No one reads brochures. However, from time to time, people might scan them. In fact, brochures spend more time at the bottom of a trashcan than in the hands of a consumer. Although brochures suffer from short (really short) life expectancies, we can rejuvenate them with a little sense of design.
Consider font.
Stay simple and clean. Legible lines will promote scanning (opposed to reading, because as I said, no one reads). Don’t get greedy– stick with two fonts, and stop there.
Give them a show.
Photographs or illustrations are standard, unless you’re promoting font. If you’re unhappy with the photographs available to you, don’t give up: change them to black and white, it’s the last ditch effort for all hopeless photography.
Lay it out.
You typically have six individual panels, but make sure they stay friends. Find a way to connect the panels through the layout of elements. Also, be kind to your crease; a brochure might look great until it’s folded.
Speaking of folds.
Don’t be afraid to think outside that tri-fold rectangle. We all know the traditional set-up and shape of brochures, but don’t limit yourself. You can have any number of panels and folds you want.
Cutting corners.
Something as simple as rounding your brochure’s corners can make it interesting. Let’s face it, we’re a little superficial and we like things to look pretty. Sometimes that sharp right-angled corner is as boring as it sounds.
Your brochure has feelings.
Ok not really, but you can make the brochure a softie if you want to. There are endless variations, textures, colors and paper stocks that won’t just make the brochure look different but feel different.
We all need a little space sometimes.
You are going to want to cram as much information as possible, because you think people are as interested as you are. But trust me, they aren’t. Edit your content, and make sure the different elements have room to breathe.
Your clients are unique, be sure to make their brochures unique too.
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