Print Design TipsTips and Information About Printing

Professionally designed and produced brochures do more than simply raise awareness of your company and product offering, they also positively attract business to your company and increase sales.  While business brochures are not as popular as business cards, they provide much greater scope for delivering your business message and sales pitch in addition to providing a permanent reminder to clients and prospects about you.

Many business brochures fail to impress because they are obviously amateur creations using Microsoft Word with stock templates that have been used a hundred thousand times before.  First impressions count for so much and your brochure has to have that instant impact which will attract the eye of the beholder and grab their attention so they actually take the time to read it.  A poorly put together brochure is destined for the trash can so consider these tips and points when you come to design your own brochure.

Using Images

Pictures and graphics are great for getting the attention of the reader but you should beware images which dominate the message – your message is in the words and not the graphics so keep a tight rein on them.  In addition, be careful when you are using images as you must wither own them or have permission to use them.  Using clip art is lame – avoid using clip art wherever possible; clip art may be OK when you are producing a simple employee bulletin but these images have no place in a customer orientated brochure.

Text

Use your words to get to the point quickly; use lists for clarifying your message or for underlining the unique selling points or features of your service or product range.  Manage the use of paragraphs carefully and keep them short and on-topic.

Brochure Templates

We’ve touched on templates already and while you should not use them for the elements of your brochure design, there is nothing wrong in using the broad outline as the foundation and to give you some ideas.  Don’t use the template elements and additions however.

Font and Spacing

You must ensure your font size is easily readable – try to stick to easily read fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman and steer clear of less easily read fonts.  The font size must be large enough to be read and is easily reproduced when scanned or photocopied.  Line spacing is also important so you don’t jam everything in too tight.  Leading (pronounced “ledding”) is important too – this is the vertical spacing which separates columns and text from images – using leading creatively helps keep your brochure tight and focused as well as maintaining visual appeal.

Brochure Background

You must pay particular attention to the background you are using and bear in mind if you are designing a brochure with a white paper and a colored background, the finished article may not be the same as you anticipate from your mock-ups.  The background should never detract from the content you are creating rather it should enhance it – low-key is a good way to go and avoid any background/content combinations which don’t strike you immediately as workable.