Creative Brochure Ideas

Find inspiration wherever you can.

Getting the creative juices flowing to make a brochure simply requires inspiration. By learning a few design tricks, you'll see how quickly your work can be transformed. Know that a brochure is a fast and effective way to reach and inform a large number of people. Keep your audience at the front of your mind while seeking ideas for your brochure.

Paper

Paper ranges from high to low in brightness, gloss, matte and weight. The typical brochure is a high-gloss, heavy-weight paper. All considered, go one step further and choose a paper that enhances your theme. Jenny Sullivan writes in her book, "Brochures: Making a Strong Impression: 85 Strategies for Message-Driven Design," about a natural ingredients company using a recycled-paper with subtle flecks. For a modern effect, choose a "blue-white" paper with a brightness of at least 90. For a natural effect, choose a recycled paper with a matte or low-gloss finish.

Fold

Brochures have gate folds, z-folds, bi-folds and more. The fold you choose depends on the amount of text and images you want to include. People expect a tri-fold (an 8.5-by-11-inch paper folded into three sections) brochure. If you're not planning on a lot of text, try folding an 8.5-by-3.5-inch size paper in half or try a gate fold (any size paper folded into three sections, the outer two sections enclosing until they just meet in the center section, making a gate). For a larger amount of information, try a z-fold (an "accordion-like" fold, making a "z" shape). To keep a bulk of the information together, try folding an 11-by-17-inch size paper in half to make a bi-fold.

Color

Combinations of color set the mood for your message and may have a message of their own. In "Design Basics Index: A Graphic Designer's Guide to Designing Effective Compositions, Selecting Dynamic Components and Developing Creative Concepts," Jim Krause uses the example of making a lime green color "pop" when paired with "extremely muted hues" such as light and dark gray. For a warm or natural feel, Krause suggests using the earth tones of tan, cinnamon, light pink and brown. If the message in your text should be led by softer color tones, try the combination of monochromatic colors such as, light, medium and dark blue.

Type, Image and Layout

Two is company, three is a crowd. Try combining two different fonts; one for the subtitles and the other for the text; or try Krause's idea of beginning the initial capital letter of a paragraph with a larger letter in a different color and font from the text. Once you've decided on your fonts, use images by placing them in the center of your text, as a backdrop, or as the main focus. By establishing your type and images, you can then decide where to place them. Ranging from biggest to smallest, unevenly arrange rectangles and squares of images and text to create a more interesting design.

References

• "Design Basics Index: A Graphic Designer's Guide to Designing Effective Compositions, Selecting Dynamic Components and Developing Creative Concepts"; Jim Krause; 2004
• "Getting it Printed: How to Work with Printers and Graphic Imaging to Assure Quality, Stay on Schedule and Control Costs, fourth edition"; Eric Kenly, et al.; 2004
• "Graphic Communication Today, fourth edition"; William E. Ryan, et al.; 2004
• Printing Talk: "New Paper Claimed to be Whitest in UK"; The Howard Smith Paper Group; May 2008
• "Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students"; Ellen Lupton; 2004

Resources

• "Brochures: Making a Strong Impression: 85 Strategies..."; Jenny Sullivan; 2007
• "Creative Sparks: An Index of 150 Plus Concepts, Images and Exercises..."; Jim Krause; 2003