Are the documents being designed for your organization getting tossed or getting attention? Whether you're creating a business card, poster, brochure, advertisement, newsletter or proposal, effective design can be the difference between sale and fail.
The look and feel of your print communications determines your ability to connect with your audience. Whether your goal is to inform, motivate or persuade, printed pieces most often deliver the first impressions for your organization in the marketplace. Do yours say cluttered and disorganized, or competent and professional? To improve the design of your organization's print communications, consider these graphic design tips:
- Use one font throughout; never more than two. Varying the size/style is fine within the font family, when done conservatively.
- Use sans serif type in headlines and serif type in text. Sans serif is more difficult to read in small sizes.
- Use captions under pictures; they are always read more than body copy.
- Use normal punctuation as in the editorial pages of newspapers and magazines; it is familiar and doesn't get in the way of understanding.
- Use italics for emphasis sparingly.
- Avoid hard-to-read typefaces even if they create the mood you prefer. Readability and legibility are more important.
- Use upper case only on the first words of headlines and for proper nouns. Avoid all caps--they are proven harder to read.
Body Copy Do's and Don'ts
- DO set body copy in 10-point minimum. Anything smaller is too hard for most to read.
- DO break up long copy. Use frequent paragraphs and subhead to break thoughts into bullets.
- DO keep copy areas together on a page or panel to guide the reader.
- DO use drop capitals; it seems to increase readership.
- DO set text flush left.
- DO keep opening paragraphs brief; long ones can be intimidating.
- DO use white space between the lines; DON'T set "tight."
- DON'T print text over tint blocks. Colored backgrounds reduce readability.
- DON'T print text over photographs.
- DON'T set body copy in reverse.
For more tips on writing copy or graphic design, call us at (517) 333-0713.