27
PRO INSTALLER MARCH 2016
TOP TIPS UNLEASHED
@proinstaller1
LIFT YOUR BROCHURE
FROM SO-SO TO SPECIAL
How many times a week do you receive a printed brochure or marketing leaflet through the
door and dump it straight in the recycling bin? Quite a few? Online printing company PrintUK.
com has these top five tips to get your brochure from so-so to outstanding.
In today’s high-tempo and
high-technology world, our
attention spans are becoming ever shorter. So, for a
brochure to grab our attention, hold it and keep us
reading, the graphic design
and quality of the printing
finish needs to be pretty
special.
1) WHO IS YOUR PRINTED
BROCHURE AIMED AT?
Ensure that you have thought
out the details carefully. A marketing brochure needs to strike a
careful balance between not giving enough detail and giving too
much - it should not be a lengthy
catalogue. Decide who it is aimed
at. Will it be given away at events,
tucked inside the local newspaper
or targeted at a specific demographic through the post? You will
need to factor in different brochure design graphics to specifi-
cally target particular people i.e. If
you’re at an event you want lots of
pictures and graphics with minimal text as people will be reading
it on the move and may not have
time to read paragraphs of text.
You will also have to consider
your printing specification and finish in regards to bottom line costs
when targeting a specific audience
i.e. you would want to hand out a
high quality printed brochure on
a luxury stock if you were selling
cars at a prestigious event because
your marketing material reflects
your brand.
2) SIMPLICITY IS KEY.
It is tempting to use a variety of
exciting different fonts when you
are designing a brochure. Keep
in mind, though, that simplicity
is key here. You need your front
cover to be easily read and digested and filling it with too many
different graphic design styles can
come across as amateurish and
can distract or put off the reader.
In the same vein, keep the
content simple, too. Remember
that many readers will have short
attention spans and that anything
too wordy runs the risk of being
flicked past and ignored. Ensure
your brand logo and marketing
message is prominent and that the
front cover reflects your brand but
is subtle enough to capture the
interest of the person reading it.
can become pixelated and blurry
when put into print, so avoid this
if you can. Remember that you
are trying to inspire confidence. A
great quality image is the best way
to do this. If you’re struggling to
find the inspiration or time to get
out and take the relevant photos
check out one of our previous
blog articles which could help you
on your quest to design a perfectly
printed brochure. Check free stock
photography websites.
3) QUALITY IMAGES.
4) CREATE ENGAGING COPY.
Don’t make the mistake of copying and pasting stock images from
Google into your design. There is
nothing more likely to make your
brochure look like an old GCSE IT
project. With a decent SLR camera,
you should be able to take some
good quality images, even if your
marketing budget doesn’t stretch
to a professional photographer.
Pictures taken on Smartphones
The look of your brochure print
and design is key but so are the
words. Ensure that your copy is
engaging, creative and interesting,
and remember to check spelling, grammar and punctuation
is immaculate throughout. The
classiest looking printed brochure
can be let down badly by spelling
mistakes and wayward apostrophes.
5) ABIDE BY THE 10
SECOND RULE.
First impressions count for
everything in marketing print
design. You will have around five
to ten seconds to engage your
reader before they lose interest, so
make sure your brochure’s front
cover is eye-catching and exciting.
Consider using embellishments or
a thicker paper to give a luxurious feel and exude quality. Go for
a different sized brochure than
the regular A4 or A5 designs, or
choose a square or irregular shape
to add interest.
Check out this article from Canva: ‘Brochure Design: 25 Tips to
Create Marketing Materials That
Sell’ for a little bit of brochure
print design inspiration.
Print UK offers online design
technology. Have a look at
its brochure design pages at
PrintUK.com