How Do I Design a Brochure?

If you’re designing a brochure, you need to make sure it stands out for the right reasons, and that means understanding the principles of good brochure design. Here are ten things to keep in mind.

1. What Do You Want to Achieve?

Whether you’re designing a brochure for yourself or for a client, the first thing to establish is why it’s needed. If it’s for someone else, ask them why they need a brochure and establish a plan around that.

2. Don’t Go Mad with Fonts

Many beginners going for an attractive brochure assume the more unusual their fonts, the better. In fact, it’s best to stick to just a few tried and trusted fonts, typically for heading, subheading and body copy.

3. What Kind of Paper?

You can’t design a brochure without knowing the size of paper it’s going to be printed on. Different sizes of paper can produce a different dynamic in the brochure. Also, consider whether or not the paper needs to be coated.

4. What About the Copy?

Some brochure designers treat the copy as an afterthought, to be dropped in when the design is finished. In fact, it’s a vital part of the process, and in general should be developed alongside the design, with each working off the other.

5. Think About Your Readers

The way you design a brochure depends on how it’s going to be read it. Will it be the reply to enquiries? Given away at an event? Left to be picked up? It’s important to consider what the intended reader might have in mind and how they’ll react.

6. Keep It Simple

It’s rarely the complicated ideas that make a brochure stand out. If there are too many images, for instance, you risk overloading the reader. Sometimes it’s more effective to have a typographic cover with a clear message.

7. Try Out Your Design Ideas

Before you start using your design tools, sketch out your ideas using pen and paper. You can share your various rough ideas with everyone concerned and get their reactions, before you dive in and create a complete design.

8. Don’t Be Different for the Sake of It

There’s nothing wrong with trying something different, but remember that elements like popular fonts are classic for a good reason. Base your designs around what’s tried and trusted and keep the wacky ideas for when nothing else will do.

9. Make the Right Impression

First impressions count, but what impression does the brochure need to make? If it’s for a new luxury product, for instance, the glossier it is the better. That could backfire, though, if it’s promoting a charity, as this could give the impression of wasting money.

10. Use Quality Images

The budget for the brochure might not run to a photoshoot, but that doesn’t mean the images have to look cheap. If you’re going to be using stock images, choose them with care, so they don’t look stock.

Get in touch with us if you want to know more about designing a brochure.