The Elements of Brochure Design
Your company brochure is often your company's number one salesperson. The first impression many prospective clients have of your company is determined by the quality of your brochure. If crafted the right way, a brochure can make a strong first impression on a customer and lead to future business.
With the current state of technology you have the option of designing a brochure on your own or hiring an expert. However, despite how good the final brochure design may look, it does not need to consume your entire budget. If you hire a designer, he or she can answer some of the crucial questions needed to get you on the right track. Ultimately, if you have an impressive brochure design, it will help increase the visibility of your business in its market.
What makes a great brochure?
Originality
Brochures should communicate with potential customers that this business stands apart from all its competitors. One way to achieve this originality is through a design that visually sets it apart from others. When working with a designer, ask about their sources of inspiration. For the best results you want them to steer clear of any uniform looks from your competition or other businesses and to instead create one that displays your unique brand and look.
Simplicity
The simplest design can often have the most impact. An overabundance of images, verbiage and varied typefaces can make your brochure appear cluttered and unprofessional. Your images should be crisp and the verbiage should be succinct. You want your business message to be clear, not buried deep within the brochure. The designer should have an opinion on the components of excellent brochure layouts and be willing to share them with you.
Quality Images
All of the images used in your brochure should be top quality: crisp, professional and pertinent. Will you use stock images or a professional photographer? No matter the quality of the text and design of your brochure, if the images are of poor quality, this will reflect poorly on your company, so keep this in mind as you choose your images.
Color
With the right colors on your cover, you can communicate the essence of your business with a first impression. The use of colors on brochures should mimic those you've chosen for your business, which makes for a professional appearance. The color inspiration should come from your logo, business cards, and other branding.
Page Bleed
Brochures are printed in sheets that are larger than the actual size of the finished brochure. They are then trimmed to size after all other printing processes are complete. Usually, a page bleed of at least 1/8 inch will allow for any shifting of the cutting blade when they are being trimmed. If there is no page bleed, you may have a white edge on the page. This looks unprofessional, particularly if you are using a trifold brochure design. If you are designing your own, many graphics programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator have settings to allow for page bleed.
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Once your brochure design is ready, you can print a trifold or other custom fold brochure.
