Creative Brief Tips: Printing Business Brochures

Your business brochure has many uses – the possibilities are endless. An effective brochure is strategically limited in scope. Too much information can dilute the effectiveness of the piece and hamper its impact. Use this creative brief to help solidify your thinking.

General information

What is the purpose of this business brochure?

Business enterprise information
Product information
Corporate identity and branding

Who will receive this business brochure?

Current clients
Prospective clients
Independent representatives

What is the desired result after this business brochure is received?

Recipient is motivated to make a purchase
Recipient gains information about your business or product
Recipient contacts business for additional information regarding business or product
Recipient shares brochure’s information with colleagues

How will this business brochure be distributed?

Handout at a trade show
Sales call leave behind
Part of a direct mail package
Displayed in a counter-top Take One box
Self mailer

Establish a budget

Determine quantity of business brochures
Compare pricing of different brochure sizes and number of panels
Will stock photos or custom photography be required?
If mailing, will purchase of a mailing list and mailing services be required? What will the postage expense be?

Content

Outline

Based on the general information, develop an outline of the information that will be included in your business brochure, which could include:

Company information, history and branded identity
Product information
Company services
What makes our company or products different?
Facts and figures that prove the differentiation
Market research that backs up the facts and figures
Response form or a call to action
Product pricing, if appropriate
Contact information and social media details
Link to your website URL, or a QR code if your website is mobile optimized

Copy

Create a rough draft of information based on the project outline. Prepare this rough draft in the approximate type size and line length that is required for the panel size of the brochure format that will be used.

Write short sentences. Use bulleted or highlighted points. For text, use serif fonts that are easy to read, such as Times Roman, Garamond, or Century Schoolbook. For headlines, use sans serif fonts such as Helvetica, News Gothic, or Franklin Gothic.

Photography, illustrations, graphs and charts

Photography is usually more compelling than illustrations.

Graphs and charts can help to visually explain complex ideas. Ensure that the information you choose to incorporate cannot be taken in the wrong context or misconstrued.

Layout dummy

Keep in mind your established company branded identity. If there is none, now would be the time to establish a brand that can be used moving forward.

Use Castle Press storyboards to complete a rough layout. Storyboard templates based on the desired size and panel layout are available on the brochure web page as a download.

Print out the rough draft of the copy, cut it apart and paste it into the desired position on the storyboard. Draw in boxes where photos, illustrations, graphs and charts will be positioned.

This layout dummy will help determine if the amount of copy needs to be revised to fit the desired brochure size, or if the brochure size needs to be adjusted to fit the amount of copy.

Create your digital file

If using the page layout program InDesign, download the appropriate template.

Your layout can be completed using the Castle Press Design Online feature.

Castle Press is also available to prepare the digital file for you.