Articles: stationery

Stationery works best when everything visibly comes from the same set. The articles under this tag cover both full sets for family celebrations and the printed pieces restaurants and hotels use every day. Many of them grew out of weddings, yet the same thinking holds for christenings, communions and a dinner with close friends.

One motif holds it together

Rather than designing each piece separately, settle three things first: the colour, the lettering and one repeating graphic detail. Everything after that is easier, because a place card is really a miniature invitation. The wedding set and communion stationery texts show it well, including the thought that blue for boys and pink for girls is never obligatory.

What a full set contains

• the invitation and its envelope - printed, lined or sealed,
• place cards and table numbers, which is how guests find their way,
• menus, tasting menus included, for the table or for the hand,
• a schedule card for the day, which often becomes a keepsake,
• thank-you cards and small pieces built into the table decoration,
• a guest book or a memory box.

Stationery beyond family celebrations

Restaurants, hotels and cafes follow the same rules. A single-use menu, a laminated one and one in a smart cover are three answers to the same question: how often the offer changes. Matt or Soft Touch foil extends the life of a card that guests pick up many times a day. If you are starting with invitations, read those articles first and come back here for the rest of the set - working from the largest piece down to the smallest usually pays off.