop a tagline with a more modern spin: “Cake: Having it • Eating it • Loving it.”  Coordinating colors tie this more casual blog in with her corporate sites, making for a seamless transition for those reading to and fro. But lest things get too monotonous a more playful header with bright pops of color give it that fun and casual feel appropriate for a person with a baker’s dozen in interests, undertakings and activities. Piece of Cake!

Pro-Care Spine & Medical Center asked LLB Designs to create a series of posters for their office in Austin Tx. What a great way to remind guests of the importance of a healthy lifestyle–in a BIG way!  Each 22″ x 28″ poster highlighted a service offered by Pro-Care, ranging from massage therapy and nutritional assessments to public speaking. The final product was a series of five posters with a clean layout highlighting clever (stock!) photography and informative copy. The design coordinated with their existing collateral to re-enforce their branding and visual identity to each and every guest that passes through the room.  A big impact, indeed.