Writing a successful brochure is one of the more difficult design tasks. Unlike billboards and signs, brochures have three main purposes.
- They must prompt the customer to “read me now,” so cover design is important
- The “quick scan” must be enticing enough to want them to open and keep it.
- The idea that there is value in the document is exhibited by the quality of the brochure
Goal
The goal of your brochure may be two fold, to attract new customers or to get customers you’ve already done business with to return.
Examine why you are creating a brochure. Can you honestly explain why you need a brochure? What is your real objective here? You know more about your business subject than anyone else, right? Start now creating your ultimate objective around who will receive your brochure.
Bad Goal: Provide information about the bakery.
Good Goal: Bring a customer to our website to order one of our eclectic cakes and join our mailing list so we can stay in contact with the customer about specials and community events.
Target Market
Who will be viewing this brochure? When you decide on an audience, your focus must be specific enough to personify an individual. On the surface we are answering basic demographics such as age, income and education but we ultimately need to make the reader of this brochure feel and act. This is done by truly understanding the individuals that make up your target market.
Learning Objectives
One of the biggest trends in today’s marketplace is customer education. Decide what you want the customer to know. How are your cakes different from the competition? Remember the best way to thank the customer is by making your brochure worth their time. Make it interesting, unique and let it support your goal.
Emotional Objective
Learning leads the customer to the next step. No matter what we like to think about ourselves, we take action because we feel. Why should they care? How do you want the customer to emotionally respond? “Oh, I really want a birthday cake like the one in that portfolio, my daughter would love it!”
Behavior Objective
You’ve fed them knowledge and you’ve made want those Key Lime cupcakes. Now tell them exactly what you want them to do. Name Step 1, Step 2, if you have to, but give them explicit directions as to how they should proceed to order your products.
Design
I once took an introductory architecture course and the Adjunct Professors said, “Form follows function.” Remember the best-looking design is just graphics unless there is intent behind it. If you skipped the nonsense about goals and objectives, I urge you to return and read it. Graphic design is a communication language, not art. What is your brochure communicating?
Theme and Structure
Maintain a consistent feel throughout your brochure, knowing that although the brochure is designed and printed flat; you’re creating a consistent grid for each panel, allowing enough margin space to avoid feeling cluttered. Feel free to break this grid with important elements. Photos, contact information, taglines etc.
Text
Using bold font face for titles and headings and one for copy with italics sparingly increase the customer’s comprehension of your brochure. San-serif fonts (like Arial) are more readable at smaller font sizes. In general, trim your copy before reducing the font sizes, keeping font sizes large (min 12pt, dependent on viewer age).
Quick-read Text
Nothing makes text more readable than the lack of it. Enough blank space is necessary and when it’s missing it is usually due to too much text. Carefully choose your heading text and include bulleted lists or bold elements to allow a viewer to scan and understand your brochure within ten seconds.
Other Text Notes
• Use power words such as new, custom, proven
• AVOID ALL CAPS, ITS DIFFICULT TO READ AND REDUCES RESPONSE RATES
• Use bold and italics sparingly
• Use image captions, they are one of the most read elements in a brochure
• Use short common speech, voluminous exposition and supercilious verbiage diminish recall
• Avoid text over images unless you gradient or lighten the image 80-90%
• Narrow text columns increase readability
• Call to action; step by step tell the viewer what they need to do after reading your brochure
• Include brief company and contact information (it’s amazing how often this is overlooked)
Images
One great image is worth ten good ones. Keep you images few, but powerful. Not everyone will read your brochure, but they will see it. Images are so powerful that there is no faster way to reduce the read rate than poor images. This might be the time to use a professional photographer, and never post a photo of a cake you did not prepare and decorate.
Persistent Value
Information alone is not enough. Give the customer a reason to keep the brochure because it contains something they will use later. This can be a map, a useful list, contact information, coupons, or even a recipe.
Evaluate your brochure
• Is it intriguing?
• Is there enough white space or breathing room?
• Can customers understand the intent of the brochure in less than ten seconds?
• Are images few and effective?
• Does the customer have a reason to pick up the brochure?
• Does it provide value to the customer?
• Does it tell the customer what to do next?
Creating a successful brochure is one of the more difficult design challenges, but it can result in one of your most effective marketing tools. Designing your brochure with these ideas in mind will shape the actual graphical layout and provide you with a document you can be proud of.
