Stationery can mean a lot of things.  In business terms, stationery usually means letterhead.  Letterhead is a vital tool used in business.  Most companies use letterhead to draft legal documents or send memos to and from clients and business partners.

The key for designing a company letterhead is as with most things is to keep things simple.  Most letter head has the company header at the top of the page.  This header can be a logo with some other pieces of information.  In designing the letterhead, it is important to keep it simple and straightforward.  List only the most vital pieces of information about your company and nothing more.  This is usually the business name, contact information and website information.

The letterhead should not have elements that overpower anything that is printed on the letter.  For instance, bold colors should not be used because they may make the writing on the letter harder to read.  If you are going to use the logo as part of the letterhead in a large part of the letterhead, the logo should generally be faint and not overpowering.  Also the letterhead should be printed on a heavier weight paper.  Professional companies will print on nice white and heavy weight paper.

Matching stationery such as business cards and envelopes should share the same structure of the letterhead.  The design elements and structure should be the same for all three elements of stationery.  Using these design elements for all your stationery should be helpful to project professionalism for your company.