5 Important Brochure Design Questions to Consider
A brochure that is as informative as it is engaging is an integral part of a marketing effort—so great attention should be paid to its design. At Trillion we insist on having additional information when creating a brochure design for our clients—information that people can often overlook. We ask detailed questions so we can better position our clients’ brochures to stand out from their competitors and grab their audiences’ attention.
Here are some important questions we ask in order to create a stand out brochure design:
Who is the target audience of the brochure and what do they want answered?
It’s important to know what questions your audience wants answered and deliver them succinctly. Through forgetfulness or lack of preparation, sometimes these questions are not conveyed to the graphic design company. And if the designer is not experienced enough to ask, problems will no doubt arise. If you are providing text to your graphic designer, make sure it’s as complete as possible and that it hits the mark. Many times a company wants to talk about everything they do rather than addressing the relevant services and topics that their audience needs to know in order to make an informed decision.
How will the brochure be distributed?
Do you plan on mailing your brochure by placing a first class stamp on it? Will it be a part of a rack full of other brochures? Are you going to hand it out in person or will you distribute an interactive PDF via email? Knowing how you intend on distributing the brochure will help your graphic designer layout the content effectively. If you do plan on mailing it, know that postal regulations may require you to wafer seal the open edges. Rack brochures should be printed on heavier paper stock so they don’t flop forward. Also, a protective aqueous coating can help reduce finger print marks if distributing the brochure by hand.
What brochure format works best?
Sometimes a simple, two-sided rack card brochure will work for your audience. Other projects might require a multi-page saddle-stitched or perfect-bound brochure. Knowing the audience, having clear goals and a budget with realistic expectations will help determine the appropriate format for your brochure (See this unique brochure that we designed for the NY-NJ Trail Conference). A quick discussion with your graphic designer early on in the process can prove beneficial to time and budget limitations. We regularly have conversations with our clients to help ensure we’re on target with budget, design concept, production schedules and date of delivery.
What kind of press will the brochure be printed on?
Knowing how many brochures you need will help determine the most cost effective printing and production method. Your graphic designer should also recommend the paper that’s best suited for your project and method of distribution. The reason we mention this is that a slight modification in size or production specifications can result in big cost savings. We’ve been able to make slight adjustments for our clients which have saved them money including increasing quantities to take advantage of a higher grade printing press.
What is the best design option for the brochure cover?
You’ve identified your audience. You’ve decided how you plan to distribute your brochure, as well as its size and which press you will print it on. So now it’s time for the design. The graphic design should be appropriate for your audience and persuade them to take a particular action; BUT remember to pay extra attention to the cover! The cover is your “storefront window.” It should tease your audience with visual and text elements that make them want to pick up your brochure and read it. Your graphic designer should take into account the items above and create a visually stimulating composition to engage your customers and persuade them to take action.
How Does Your Brochure Design Tie into Your Other Marketing Materials?
A brochure will be one of many types of marketing materials for your brand. The brochure should integrate and feel connected to your other marketing materials. The language, colors, fonts and imagery should be consistent with your other branded materials. Also consider how the distribution of the brochure will take place and what other marketing materials could potentially coexist with it. Think about the paper and printing method used too, as this is commonly overlooked.
Trillion is a company that can create a brochure design for you.
If your graphic designer or design company is falling short of these ideals or you are searching for an award-winning creative team, Trillion can help. Simply give us a call or complete our contact form. We look forward to speaking with you.
Brochures are a staple in business. Your business card might offer a nibble of who you are, but the brochure is more like a full appetizer sampler of what you stand for.
Maybe you’ve decided you need a brochure – or need to refresh the outdated one you already have. What should you consider before you design and print?
DO YOU NEED A BROCHURE?
Ask yourself this: do you think you need a brochure just because, well, businesses need brochures? If that’s your primary reason, we need to dig a little deeper, because printing just for the sake of tradition is never a good idea.
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then designing and printing a brochure probably does make sense for you:
- Do you find yourself talking to customers in situations where asking them to look up your website for more information is inconvenient for them? Would it be more compelling to have something printed (with photographs and ready information) to hand them?
- Do you want to try to capture a specific market through the mail? Print houses like 360 Press Solutions can generate mailing lists for you based on a myriad of criteria, and physical mail still has higher open rates than email does.
- Are you trying to reach a demographic that does not spend as much time online – or who needs to be able to access your information offline?
- Does your business have visual appeal? Maybe you’re selling your own photography or someone else’s home, and you know that if the customer could just see how beautiful your thing is, they’d be interested. Or maybe you’ve got a really great way to explain financial investment or an important message about child adoption and you want to capture that in an infographic. Grabbing people’s visual attention is a great first step to generating a lead.
- Do you need to leave information about your business in places where you won’t be available in person?
- Do you find yourself in situations (such as a convention), where you can’t talk to everyone at once and all the new people you’re meeting start to run together, and you want to leave people with a good reminder of what you do?
Yes, it’s the age of online marketing, but there are still so many reasons to get your business onto a printed page. So let’s consider the smartest ways to do just that.
HOW CAN YOU PRINT THE BROCHURE YOU REALLY NEED?
A brochure is a very affordable marketing piece, but you do want to think carefully about its content and design. Here are some important questions to ask yourself:
What function does this brochure need to serve?
- Does it convey important legal or medical information that your clients need to know? If so, you may want to focus more on making sure the text is clear and accurate, and a simple trifold brochure with a straightforward layout may be all you need.
- Does your brochure need to capture a customer’s imagination and make them ache to learn more about your business? In that case, you may want to develop an unusual design with eye-popping photography, sophisticated colors, and cool folds. Here are just some exciting examples of ways – there are so many more! – that your brochure can go beyond just conveying information to become a truly memorable piece.
- Does your brochure need to be a handy reference guide? You’ll want to choose a paper and a shape that lend themselves to frequent use and portability.
How long do you want to be able to use this brochure?
- In most cases, you’ll want a brochure to have a good shelf life – at least a few months, if not a year or more. If you’re changing logos or moving locations, for example, you may want to wait to print your brochures until after that’s settled – or print a short run for now.
- Bear in mind that 360 Press Solutions has an inventory and fulfillment system so that you can store excess brochures with us, and ship them as needed to yourself or your other locations, or we can mail them directly to individual customers.
How do you plan to distribute your brochure?
- Will you ever mail this piece? If so, talk with your print rep about how to design it well for mailing. If designed properly, a brochure can mail inexpensively. A good print rep (like one of ours) will steer you away from mistakes that could cost you thousands of dollars at the post office.
- Does your brochure need to have a certain shape for distribution? For example, if you plan to leave your brochures in tourism offices, you’ll need your pieces to fit into their standard-sized racks. Otherwise, your brochures might end up on a side table where no one can see them – or even worse, in the recycling bin.
As you can see, there’s a lot to think about even when designing a basic brochure. But don’t worry: this isn’t rocket science. Our print reps are happy to talk through exactly what YOU need, and answer all the questions you didn’t even know to ask, so that you end up with the perfect brochure for your needs.