What is a Brochure Design? Create a Design that makes a Mark
Why are most brochures relegated to the trash can as if they’re a waste of paper? Well, for one, they’re boring and bland and make the reader yawn.
Brochures that make your target customers go, “okay, this is the business for me” follow a winning design strategy. Designers cater to every tip, strategy and subtle detail to make a brochure speak volumes and arouse the interest of the readers. They don’t just randomly insert text or images.
In this article, we’re going to shed light on these proven tips and strategies to help convert the yawns of your customers to a lively look of interest.
But before that, let’s get a firm grasp of the basics.
What is a Brochure Design?
Think of a brochure design as a marketing tool to introduce a product or a service. For instance, if a small local business has just opened shop, it can hand out brochures in the form of a multi-page pamphlet or flyer to its potential customers to spread the word.
I know, handing out a pamphlet or flyer one-by-one to customers sounds, rather old school. But this direct approach actually makes a customer feel more valued than an email forwarded to a million people at the same time.
It helps to build an intimate, more personal client-business relationship, one that has a better chance of lasting.
RELATED: How To Design a Brochure?
What Makes A Good Brochure Design?
Now, let’s move onto the tips and strategies that have made many brochure designs a roaring success.
⦁ Know the Objective of your Design and Target Audience
A brochure designed to advertise a concert will not sell in a business convention. This is why it’s extremely important to know its purpose.
To narrow down its objective, think in terms of your customers. Who are they? Are they tech-enthusiasts or foodies? What kind of features in a service or product do they like? Where can I find them?
Almost any information you can get on them will help to clarify the objective and point you in the right direction.
You can get this information by talking directly to your customers or collaborating with your salespeople.
Design By: Jacopo Maia
⦁ Let Your Creativity roam Free like a Wild Beast
The same old design ideas sap the concentration of the readers; it makes their curiosity take a nosedive. You have to create something that is unique and rare.
Furthermore, the uniqueness of your design should be conspicuous. The reader shouldn’t have to search for it.
One way you can achieve this visible uniqueness is by tinkering with the geometry of the brochure.
Instead of designing a square brochure, go for a geometrically odd shape. A pyramid-shaped design or an apple-shaped perhaps, depending upon how relevant these shapes are to your business.
These odd choices will tempt the reader to cherry pick your brochure even if it’s buried in a mountain of mail.
Design by: Oleyssa Torum
⦁ Use Friendly Language
Only use language that is informal and casual.
If you’re talking to your friends, you won’t address them like a Victorian king. Otherwise, they will call you a creep and just ignore you.
Big words, complex vocabulary and other shenanigans will only make you come off as showy and tasteless. Simple English is your best friend.
“Just do it.” See, how simple and widely popular the message of Nike is. It’s because every person with an elementary grasp of the English language can understand it.
Your aim here isn’t to impress, but to build a friendly relationship with your audience. And friendly language isn’t ostentatious or overly-glittery, it’s every day.
Design by: Everlane
⦁ Think what your Target Audience wants in the Design
Again, never let personal bias reign over your choices. Think from the perspective of your customers, not yourself.
If they are more receptive to the pink color, even if you loathe it, go with it. You’re not designing the brochure for yourself. Everything is about your target audience.
⦁ Make Sure the Headline points out the main objective of your business
The headline shouldn’t be riddled with basic company information, like its location or awards and achievements etc. etc.
It should succinctly convey the gist of the brochure. Specifically, the service or the product the entire brochure is advertising, and how it can benefit the customer. Nothing else.
You can always add other important information, basic details in the rest of the brochure. If the headline is sketchy, the reader will not be tempted to read what follows it.
Brochure concept by: Anonymous
⦁ Add a Clear Call-to-action
Your brochure will not sell the numbers if it doesn’t have a visible and ubiquitous CTA.
Here are some tips to write an effective CTA
- Start with a powerful command verb. If you run an e-commerce shopping website, verbs like “buy and “shop” will do. For
- Arouse the Interest of the reader. Powerful, enthusiastic CTA’s like “Limited time offer, Get 30%off!” will always sell more than bland ones like “Buy shoes and bags from us.”
- Be creative! If you can come up with a CTA that’s imaginative and original, go for it.
Owners think that customers will knock on their front doors just because their brochure is visually stunning. It doesn’t work that way. Without an effective CTA, the entire design is a free attraction, a diamond worth nothing.
Design by: Anaira Sanz
⦁ Choose Colors that Appeal to your Customers, not you
Colors can change the entire complexion of the brochure and the receptiveness of your customers. Every target audience responds to colors differently.
For instance, clients looking for a law firm will find a black brochure design more credible than a red one. Similarly, a women fashion brand will opt for a pink or another mild, lighter color to lure its “feminine” audience.
If your company already has a signature color, use it. You can also use similar shades and tones to mix things up.
Design by: Abra Design
⦁ Steer-clear from Low-quality paper
Choose an average quality paper just to save a couple of bucks, and you’ve ruined days of hard work. A quality paper conveys confidence and leaves a lasting impression.
When your customers touch it, they actually love its feel and texture.
RELATED: How Much Does it Cost to Have a Brochure Designed?
Spending a little extra on the paper is worth it. It shows that you actually care about your customers and are the owner of a brand that doesn’t compromise on quality.
Design by: m.vk.com
⦁ Add relevant high-quality images
Images are a great way to seduce your audience. Humans are suckers for beautiful images. Sometimes, all that makes a book a page-turner are beautiful illustrations.
The choice of images depends on the theme of your brochure. If you’re advertising a real estate business, high-quality images of houses etc. will do the job.
And images don’t really always have to cost a fortune. You can do your own photography or look for stock pictures on websites, such as unsplash and pixaba.
Design Template: Minimalfolio photography
⦁ Make it Easy for your Readers to Get in touch with you
Social media page, name, website, your phone number, and other contact details should be easily visible on the brochure. This makes it easy for your customers to contact you.
Sometimes, adding a QR code included in your brochure design also does wonders to make your business more accessible.
⦁ Make the Brochure a precious commodity
Your brochure shouldn’t just crumble or wrinkle on the first contact. This is also one of the reasons why I’ve highlighted the importance of using quality paper.
To entice the customer to not discard the brochure like a broken doll, you have to add valuable content that makes him keep the brochure and actually care for it.
It could be a discount code or a special sales voucher.
Image Credits: psdfreebies
