Print and web as one brand: making the flyer and the website feel like the same shop
Customers meet a small business in a dozen places: the sign, a flyer, a receipt, the website on their phone. When those all feel like the same shop, people trust it faster.
Most small brands drift apart by accident. The logo was made by one person, the flyers by a print shop, the website by someone else years later. Each piece looks fine on its own. Side by side, they look like three different businesses.
Start with a one page brand sheet
- Your logo in a color version and a one color version.
- Two or three colors, written down as exact values for screen and for print.
- One font for headings and one for text, with a free fallback for the web.
- Two or three photos that show what you actually sell.
Colors behave differently on paper
Screens make color with light, printers make it with ink, so the same value can look brighter on a phone than on a flyer. Ask for a printed proof of anything color critical, and pick brand colors that survive both. Very bright blues and greens are the usual trouble makers.
What to print first
- Business cards, because every handshake is a first impression.
- A simple flyer or menu that sends people to the website.
- Invoices and forms, which customers keep longer than you think.
Let one designer own both
The simplest way to keep things consistent is to have the same person, or the same team, work on the website and the printed pieces. Changes then happen in one place and flow everywhere, instead of being redone and slowly drifting apart.
The people who design, host and maintain small business websites at Silicon Data Corp in San Jose. About us
