Reviewing the Project Checklist: Tips for Creating Flyers and Brochures s1

Flyers

Uses of Flyers Flyers are used to announce events. Sometimes they are handed out, but more often they are posted in public places.

Reviewing the Project Checklist: Tips for Creating Flyers and Brochures The project checklist on page 321 outlines the most important steps to take in designing a flyer. You need to make sure that you have all the facts about the event straight. You should storyboard your flyer, indicating roughly where words and images will go. Then think critically about your plan: Will the design grab and hold the readers’ attention?

Choosing Images for Your Flyer You will likely choose an image for your flyer that will grab readers’ attention; that illustrates the event itself (for example, by using an image of a scene from a play being held); or that is a logo for the organization or group putting on the event. See page 307 for suggestions about how to create or locate images that serve different kinds of functions.

Planning the Layout of Your Flyer You can use the basic principles of graphic design to adjust your flyer’s layout; see 19a. Using the principle of proximity, put elements—words, images—near one another when they are closely related. Use alignment to create consistency and express relationships between pieces of information. Repetition of design elements can assist in communicating information unobtrusively. Contrast can be used to highlight or prioritize information, and it adds visual interest. Refer to 19b and 19c for information on typography and the use of color.

Choosing Papers and Printers If you are planning to use your own printer for your flyers, experiment with a range of paper stock early in the process so you can decide whether your images and text need any special handling. Different papers will render colors differently, for example, depending on whether they are coated or textured, their brightness level (ranging from 87 to 110), their color, and their weight (from laser paper to cover stock). Words printed on glossy paper are somewhat more difficult to read when viewed from a distance, but the images will be brighter. Papers with matte finish work well for handouts to be distributed to people for personal reading and for flyers in which the legibility of the text is critical, as it often is.