How to Make a Bifold Brochure
A bi-fold brochure is the simplest multi-fold brochure to produce. It is essentially a single sheet of paper stock that is folded either horizontally or vertically in half. The result is a four-sided canvas for creating a sales message. Both small and larger businesses can effectively use the bi-fold method to craft a brochure which can be printed on a home computer or at a large industrial printing company for huge print runs.
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Instructions
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Use a blank sheet of 8.5 by 11 inch paper to determine the final shape of your brochure. If you opt for a horizontal fold, you will end up with a 4.25 by 5.5 inch brochure, with a fold across the top of the brochure. Similarly, if you opt for a vertical fold, you'll end up with a long 11 inch final brochure that is narrow in width, exactly 4.25 inches. The fold of the brochure determines the dimensions of images best suited for the space as well the placement of words in the brochure. Mailing costs would also be affected as the long vertical brochure would require a non-standard size envelope.
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Do a draft version of your brochure to determine your advertising copy. What is the final result you seek from creating the brochure? This determines your strategy in writing the document. You don't want to write a lot of words as people generally will not read them. You do want to get your main message across preferably in a clever headline. Once you have come up with a good headline, make sure it will fit in the brochure's space and that it is big enough to stand out and grab a reader's attention. What about images in your brochure? Images attract attention and prompt people to read further. Even if you don't know what images you'll include at this point in the process, create a blank square on the paper and label it "image".
Continue to determine the contents and layout of your brochure including words and images. Where will you place your logo? Will you include your address and contact information? If so, where? After you have determined what your draft brochure looks like, give it to a friend to review and comment.
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Look for free images available on the Internet as clip art or, if appropriate, use a digital camera to take original photographs of your products, your physical location, a satisfied client, whatever you'd like to include in your brochure. Be sure to use captions to explain a photo if necessary.
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Once you have developed and are comfortable with your draft, use a computer word processing program such as MS Word to create a final version. Try to use only a few different font styles so your brochure has a clean look. Use white space in the brochure as it aids reading.
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Print the brochure out on a home printer or take it to a copy center. If printing commercially, you'll want to have an art director do a comprehensive layout of the brochure in preparation for printing.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit advertising image by Boguslaw Mazur from Fotolia.com
