There are a few basic design principles that can make any handout, brochure, or web page more professional-looking, unified, easy to follow, and inviting to your readers.

Repetition

Repetition, or consistency, means that you should repeat some aspect of the design throughout the entire document. Repetition acts as a visual key that ties your piece together–in other words, it unifies it. Repetition controls the reader’s eye and helps you keep their attention on the piece as long as possible.
Repeat element

Contrast

Contrast is one of the best ways to add visual interest to your document. Contrast draws in your reader’s attention and creates a visual hierarchy. Create contrast by using type, textures, and elements like lines, boxes, or graphics, that are very different from one another. To get started, determine what you want the focus to be. Use contrast to create that focus.

Tip 1:
Ditch the Sales Pitch

Don’t try to close sales directly from your postcard. You don’t have enough space to provide all the information most prospects need to make a buying decision. Instead, use your postcard to generate sales inquiries.
Begin your postcard by briefly stating the major benefit(s) you offer. Then use the remainder of your postcard to motivate readers to get more information from a source where you can close sales …such as at your web site or from a phone number they can call.

Tip 2:
Get Right to the Point

Postcards are delivered “ready to read”. Take advantage of this. Get right to the point to capture the reader’s attention immediately. This makes it difficult for prospects to avoid reading your postcard – especially if your entire message is brief and easy to read.

Before working on the design of the card, decide what information you want to have on it. Consider the following:

• Company Name
• Logo
• Slogan
• Your Name
• Title or Description of Work Provided
• Phone Number
• Fax Number
• Email Address
• Website Address
• Mailing Address

Having all of the above items on your card might be overwhelming and crowded depending on the font you choose and the spacing. Only include what is essential and consider splitting the information between both sides of the card.

You can also consider adding a message that will speak to your target audience.
Always think of a call to action – a way to get your customers to visit your site!

By this, I mean that you should create a card that someone would be proud to display on his or her refrigerator door.

The image on the front of your postcard should be simple, but attractive. Brightly colored cards pull a better response than dark, moody cards. Save your artistic angst for some other medium.

Create an image that’s easily comprehended. Why? Because your recipients will only give your cards a one or two-second glance before deciding to keep them or throw them away.

Think billboard. A billboard must get its point across quickly because people are driving by at high rates of speed. It also must be memorable.

The next time you’re out and about, look at the billboards. Advertisers are paying good money to put them up, so why not use them as a source of free design ideas?

Now, ask yourself a couple of questions:
1. Which billboards are memorable?
2. Which billboards are forgettable?

Designing a basic brochure – how hard can that be? For good graphic designers, the answer is a lot tougher than you think. Even for the most basic type of brochure, before you ever put pencil to paper or click your mouse, there is essential information the client and you need to discuss.

The first thing you need to know is the purpose of the brochure or what the client wants that brochure to accomplish. That ties directly into who the target audience is and what the message of the brochure will be. There are three main types of brochures and in each case; the cover is used to accomplish a specific goal. The three types of brochures are those that are used to advertise or market, those that educate or inform, and those that entertain.

For a brochure whose primary purpose is to advertise or market products and services, the cover will most likely have two parts: a catchy phrase that grabs the potential customer’s attention, and then lists the benefits of the product (what will this product do for me?). In the instance of a brochure that is primarily educational or informative, the product generally appears on the cover with the information of what it does or can do listed inside. The entertaining brochure is used the least. You might see it in a family-style restaurant, for example, and it contains puzzles, drawings, etc. for kids to keep them occupied.

You and the client need to decide the number of panels in the brochure, which is influenced by a number of factors. Some questions to consider:

• How much information will be in this brochure?
• How is this brochure going to be used?
• Is there a bleed?
• Is the brochure going to be of a unique design that might include die-cuts or unusual folding?

As with any design there are also things you’ll want to avoid. These include:

• Avoid over-used typefaces, two of which are Arial and Helvetica.
• For content type, keep the point size under 12.
• Don’t use more than three type faces in a brochure.
• Generally don’t use more than one alignment.

As you can see, designing even a standard six-panel brochure is often a much more complicated process than you initially might think. The more organized you are, the easier the graphic design process will be, and probably a lot more fun. With any design project, it’s a good idea to have all the necessary information, pictures, parameters, and specifications before you let your creative juices flow.

You’re still not quite ready to move into the actual design process as you need to refer back to that target audience the brochure is aimed at. Here you need to know the answer to the following question: what is the message the client is sending with this brochure? Advertising, educating, informing, and entertaining are how that message is presented; the actual message is what you want to say about the particular product, service, or company.

When all that information is gathered, you can finally get down to the business of designing. You’ll take into account the basic elements of good design – alignment, repetition for a sense of unity, contrast and a focal point that provides interest, balance, scale and perspective, color, and so on. You’ll also want to keep in mind the font, size, color, and orientation of the text.

all design tips taken from www.allgraphicdesign.com

What information should you put on your envelope?

Generally speaking, don’t put the phone number on the envelope.

If you are considering whether or not you should put your company’s website on the envelope: go for it!

Your website should be in front of the customer every chance you get!!

The pocket folder is an integral part of your presentation package. Use it to deliver letters, documents, contracts, brochures and more!

A well- designed pocket folder adds impact and recognition that continues long after the meeting or delivery, showing you are serious about your company’s image. Also, your clients are more likely to keep a professionally designed presentation folder (and the material inside) than a plain folder available you can get at any office supply store.

Use any of the templates you can download here::

http://stellarconcepts.com/templates

or contact us if you have a different idea in mind!