All about Leaflet Design
What is a leaflet?Leaflets are a type of open letter or postcard, designed to be handed
out to people, either by hand, by post, inserted in local newspapers for distribution, left invenues, shops, restaurants, cafes, libraries… ANYWHERE where they will catch a person’s eye.Why produce a leaflet?A leaflet gives you a chance to put across your argumentand to draw attention to your organization, cause or event. A leaflet also gives you the space topresent your ideas clearly and with graphical impact. Furthermore as people can take your leaflethome with them, it means they have more time to absorb to your message and to keep a visual reminderof it. Indeed, once distributed, the leaflet may end up being read by many more people that theperson it was handed to, widening its impact still further.Designing a leaflet - thebasicsLeaflets are for delivering useful, reusable information. The size and shape ofthe leaflet is a major factor in its success. A leaflet that people can’t fit easily into a pocketor a bag will be thrown away. Take a piece of paper out of your printer. It should be A4. Now foldit in half, that’s known as A5, now fold it in half again, that’s what A6 looks like. Leafletsare normally created from a single sheet of paper, folded in half (to A5) or in three (to A6). Mostleaflets start life as sheets of A4 paper - your design should also start there. Leaflets may seemsuitable for audiences who don’t read much or well. However, well-written material will alwaysenable people to make more informed judgments quickly. Don’t cram it with text. People won’tread it. Instead aim for clarity, strong argument and quality.Designing a leaflet - stepby stepWhen designing a leaflet, you are expressing yourself not only with words butalso with pictures and graphics. How you present these pictures and graphics will also contribute tothe way readers perceive their importance.There are four clear tasks in the design of aleaflet.1. Decide what you want to sayYou must be clear in mind about thepoint you want to make. Though you have lots of space in a leaflet you still want it to be clear andpersuasive. If the leaflet is being produced by a group, you should discuss this overall concepttogether.2. Text editingSomeone needs to write the text or choose bits ofother people’s text that are particularly effective and put these together to make up the text foryour leaflet. Remember, your text must bea) Persuasive,b) Interesting toread, andc) Catchy and memorable. Format your text to make it punchy. Use shortparagraphs and mark them with headings. Use bullet-pointed lists which are easy to read. You canpull out single lines and highlight them in a different font size or color to make a strongpoint.3. Picture designMake sure your pictures help to get your messageacross. Commonly you may choose to usea) Pictures from official sources such as NGOs,b) Pictures that you drew or created yourself,c) Pictures taken with a digitalcamera,d) Pictures downloaded from the internet, ore) Powerful graphics suchas graphs. Make sure you have permission to reuse these pictures for your leaflet, though.4. Layout designThe layout of your leaflet needs to be thought out very carefully.Work out with the rest of the group what text and pictures you will have. Using a piece of plainpaper sketch out:* Where blocks of text will go* Where headings will go* Where pictures will go* How big the various bits will be Try to think ofcolors for the text and background, too.5. Make a bookletImagine an A5leaflet. Effectively it has a front and back cover and a two page spread inside. The front coverlends itself to a single, powerful statement and a hard-hitting graphic to support the leaflet’stitle. These should be gripping enough to make anyone want to read on. On page two you can set outthe problem: for instance, the situation against which you are campaigning. On page three, rightopposite, you can explain what you are trying to do about the situation on page two - and how, whenand where.Finally, on the back cover, tell us about yourself and your organization.Don’t forget to include contact details for people who want to know more or want to get involved.If you are working in association with another organization, be sure to mention them. See if you canadd their logo to your flyer. Their support will add authority to your efforts.6. PCsand printingYou will need to type and design your leaflet on a computer. For typing andformatting text, you will need a word processing program such as MS Word. Later versions of thisprogram will also handle basic graphics. More experienced computer users may prefer to usespecialist graphics programs such as Quarkxpress or Adobe Photoshop for the design process. If youdo not have a computer yourself, or do not have a friend or colleague who will lend you theirs, headfor your local library where you can get internet access and a PC to use for free. Though it ispossible to print off your leaflets on a computer, it will be a long and laborious process.Furthermore your computer’s printer may not handle graphics and colors well.Your bestbet will always be to give the job to a professional. Any small printer will print, cut and foldyour leaflets and may even help you with design. There will be a charge for this service so get acouple of quotations from different printers. Remember too that a quotation is just that. See if youcan get these prices reduced if you supply your own artwork, order a smaller (or larger print run)or reduce the weight of the paper you are printing on. They may even offer you a discount if theyagree with your cause.7. A word about printingFinally be aware of thefollowing:* All printers will cut your leaflet to size, so you must leave a “bleedmargin”. This is a space of 2mm around the edge of your design which can be lost in the cutting.Don’t run any text into this space.* If the quality of an image is too low, itscorners will “pixel ate” and go jagged. Your images should be saved as 300 dpi and preferablystored as JPG or TIF files.* If you paper is too thin, heavy colors from one side of the paperwill leak through to the other.Did this guide help? Do you have other things you need toknow? Do you have some tips we could add? Let us know.
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