Before creating a booklet, start with a concept! You want to print your booklets. Keep this in mind from the start, as nothing can be changed after printing. Unlike an online presence, where you can continuously correct minor errors or modify and adjust content, a booklet is unchangeable post-printing. Booklets, like catalogues or books, are a high-quality print product and can be relatively costly. Thus, a preliminary concept is the most crucial work in booklet creation and design.
Establish Purpose and Strategy Initially, determine the purpose of your booklet. Is it an image booklet or product information? This decides the content for your business card in booklet form. How extensive should the booklet be and what should be its circulation? Which images enhance the impact of the information, what is the booklet’s central theme, how do you intend to guide the reader through the booklet? What story do you want to tell?
Always Focus on Your Target Audience Knowing your target audience means understanding their needs, concerns, and desires. Your booklet should show how you can satisfy these customer desires. Only if the reader feels directly addressed will they find your booklet interesting, read it, and, ideally, contact you. Picture your target audience as a person, with all external and internal characteristics. This not only keeps your target audience in mind but also eases the formulation of content with a direct approach.
Informative, Entertaining, and Durable Content Since booklets are often printed in high-quality, limited editions and are cost-intensive, they should be durable. Avoid content that quickly loses relevance. Focus on core content and competencies that accurately and enduringly describe your company, products, and services. For instance, if you want to promote an event or offer a special discount, consider creating a flyer instead.
Key Design Tips for Booklet Design Once you know your booklet’s purpose and have identified the information and content it should contain, you can proceed with the design. Here are some essential tips to guide you.
Choosing the Right Booklet Format A booklet can come in various formats. It could be a folder, a multi-page flyer, or a small booklet bound with staples or glue. Depending on your booklet’s purpose, choose the appropriate format. Typically, a booklet is a multi-page booklet bound with a cover of similar material. Single or double pages with a central fold are the most common formats.
The Extent Booklets usually have a limited extent. You’re not presenting a book to your target audience but highlighting the key information and content that defines your company. Align the extent with that of small notebooks.
Designing the Booklet – Structure Your booklet’s cover is the first thing the reader sees. Design it with recognisability, incorporating key elements like your logo, company name, and a striking graphic or image representing your company. For the first inside page: don’t overwhelm your customers. Start with a table of contents, a structure, an image, maybe your photo or a team photo. The second inside page is the most important. Here, you present the central theme. This is where you still have the reader’s attention. Engage them, keeping the company presentation secondary. On the following pages, introduce yourself and your company, highlight the advantages of your offerings. Include current market studies, provide an outlook on your company’s future development.
Choosing Paper for the Booklet The paper choice depends on the content. For example, if your booklet has many images, consider using special photo printing paper. For text-heavy booklets, cheaper paper may suffice. The paper quality should match your services and products. If you’re in a high-priced sector, don’t opt for cheap paper. Also, consider how the paper’s colour and texture (matte, glossy, cotton, etc.) affect the appearance of colour and text. The tactile feel also matters, as the customer holds the booklet and expects a pleasant touch. Read more about choosing paper in our article: Creating & Designing Flyers – Essential Design Tips for 2019.
Creating Booklets – Images and Colours When designing the booklet, use high-quality images and graphics for visual enhancement and varied reading flow. Many messages can be conveyed through an image, infographic, or box. Remember to use high-resolution images for printing. For online booklets, the opposite applies – keep the resolution as low as possible to maintain a small file size. Use the colours of your website or brand in the booklet to increase its recognisability.
Coloured or Black-and-White? Of course, colours make a booklet more appealing and leave a deeper impression than purely black-and-white designs. But you can mix. For pages with more text than images, consider black-and-white printing to reduce costs. Sometimes, black-and-white images can be more impactful. Experiment and see what works best!
Selecting the Font Readability is paramount in font selection. Have a lot of text? Avoid decorative fonts, as they are challenging to read. They can be eye-catching in headlines, though. It can be tough for a non-professional to find the right typography. Seek advice from professional graphic designers. They have trained eyes and years of experience in the impact and arrangement of different fonts. Tip: Avoid too many different font types. Stick to a maximum of two font families to keep your booklet from appearing restless and chaotic.
Booklet Creation – Templates and Programs Once you have the concept, selected images, and decided on the format, material, and colour scheme, it’s time for implementation. You can create your booklet using Word, use online booklet templates, free tools to create your booklet online, or use specific graphic programs – like creating the booklet with InDesign. booklet printing
Creating Booklets with Word You probably use Microsoft Word a lot, and this program also allows for the creation of booklets and flyers. However, it’s best avoided for this purpose. While not a bad text editor, it’s not designed for booklet layout. Many design desires are difficult or impossible to implement, and professional printing standards are hard to achieve with Word. Use Word for a first draft, but use specialised programs for actual booklet design.
Online Booklet Templates Many providers offer online templates and tools for booklet creation. Here, you can choose from different design templates and compile your booklet. Places for images and text are selectable, often with many symbols and graphic elements. Such toolkits are practical but can never create as unique a design as an agency or a professional graphic designer.
Creating Booklets with InDesign Professionals use InDesign for booklet design. It’s particularly suited for creating print layouts and offers creative freedom. However, this program is not free and requires learning its nuances. Whether you invest time in learning InDesign and other Adobe programs like Photoshop and Illustrator is up to you. For a high-quality print product like a booklet, we always recommend outsourcing this work to a professional agency. This saves time, nerves, and ultimately unnecessary costs, ensuring the highest quality!
Printing the Booklet Speaking of printing, you’ll ultimately need to print the booklet. This applies if you’re not offering it solely online. Adhere to print templates such as a print-suitable colour scheme (CMYK instead of RGB), bleed, and a suitable format (PDF). It’s also important that the print shop receives precise instructions on the print run size, page arrangement, and binding type. Coordinate with the print shop beforehand and rely on their experience. Discuss the binding type with them too. The professionals know best, for example, whether the desired glue binding is right for your booklet.
Distributing Booklets Once the booklets arrive, ensure they don’t end up in a box of promotional materials like many other, possibly outdated, catalogues. Trade shows and events are ideal for distributing booklets. Always carry a few copies with you. You never know who you might meet in everyday life. Then you’ll have not only business cards but also the right image or product booklet to impress and convince your potential new customers!
