How to Create a Brochure Using Pagemaker
Adobe Pagemaker makes brochure creation quick and easy for novices and professionals alike. Column guides ensure that your content is perfectly placed, based on your specifications. Justification and photograph-wrap options allow you to produce a professional-quality piece without the expense of hiring a designer. Photographs and graphics are easily imported, providing you with the opportunity to make your brochure as colorful as you want. Whether you are creating a brochure for your business or as a personal project, Pagemaker provides a convenient method of designing and laying out print pieces.
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Instructions
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Decide on a design. Most brochures that are printed on 8 ½-by-11 inch paper use three columns. If you use legal-sized paper, you will have room for four columns. If you will be using photographs, graphics or charts in your copy, decide if you want the text to wrap around the photo. Choose fonts for texts and headlines. You may want to experiment with several sample designs to decide which layout works best for your brochure.
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Click on the Pagemaker icon on your desktop, then select “File” and “New” to open a new document. The document setup box will pop up. Enter the number of pages you need. For a brochure, you will select two pages, as the brochure will ultimately be printed on both sides of the paper. Margins can also be set in this box. You will probably want to select somewhat narrow margins, to make the most of the space available.
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Choose “Layout” and “Column Guides” to create the brochure’s columns. A box will open and prompt you to enter the number of columns you desire. You will also need to enter a number for the amount of space you would like between the columns. Smaller numbers will create less space between the columns, while larger numbers will give you more space.
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Select your layout options on the master page to ensure a uniform look on both pages of your brochure. Any design specifications selected on the master page will automatically carry over to subsequent pages. If you lay out the master page with three columns with .3 inches between columns, your next page will automatically contain these features. Click on the “L” at the bottom left of the screen to access this area.
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Use the “Place” function to place your text on the page. Select “Type” and then “Alignment” to set the alignment for your brochure. Experiment with left-aligned and justified text to determine which looks best.
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Use “Place” to import photographs and position them on the page. Choose how text will appear near photos by selecting “Element” and “Text Wrap.” Click on the photograph first before attempting to select a wrap choice.
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Proofread your brochure and print out both pages. Using a glue stick to glue the pages together will give you an idea of how the finished project will look. Make sure that no text extends into the folds. If your budget is tight, you may want to make photocopies of the brochure. You can use copy paper or buy special prefolded brochure paper. If money is not a concern, you can save your project on a disc and have a print shop print it.
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Tips & Warnings
Brochures look better with areas of white space, and are also easier to read. Don’t jam everything together on the page. Use spaces between headlines and copy.
Photographs and graphics are very useful as fillers if there is too much white space.
Resources
- Photo Credit H. McGurgan
