Make your Print Design SMART
5 Useful Tips to Make Your Print Marketing Come Alive
A few months ago we did an article on making your web site SMART. It occurred to us that our clients and future clients could use some inspirational tips to help their print marketing as well.
So listed here are 5 tips for improving the response that your designed pieces get from your audience.
1. Color me impressed. Most organizations have brand style guides which map out which colors may be used on marketing pieces and where. A good rule of thumb is no more than 3 colors per marketing piece (not counting photos). Our suggestion is to step outside your brand style guide once a quarter and pick some colors for their impact, not for their adherence to the style guide.
2. No. 1 with a bullet. We know marketers love to use bullet points. They're short, punchy and to the point. But to a designer's eye, they are very blasé. To get the most of your bullet points, considering using odd shapes like triangles (not arrows), octagons or even small icon-style graphics to spruce up those yawn-inspiring bullet circles. You'll be surprised by the response you get.
3. Worth 1,000 words. If you guessed "a picture," you win! Your target market will react well to good photography, so use it! Be sure to illustrate your brochure/postcard/poster with photos that communicate a feeling or a message. Don't get bogged down in being too literal with what you're trying to say. Sometimes abstract is good.
4. What the font? In the world of fonts, it's great if you figure out what type you are (puns are always intended here). But what is more important that finding a font which is easy to read and has a little aesthetic is figuring out which fonts are, well, so "5 minutes ago." AGP's list of outdated fonts: Apple Chancery, Comic Sans, Gil Sans, Arial, Lucida, that "old English font" and Mistral. For a free font consultation, please email us. We'll be glad to give you a run down on what's hot.
5. Playing the angles. In design theory, "grid based" design helps designers fit elements into a composition. Sometimes that translates as lots of horizontal or vertical elements. In order to keep things fresh, try designing using different angles. You'll find this will give new energy and movement to your images and type elements. If you want a good example, go and check out some of Saul Bass' title work for Alfred Hitchcock and other great directors . He's also a great example of a world-class graphic designer that did some great work in several different mediums.
At the core of this article is the belief that you can marry style and substance. So, if you have a success story or an innovative trick that helped one of your campaigns, we'd love to hear about it! Email us with your story today!
A few months ago we did an article on making your web site SMART. It occurred to us that our clients and future clients could use some inspirational tips to help their print marketing as well.
So listed here are 5 tips for improving the response that your designed pieces get from your audience.
1. Color me impressed. Most organizations have brand style guides which map out which colors may be used on marketing pieces and where. A good rule of thumb is no more than 3 colors per marketing piece (not counting photos). Our suggestion is to step outside your brand style guide once a quarter and pick some colors for their impact, not for their adherence to the style guide.
2. No. 1 with a bullet. We know marketers love to use bullet points. They're short, punchy and to the point. But to a designer's eye, they are very blasé. To get the most of your bullet points, considering using odd shapes like triangles (not arrows), octagons or even small icon-style graphics to spruce up those yawn-inspiring bullet circles. You'll be surprised by the response you get.
3. Worth 1,000 words. If you guessed "a picture," you win! Your target market will react well to good photography, so use it! Be sure to illustrate your brochure/postcard/poster with photos that communicate a feeling or a message. Don't get bogged down in being too literal with what you're trying to say. Sometimes abstract is good.
4. What the font? In the world of fonts, it's great if you figure out what type you are (puns are always intended here). But what is more important that finding a font which is easy to read and has a little aesthetic is figuring out which fonts are, well, so "5 minutes ago." AGP's list of outdated fonts: Apple Chancery, Comic Sans, Gil Sans, Arial, Lucida, that "old English font" and Mistral. For a free font consultation, please email us. We'll be glad to give you a run down on what's hot.
5. Playing the angles. In design theory, "grid based" design helps designers fit elements into a composition. Sometimes that translates as lots of horizontal or vertical elements. In order to keep things fresh, try designing using different angles. You'll find this will give new energy and movement to your images and type elements. If you want a good example, go and check out some of Saul Bass' title work for Alfred Hitchcock and other great directors . He's also a great example of a world-class graphic designer that did some great work in several different mediums.
At the core of this article is the belief that you can marry style and substance. So, if you have a success story or an innovative trick that helped one of your campaigns, we'd love to hear about it! Email us with your story today!
posted by Paul at
9:21 PM
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