Basic Brochure Design: Where to Start
For nine out of ten businesses you will want to develop the copy (words) first. Why, because you only have a certain amount of space to tell your story. You can always select graphics and pictures that will re-enforce your message later on.
Write your copy from the customer’s point of view, not yours. It's not what the business wants to say, it's what the customer wants to know.
Once the copy is completed, work on making it shorter and more descriptive. Mark Twain was supposed to have said, "I'd have written you a shorter letter but I didn't have the time." Paint descriptive word pictures wherever possible. A picture is retained in the mind much longer than mere words. Did you ever tell someone a story beginning with the words, "Picture yourself..." We do that because it's powerful.
If you or your designer has created a visual look to your advertising, by all means, continue it in your brochure. The "family resemblance" will be more comfortable to the reader.
There are two types of brochures:
Function Number One: This brochure is designed to attract attention. It plays on the emotions of the customer. When they see it in a display rack they must pick it up and see what it says. It has an attention getting headline. It is designed to spend all its time, on public display, exposed to as much of your target market as possible. It will contain lots of white space and short thoughts rather than long paragraphs. It contains a "call to action" that requires or asks the customer to make a phone call, come on down, clip a coupon, mail a reply card or some other action that puts you and the customer in contact.
Think of this brochure as the appetizer of your business. Something to tickle the pallet but still leave them hungry.
Function Number Two: Think of this brochure as the main course. This brochure is designed for the customer who has learned of your company and has requested more information. He/she may have seen your "Type One" brochure I described above. Unlike Type One, Type Two can be crammed with information. Customers who request information want to know everything. They become insatiable for product knowledge. No matter what you send, it may not be enough to satisfy some customers.
This style of brochure should never be used in display racks or laid out for the curious passerby. A casual customer who is unfamiliar with your business will be "turned off" by the thought of wadding through this mountain of information just to see what you do.
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