Mark's 10 Top Tips for Designing a Leaflet

8th August 2017

We’re often asked how we go about designing a brochure or leaflet, and what the process is, and it’s an interesting question because so much of what we do is based on the intuitive know-how that comes from years of experience.

If you’re brand new to putting a leaflet together and have decided to have a go at doing so yourself. Here are our top 10 things to consider:


1. Who’s it for?

Printing costs have plummeted over the last few years, whilst the quality of digital print has improved to the point that it can be hard to tell the difference between it and litho. This has made it very possible to have very short print runs aimed at a specific audience, so if you can identify your readers and their typical profile you should aim your words and imagery at them.

2. How will it be delivered?

Through a letter box? By mail? Hand delivered? The mode of delivery will have a considerable bearing on the size and weight of your leaflet or brochure. There’s more than a suggestion that good old fashioned post is making a comeback, after all, how much do you get through the letter box compared with the number of junk emails you receive?

3. Instant recognition

How ever you deliver your leaflet or brochure your reader should be able that it’s from you before they’ve read a word or looked at the images. How? Because it should carry your brand, the colours should equate to your brand palette, there should be a recognisable consistency about it that transcends the message it contains. You’d recognise something from Apple a mile away, wouldn’t you?

4. Keep it snappy

Unless you’re writing for or about something particularly serious, keep your copy (the words) simple, your sentences snappy and your paragraphs short. Keep anachronistic and antediluvian wording for another time, your job is to grab the reader’s attention and you’ll do that by speaking their language and making your message clear. Remember to question each image. What’s it adding to your message? Ultimately, what’s the benefit of your leaflet?

5. KISS, Keep it simple!

Simplicity speaks volumes, so be prepared to cut the copy and increase white space. Your pages should be uncluttered and your message clear. A glance should tell the reader enough to judge whether they want to invest the time to read it in full.

6. Don’t cut corners

Whatever else you do, use hi-resolution, excellent quality images. Anything else and you’re seriously compromising your credibility. You’re probably very good at what you do, why would you want your business to be represented by literature that has lower quality than you have? A great business needs great images, they’ll cost, but they’re worth it!

7. Do you wear glasses?

If not, consider those who do! Admittedly you have a message to get across and you’ve already compromised so that there’s lots of white space, but the difference in space taken between say 11 and 12 point font on the page is minimal, but to the eye is significant. Some fonts are much easier to read than others too. Does your brand profile nominate a specific font?

8. DON”T SHOUT

Especially in your headlines, unless you’re actually a Red Top newspaper. Having said that have a look at the Sun next time you see one and look at how they use sub-heads to slightly explain the headline and to draw your eye in. If you have a block of text using a sub-head between paragraphs can be a good idea.

9. So what?

There’s two points here; firstly, always have a call to action, what do you want your reader to do as a result of having read your leaflet. Tell them. Secondly, read through your copy and ask the question “So what?” the point here being that what you think you’re saying isn’t what is read. Ask someone else to read your copy and tell you what they think you’re message is.

10. Print

And back to print, make sure the quality and weight of paper meets your requirements and use the highest possible quality of print. If the final leaflet feels cheap and nasty you’ll have wasted all the effort you’ve put into it.

 

Or, alternatively, ask us to do the whole job for you!

 

 

 


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