Copywriting & Marketing

How to Create a Professional Brochure Design

Brochure design is just as great as the copy you put into it. As we like to say at Winters Productions, it’s a marriage of both copy and design. They must work together equally if any promotion is to be prosperous. So how do you create the impeccable brochure design? Here are some tips to get started:

1. Collect, read and study the brochure designs of other companies. It doesn’t matter whether they are connected to your business or not. A great design is a great design, regardless of the industry.

2. Think about your audience and how you want to speak to them. Incorporate into your brochure design the style that will best convey that voice. For example, a D.J.s brochure wouldn’t present people at a boardroom meeting. An accounting firm wouldn’t want pictures of a dance floor. Know your audience first.

3. Keep the components of your brochure design to the minimum amount possible. What that means is don’t try to clog it with too much info. A brochure is fashioned to be a tease - a stepping-stone used in order to introduce your business with a client. It’s not meant to tell them every single facet of your company.

4. Exercise what’s called Negative Space or White Space. Consider about what is there, but also what is not there. Negative space can be just as effectual as the bars, boxes and text in your brochure design. Much like our last point above, you don’t want to jam so much inside your brochure design that the reader feels overwhelmed. White space can be your friend.

5. When creating your brochure design, pick out the most important items. You can spotlight these by making them bolder and brighter so they stand out from the rest of the content. Much like when reading a web page, the viewer will scan the brochure first before sitting down to read it in its entireness.

6. Mind your exercise of color. One of the grandest elements you need to consider for your brochure design is what colors to use. There’s something know as the color wheel that points what colors compliment and contrast each other. Remember too that color includes the text and pictures, but also the paper color too. All of these should come together to produce a harmonious brochure design.

7. Look for ways to save money. For example, printing four colors in a brochure is costlier than printing three. If you plan on having an ivory background on your brochure you can have that brochure printed on ivory paper instead. You’ve avoided one extra design step AND you’ve just managed to save money at the same time.

7. Last but not least, EDIT IT! After you’ve completed your brochure design and everything seems to be the way you want, stop! Don’t send it to the printer. Find someone, or numerous ’someones’, to look over your final brochure design. You could literally lose thousands on printing costs if there is just one thing erroneous with your brochure design.

Brochure design is just as important as the copy you put into it. As we like to say at Winters Productions…it’s a marriage – both copy and design must work together equally if any promotion will be successful. So how do you create the perfect brochure design? Here are eight tips to get started…

1. Collect, read and study the brochure design of other companies. It doesn’t matter whether they are related to your business or not. A great design is a great design regardless of the industry.
2. Think about your audience and how you want to “speak” to them. Incorporate into your brochure design the style that will best convey that voice. For example, a D.J.’s brochure wouldn’t feature people at a boardroom meeting. An accounting firm wouldn’t want images of a dance floor. Know your audience first.
3. Keep the components of your brochure design to the minimum amount possible. What that means is don’t try to overload it with too much information. A brochure is designed to be a tease or a stepping-stone used in order to discuss your business with a client. It’s not meant to tell them every single facet of your company.
4. Use what’s called Negative Space. Think about what is there, but also what is not there. Negative space can be just as effective as the bars, boxes and text in your brochure design. Much like our last point above, you don’t want to cram so much inside your brochure design that the reader feels overwhelmed. White space can be your friend.
5. When creating your brochure design, pick out the most important items. You can highlight these by making them bolder and brighter so they stand out from the rest of the content. Much like when reading a web page, the viewer will scan the brochure first before sitting down to read it in its entirety.
6. Mind your use of color. One of the most important elements you need to consider for your brochure design is what colors to use. There’s something know as the ‘color wheel’ that shows what colors compliment and contrast each other. Make sure to use it to your advantage. Remember too that color includes the text and pictures, but also the paper color as well. All of these should come together to produce a harmonious brochure design.
7. Look for ways to save money. For example, printing four colors in a brochure is more expensive than printing three. If you plan on having an ivory background on your brochure you can have that brochure printed on ivory paper instead. You’ve avoided one extra design step AND you’ve just managed to save money at the same time.
8. Last but not least…EDIT! After you’ve finished your brochure design and everything is looking the way you want…stop! Don’t send it to the printer until you’ve had it proofread. Find someone – or even several some ones – to look over your final brochure design. What your eyes miss someone else, who hasn’t looked at it hundreds of times, might catch. You could literally lose thousands on printing costs if there is just one thing wrong with your brochure design. So always take the extra time to proof it first.

If you follow these steps then you CAN create a brochure design that attracts attention for all the right reasons.

About the Author: Nadine Meeker is the founder of Winters Productions, a copywriting and graphic design firm specializing in B2B and B2C marketing that handles sales copywriting, web copywriting and brochure design. By providing affordable services, they’ve helped a multitude of businesses from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups for nearly a decade.