Author’s note: If you haven’t already read the preceding article, Creating an effective brochure #1: Planning, I highly recommend starting there, then coming back to this article. Many of the suggestions below assume that you’ve already given consideration to the information and questions presented in the article on planning.

When creating a brochure, regardless of the organization, service, product or project it will represent, quality content is paramount. A brochure that captures the attention of your audience, engages readers and effectively communicates your message not only requires the use of good writing and design principles, but content that is meaningful and valuable to readers. This is not an area to cut corners. Time invested in researching, preparing and editing content is never wasted. In short, Be as mindful of the character of your content as you are of the content of your character.

The following is a list of suggestions and guidelines to consider as you craft your brochure’s content.

1. MAKE AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL

The old adage in marketing is that consumers buy based on emotions and justify with logic. The need to appeal to your readers emotions holds weight even if you are not selling anything per se, but are looking to compel readers to perform a certain action, change their behavior, or simply contact you or visit a website for additional information.

2. BE PROFESSIONAL

No one wants their brochure to appear cheap or amateurish, as the publication serves as a representation of your organization and its staff. There is no quicker way to suffer this unfortunate situation than by including careless writing errors, poor quality graphics or generic clip art.

As a side note, professional doesn’t always have to mean polished. For example, many nonprofits who depend largely on public and private donations may want to make sure their promotional materials do not appear too slick and polished, inadvertently giving readers the impression that they are well-funded. Nonetheless, in these situations, a clean professional image is no less important and will convey to prospective donors and grantors that your organization has its act together and will use their funds wisely and efficiently.

3. BE PERSONAL

An effective brochure shares your message in a way that connects personally with your audience. If your brochure spends too much time talking about how great your organization or business is, rather than life from the reader’s perspective, it will likely only make a connection with the trash can.

4. MAINTAIN READABILITY

The need for a brochure to be readable seems obvious, but is too often overlooked. It should be easy to the eyes, a clearly displayed hierarchy of information. Key information should be broken up into easily digestible bits through the use of bullet points, arrows, boxes, or other design elements.

When establishing readability, it is important to be realistic and to put the needs of your target audience first. Consider any potential accessibility issues that your readers might have such as visual impairments or language barriers.

5. SPEAK THE LANGUAGE

An effective brochure will speak in a language that is familiar to it’s target readers. Avoid any technical terms that your readers may not understand, as they may only create distance between you and your audience. The simpler your communications are, the easier it will be to connect with your readers.

6. LEAD WITH THE BENEFITS

Rather than pitching your service or product, consider selling its benefits, whether they be for the reader directly or for the community in which the reader lives. By promoting benefits such as time savings, enhanced productivity, safety, or environmental improvements, you are much more likely to capture your readers’ attention.

7. MAINTAIN A CLEAR, SINGULAR MESSAGE

It’s often tempting for the inexperienced brochure writer to include as much information as possible in the brochure, providing their readers with a listing of all the features of your service or product. This temptation often stems from the misguided notion that their brochure can be used to close the sale, so to speak. However, providing too much information and covering too many topics has a tendency to confuse readers and distract them from the core message. Instead, choose one primary theme or message that you wish your brochure to convey, and create all of your content in support of that theme.

8. FOCUS ON A SINGLE SERVICE OR PRODUCT LINE

A brochure is not a catalog and should not be treated like one. The central message of your brochure should be based on a single service or product line. The greater the number of services, items and choices in your brochure, the greater the likelihood you will confuse, overwhelm or otherwise lose the attention of your readers.

9. MAKE A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

Your brochure should direct the reader to take a specific, definable action such as make a phone call for more information, or visit a website or physical location. If your brochure is well-written, it will leave readers wanting more. If your brochure lacks a clear call to action and fails to make it clear what they can do to get more information, you’ve missed a golden opportunity.

It’s not enough to make your audience thirsty, you’ve got to lead them to the water too.

10. GET GOOD HELP

Consider hiring a professional graphic designer with experience in brochure design. Their knowledge, insights, and talents will produce a more effective brochure, improving your odds of winning the patronage of your prospective customers or clients.

Creating a brochure that effectively communicates your information and makes a connection with your intended audience rarely happens by accident. If you want it to go as planned, you will, of course, need a plan. The following is a list of some of the major considerations as you formulate your brochure plan.

1. IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE & THEIR NEEDS (Who, What, How)

Think carefully about who you are trying to reach with the brochure, what type of information they are likely looking for, and how they are looking for it. The answers to the these questions will shape the content and format of your brochure. Similarly, you’ll want to consider any potential challenges that might stand in the way of your audience reading this information, such as time constraints, language barriers, and accessibility concerns such as large print or braille.

2. KNOW YOUR LANDSCAPE

Think about the environment in which you are operating, and which your brochure will be representing you. This includes a careful consideration of your brand’s current or desired position in the market. In other words, who are you and who are your competitors? Your landscape is also shaped by the climate in which your industry is currently operating. Are there any widely recognized challenges that your organization and any others like it are working to overcome, such as public perceptions or misconceptions, lack of awareness or understanding, or perhaps sociocultural and/or economic issues?

3. CONSIDER FORM & PRESENTATION

It is often said that form should follow function. In brochure design, as with most aspects of effective graphic design, form should have a function.

Consider the physical form that your brochure might take, and how that might affect the way your audience might interact with the piece. This includes the optimal dimensions for the printed brochure, and the folding technique used, such as a letter-fold, gate fold, z-fold, or an alternative. Or, perhaps the best answer is not to print at all, choosing to publish a digital brochure instead. (See #5 below.) Factors influencing what form is best for your brochure include the expected amount of content, the manner in which you intend for readers to move through your content and interact with the publication, and your project budget.

This is an area of planning where some careful, thoughtful strategy will yield great dividends. It is also an area where the help of a professional designer often proves invaluable. A skilled professional with experience designing brochures of all types, both printed and digital will understand the pros and cons of each, and will guide you through such decisions and answer any related questions, including those related to cost efficiency.

4. INTEGRATE YOUR EFFORTS

In most cases, you will find it beneficial to strategically tie your new brochure in with your other communication efforts, such as your other printed materials, website, newsletter, or email campaigns. For example, perhaps the brochure should include a link to your website where readers can get additional information? Looked at from the other direction, perhaps your website can be used to collect emails or mailing addresses, where you can send digital or printed brochures respectively?

5. ESTABLISH A DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

Thinking about distributing a brochure that doesn’t yet exist may seem like we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves. However, distribution is an important component of the planning phase, as it impacts the brochure’s layout, or perhaps even its final form. For example, if you will be mailing the brochures, you’ll need to allow room for the address and postage, as well as make sure the dimensions and layout of the piece meet current USPS guidelines. If the brochure is to be published digitally and distributed electronically, you may want to format it to allow for easy printing by readers who choose to print a copy on their desktop printers.

The development of a distribution strategy is another area of the planning phase where the insight of an experienced designer will serve you well. They will be able to anticipate such considerations and suggest a variety of proven, budget-minded solutions to maximize your brochure’s effectiveness and efficiency.

The next step:
Tomorrow, we’ll focus on the second phase of brochure creation, developing strong, high-quality content:
Creating and effective brochure #2: Developing Content

Among those of us whose work includes designing business cards, there is often some debate about the most effective treatment for the back of a card. Many prefer to leave the back blank, or at least leave significant white space – to allow for making personal notations, adding cell numbers on occasion, etc., in which case printing on uncoated stock is also very helpful in in avoiding smeared writing. Others prefer to use the back of the card in some other way, including product or service descriptions, or perhaps an eye-catching design to help the card stand out.

Like most other areas of design, the best decision is really dependent on the specific needs of the client, the means of distribution (i.e. the client’s patterns and habits when handing out their business card), and the specifics of their intended audience.

When re-printing the latest batch of my own business cards (pictured above), I chose to include my mission statement on the back, along with a small illustration. In addition to serving as a sample of my work, the illustration is a nod to my background as an environmental educator whose work included leading birdwatching expeditions. Perhaps it also serves as a loose metaphor for the spirit behind my current work.

With 2009 having just arrived, I am pleased to announce an exciting new change within my own graphic design business. Our company, operating as Gough Graphics since 1999, has been renamed Sproutreach. The name change comes with a few other changes, including a new logo (right) and, of course, a re-designed website.

After almost a year of careful thought and much discussion on the subject, we’ve implemented the change for a number of important reasons. Perhaps the most important of these reasons is our desire for a company name that more accurately represents our core mission – to serve socially and environmentally responsible organizations by helping them grow and connect with their audiences..

We’re very excited about this news, but we’d love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment below with your thoughts, or as always, feel free to email us directly with your feedback.

- Rob

Let this brief entry serve as a long overdue expression of my gratitude to Charley Harper for his work and the inspiration it has provided me over the years. I can recall hours spent as a child pouring over his illustrations in the “The Golden Book of Biology” (cover image below), experience that undoubtedly planted seeds that would eventually grow into the passions for both natural history and illustration & design that are my life’s work today.

I have always been captivated by Mr. Harper’s unique style of “minimalist realism”, and inspired by his ability to accurately portray the essence of a life form or a life process in a way that distills the subject to its most important features, without the burden of unnecessary details. Perhaps this style (or the philosophy behind it) is best reflected in the quote he chose for his myspace page, “I don’t count the feathers, I count the wings!”

Mr. Harper’s passed away on June 10, 2007, at age 84. Since his death, I’ve been thinking about him and his work often, always with a feeling of sincere gratitude for all that he has unknowingly given me for so many years. Thank you Charley Harper.

- RG

Video Essay: Todd Oldham talks with Charley Harper:

P.S. My fellow designers who share both a love for Charley Harper’s work and a desire to minimize the negative environmental impact of their work will surely be interested in a publication by Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc., A Field Guide: Eco-Friendly, Efficient and Effective Print, now in its third edition. The guide not only contains some terrific tips for creating more environmentally-friendly print designs, but is also sprinkled with some examples of Charley Harper’s beautiful work.