Brochure design

Designing Brochures

ASTE/JCOM3090

Spring2017

Learning Objectives

§ Afterthislesson,youwillbeabletodothefollowing:§ Applyprinciplesofdesigntocreatingbrochures

§ Recalltipsforwritingbrochurecopy

§ Namethebrochurelayouts

§ SetupbrochurelayoutsinAdobeInDesign

Writing Copy

§ Promote your company§ Include a brief company history§ Include testimonials or a client list

§ Promote your products§ Promote service and warranty, guarantee§ Tell reader in detail what the next step is (i.e. contact us for

free sample)§ Avoid listing product prices and / or pictures of your staff

because they may change

§ Include company’s contact information

Writing Copy

§ Use third person but write conversationally§ Write about benefits to the customer.§ Keep the customer in mind: use “you” and

“your,” avoid “we,” “us,” “I,” “our.”§ Avoid using such words as “if” and “maybe”§ Use key words

¡ New¡ Easy¡ Love

¡ Proven¡ Guarantee¡ Free

¡ You¡ Money¡ Save

¡ Discovery¡ Results¡ Health

Choosing Your Brochure Fold

Half Fold

Half Fold

Letter Fold

Gate Fold

Setting Up Letter Fold Brochure

¡ It is also called business letter, letter fold, brochure fold, spiral fold

8.5” x 11” (letter size)

\Second Front:

Panel 5

(3.625”)

Side One

Back: Panel 6

(3.6875”)

Front: Panel 1

(3.6875”)

Side Two

Panel 2

(3.625”)

Panel 3

(3.6875”)

Panel 4

(3.6875”)

Layout for Letter Fold Brochure

§ Front: Panel 1§ Simple design and well-chosen fonts§ Include logo and company name§ Select 1 dominant element!

§ Back: Panel 6§ Can include a mailer, contact info, some graphics, a

map, signature, personal closing, etc.§ Second Front: Panel 5§ Should relate to, but be different from front cover

and inside panels§ Inside: Panels 2, 3, & 4§ Three panels should be visually consistent and have

a close relationship to each other

New Design Principle: Appropriateness

§ Purpose ofBrochures:§ To market/advertise services or products§ To provide information about something

§ Why should the audience choose your business, product or service over the competition?§ Writetextbeforedesigningthelayout§ Afterthecopyiswritten,reviewandcondenseit§ Askemployees&goodcustomerstocontributecopy

Brochure Design Tips

§ SET UP A GRID!§ Using the “aligning text the baseline” feature is VERY helpful

§ Use text inset to have padding around text inside a textbox§ Wrap text around images§ Use consistent feel throughout brochure§ Sequencing

Color Selection Options:§ 1 or 2 background colors§ 1 highlighting color§ Choose a color palette (check out Adobe Color CC)

Color Selection Example

Brochure Design Tips– Headline may cross multiple panels

Brochure Design Tips– USE PARAGRAPH STYLES for body copy, headings, &

subheadings

– USE CHARACTER STYLES for body copy, headings, & subheadings

§ One font for body copy§ Another font for title & headings

Font Selection Options:

Brochure Design Tips§ Subheads may be helpful


§ Break up body text by sections

§ Use blocks of text with no more than two or three sentences (roughly 10 lines) of text in each paragraph

§ Use 10 or 9 point font for body copy (avoid 12-point type)



§ Use Upper and lower case text§ ALL CAPS get lower response.

§ Increased leading and character spacing improve readability§ Increased white space

§ Don’t trap white space


§ Fold a piece of paper & make notes on each flap

§ Align text on left margin with ragged right edge§ Don’t set some items centered and others flush left on

cover§ Don’t indent first line of copy in each

paragraph§ Play with images (make them bigger, overlap

them, wrap text around them, tilt them, etc.)§ Have images cross the gutter

Let’s discuss…

Education

Brochure design