Brochures are an excellent way to market your business. But what makes a brochure stand out? Is it the design, layout, and text? Here are 13 ways you can make your brochure stand out!
- Use a highly contrasting color scheme.
This will make the text and visual elements pop in your brochure, and increase the chances of people reading your brochure. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box with certain colors—some color combinations work better than others.
- Use the rule of thirds when designing your brochure.
This is a common design technique in which you divide the page into nine equal parts using both horizontal and vertical lines. This will make your brochure stand out because each element will have an area to “live” in. In other words, the space in which the element will fit.
- Always have a line or two of text on your cover page or brochure that describes who you are!
This will help people understand what it is that you do, and increase the chances of them reading further into your brochure. This can be done through a sentence at the bottom of the page, or a separate page altogether.
- Use images and colors that will grab the reader’s attention.
This is similar to the tip mentioned above, but we’re talking about images this time. Using an image that really pops will grab your reader’s attention as soon as they open up your brochure. You can use a plain background to make the images pop, or vice versa.
- Always have a clear description of who your company services.
This is key in not only grabbing the reader’s attention but making them take action as well. If a customer sees a brochure with an interesting design and layout, they may read through it, but if they can’t understand what it is that you do, they will likely pass on your brochure.
- Make sure your company name is in a prominent area of your cover page.
If you want people to know who you are when they open up the brochure, make sure your company name is in a place they can easily see it.
- Take advantage of white space.
White space is the area around elements on your cover page or brochure that are left blank. Having some white space is okay; however, you want to make sure that there’s enough to keep things interesting and not too much where it looks like there’s too much space.
- Don’t include more than seven elements on your cover page.
This will make the design look cluttered and busy, which is the last thing you want for your cover page or brochure! Make sure to keep things simple when designing your layout, but still interesting enough that it stands out.
- Use testimonials.
Testimonials are a great way to show that your business can help others, and they also add credibility because they show that other people have trusted you with their services in the past. Make sure to include them on your cover page or brochure so people know what it is you do.
- Make sure you choose an appropriate font.
There are thousands of fonts available today, but for a brochure, you only want to use one that is easy to read. This will make it easier for your reader to take in all the information they need when reading your brochure. Some fonts work better than others for certain situations.
For example, if you’re doing a brochure for an event or party that you might want to look fun and informal go with a cursive font.
- Keep it simple.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and choose too many design elements to include in your brochure. Remember, the more elements on the page, the more cluttered it becomes. It’s okay to have a full page dedicated to your company name, and maybe another for testimonials, but don’t cram everything into one tiny space!
- Using negative space is a great way to make elements stand out.
Negative space can be defined as the empty or white space around elements on your cover page or brochure. In order to make an element stand out, add a white or empty area around it.
- Always proofread.
Proofreading is the most important step in designing a new cover page or brochure. After you’re done with all of your design elements and have printed out a draft, be sure to have it proofread by a friend or colleague so you can catch any spelling or grammatical errors there might be.
If you’re finding brochures to be challenging, use Venngage — an online brochure maker that offers various brochure designs for everyone. To give you an idea, here are some brochure examples from their website!
