Effective Design Tips for Brochure Printing
Posted 7th November 2013
Highly effective brochure printing goes a long way towards educating customers and giving your company an identity and great credibility. Brochures can help you to expand your market and encourage leads and clients to take action. Creating a striking brochure can be a challenge for graphic designers so here are a few simple techniques to help you get started.
Decide on a Theme, Concept and Structure
Before you kick off with your brochure printing design, determine how much the particular brochure will be used. Is it for the purpose of direct mail marketing or to advertise products or share information? Know and understand the purpose first. Additionally, gather all the necessary information for the brochure in order to decide on the most appropriate design for it. Graphic design is also communication design so you need to be able to give a message directly to those who will read the brochure.
Source behance.net
Be Creative and Unique
This is an important part of brochure printing. Your design needs to be unique and original so that people will both recognise it at first glance and remember it. Take a look at competing businesses’ approach to brochure design and think of something that will stand out and outshine. Client will appreciate a fantastic design that is original.
Know What the Print Size will Be
When it comes to design, knowing and understanding print size is important. You might start designing a brochure that is in a layout of 8.5 x 13 but the paper the client prefers to use is actually 8.5 x 11 so your entire design will be ruined unless you know the print size beforehand. This will also help to avoid wasting paper.
Source behance.net
Using Print Bleed
If you are a graphic designer you will know that print bleed refers to the part on the sides of the paper that gives a small amount of space. A bleed assures that the document can be trimmed well during brochure printing and that all parts of the actual layout will be printed. Brochures are printed together in sheets which need to be sliced according to the correct shape, size and form. When laying out the brochure it is always advisable to use bleeds.
Use High Resolution
Using a high res layout will ensure that your design is top quality and attractive. If you opt to print a low resolution design, the brochure will end up being pixelated or blurry. It may look alright on the monitor but printing is quite different. Aim to use at least 300 dpi for a crisp and sharp print out.
Usage of Fonts
Choosing fonts is an important process in brochure printing. Choose fonts that will best fit the purpose of the company and brochure and remember to use the correct sizes too as the purpose of brochures is to deliver information. So the font you choose needs to be readable and legible. Make use of bold fonts for headings and avoid making the text too large or even too small. If you like you can add a drop shadow, bevel or glow to highlight important copy.
Source behance.net
Don’t Be Afraid to Use Images, Charts, Headlines and Bullet Points
Brochure copy needs to be simple. Customers don’t want to read massive blocks of texts in a small sheet of paper. Rather make the copy easy on the eyes by using bullet points and headlines. Charts and images also work really well in brochure printing and should be of a high resolution. Make sure you choose appealing and appropriate images as these are what will first catch the reader’s attention before they even read the text.
Include A Call to Action
Since brochures will literally land in the hands of readers, remember to ask them to take action. This can be done by inviting them to view a showroom, schedule an appointment, visit a website or place an order, for example. The brochure will be fairly pointless if there is no request for customers to do something in response to the information they have received via the brochure.
Attention-Grabbing Designs
No matter the purpose of the brochure, make sure it is an attention grabber. Use your creativity. Sometimes brochures are simply left on counters with an invitation to “take one.” Passers-by are more likely to pick a copy up if they find it interesting and an eye-catching design will help do just that.
Source behance.net
Design an Interesting Cover
The cover is one of the most important aspects of the brochure. It is what is going to attract readers to open up and carry on reading. Avoid using too much copy for the cover and make use of vibrant imagery. Just by glancing at the cover, readers should want to pick the brochure up.
Use The Right Paper
Even if a client as simply requested you to design the brochure you will need to take paper into consideration. If good paper is not used, your brochure design will be ineffective. There are plenty of paper types to choose from so choose, or recommend, something appropriate. Glossy papers are far more appealing for brochures and thicker, heavier paper will help customers to think that the company is more professional.
That Brochure Should be Worth Keeping
You have a great design and the brochure contains essential information, the customer is more likely to want to keep it. Make sure there is something in the brochure that increases its value and makes it worth keeping. To do this, you may like to use pop out images or make the entire brochure a unique and appropriate shape. Being creative will add loads of value to the brochure.
These are the important factors to keep in mind when designing a brochure that needs to be noticeable. As a designer, it’s up to you to impress the client and put their ideas into action.
