The good, the bad, & the ugly… Fliers, Brochures, & Newsletters

Understanding Writing Technical Writing Marketing Writing Purpose – informs & conveys information Strategy – appeal to logic Style – objective, technical language Purpose - Attract attention, excite interest, & persuade Strategy – appeal to emotions Style – vivid, sensory language

Determining Purpose & Audience Marketing Documents Purpose Audience Fliers Announces a new product or event Potential customers or attendees Brochures Promote products or services and motivates customers to action Usually, general public Newsletters Build sense of community; share information Organization employees, existing customers, or people interested in special product

Fliers Type: Snail mailed or e-mailed Placement: posted on bulletin board; distributed by hand; displayed on table Length: 1 page Cost: Most cost effective to produce & mail

Brochures Type: sales brochure vs. Informational brochure Format: half-fold style tri-fold style Length: half-fold style = 11” x 17” tri-fold style = 8.5” x 11” or 8.5” x 14”

Newsletters Type: Format: Length: Organizational newsletter Customer newsletter Subscription newsletter Format: Depends on length but front side only or front & back Length: Ranges from 1 page or multiple Size from 8.5” x 11” to

Tips on Designing Fliers Don’t put everything in boxes Don’t set same amount of space between elements Don’t use hyphens Don’t center everything

Tips on Designing Fliers Write headline at top of page Feature organization name & logo prominently Select 1 main message Event – what, when, where Product/Service – benefits, advantages

Tips on Designing Fliers Create a focal point Use subheads that contrast Repetition Alignment

Tips on Designing Brochures Use contrast in typefaces, rules, colors, spacing, size of elements Repeat various elements in design to create unified look (repeat colors, typefaces, rules, bullets, etc.) Group similar items close together (subtopics within headings)

Tips on Designing Brochures Panel Content Design Front Panel Topic/title Image Organization name & logo Clear id of audience Larger font size than inside & back panels (18+ point type) Inside Panels Information about product’s benefits for customer Supportive facts Comparative data Answer who, what, where, when, why, & how Readable font size (10 or 11 point type) Short sentences (15 words or less) Limit paragraphs (2-4 sentences) Let text & graphics stretch across panels Use headings & subheadings Back Panels Contact information Same elements as inside panel

Tips on Designing Newsletters Repetition – every page should look like it belongs to whole piece Color, graphic style, fonts, spatial arrangements, bulleted lists, borders around photos, captions, etc. Use white space Use contrasting type; don’t make each page different

Tips on Designing Newsletters Choose 1 alignment Don’t indent paragraphs, even after subheads Use concise, attention-getting headlines Use short subheads to break long stories into chunks Readable type copy

Tips on Designing Newsletters First page contains banner Headline for major story & least 1st portion of story (include page number for continuation) Photos include captions Include masthead

Principles of Marketing Design Contrast: vary elements on page (type, color, size, line thickness, shape, space, etc.) to emphasize differences and make important points stand out Contrast is what makes readers look at the document

Contrast Examples Bad Contrast Good Contrast

Principles of Marketing Design Repetition: repeat visual elements of the design throughout the piece Repeat colors, shapes, textures, spatial relationships, line thickness, fonts, sizes, graphic concepts, etc.

Repetition Examples Good Repetition for newsletter

Principles of Marketing Design Alignment: every element should have some visual connection with another element on page.

Alignment Examples Bad Alignment Good Alignment

Principles of Marketing Design Proximity: items related to each other should be grouped close together. Items in close proximity to each other become 1 visual unit rather than several separate units.

Proximity Examples Poor Proximity Good Proimity

Principles of Marketing Design Proportion: margins and relationship of type and art work together Long, thin type works best with long, thin layouts Short, wide type works best with short, wide layouts Avoid evenly repeated, evenly spaced shapes