Articles: brochures

People pick up a brochure when they want to know more but have no time for a full catalogue. It is a piece of a dozen or so pages, or a few folds, and every page should have a reason to exist.

Planning pages before designing

Start by sketching the pages on a sheet of paper and giving each one a single subject. Only then move on to how it looks.

• The cover - a name and one line saying who this is for.
• The first spread - your key message, since this is where the eye lands on opening.
• The middle - detail, examples, photographs of finished work.
• The last page - contact details and a clear next step.
• Page count - with stitched brochures it rises in steps, so settle it early.

Folding and preparing the file

A brochure differs from a poster in being an object you hold. So it is worth thinking about where the fold falls, so it does not land across an important headline or a face in a photograph. With more pages, leave a little extra margin at the spine, because part of the surface disappears where the sheets are stitched.

Before sending the file, leave a small allowance at the edges so nothing is lost in trimming, and number the pages in the order they are meant to be read. If you are unsure about the folding, a rough mock-up made from paper and a pen answers most questions in a couple of minutes, and it costs nothing to try twice.