Depending upon a brochure designer’s background (what kind of organization they work for) their development approach will differ. Brochure designers include advertising agencies, graphic design firms, and freelancers. Typically, the best designs will come from a larger and more experienced agency, but the cost will certainly be higher too. Although cost is important, choosing an inexpensive freelancer to design your brochure could result in a total loss.

Finding the right balance between cost and quality is important. MG Lomb has nearly twenty years of experience designing brochures, for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Designing a great brochure means the topics discussed below have been considered.

Development topics to consider:

What Kind of Brochure?  Do you require a complex, extensive company overview brochure? A simple informational booklet or tri fold layout? Or something else? If your need is simple, and your budget small a freelance graphic artist (lowest cost) might suffice. But for serious companies with critical business objectives, a design firm or an ad agency are absolutely necessary. Why? To develop a professional brochure, the following people and professions are involved: a creative or technical writer, art director, photographer, legal reference, printer, and sometimes a business specialist. A freelancer is just one person and will not be able to handle a complex brochure. An agency or design firm is likely to have all of these skills covered, and can provide a team that works together regularly. When choosing a designer select wisely, and according to the task.

Content Development.  What information should your brochure provide to your customers?  Is it the right amount of information?  How is it categorized?  Is your brochure easy to read and clear?  Does it convey that you are the “best option” for your customers?  How are your competitors communicating to their customers?  When building a new brochure we commonly find that our clients’ content is either outdated or incomplete. It is necessary to rectify this issue before updating any new brochure. MG Lomb can help with your content development, so that your new brochure will clearly communicate who you are and what you do.

Paper, Multimedia or Both?  Although paper brochures are effective, a brochure is likely to have an electronic counterpart today – a website, an email formatted .PDF, or an interactive multimedia web-based version, complete with: sound, video, voice and interactivity. These examples are all brochures, even if they aren’t paper. Having a combination of these options can be helpful, so consider which variations will be needed. At the beginning stages of design, MG Lomb helps our clients to consider all of these options. This helps to maximize efficiency in production, and to plan in advance for any electronic versions you may need. 

Brand and Identity.  One of the most important variables of brochure design (often overlooked) is brand identity. Your brochure “is” your business, so there should be a clear visual graphics connection between it and everything else that visually represents your business. In other words, your website, your business cards, your signage, the things that say “This is Your Business” should all look like they came from the same company. Inexperienced designers and impatient clients alike sometimes oversimplify this and create ineffective marketing materials. Brand identity is variable that visually sets apart successful and unsuccessful businesses. Poor visual brand identity conveys a lack of sophistication, and the appearance of your company being cash strapped. If your visual brand is well developed, make sure you follow it. If it’s weak or non-existent, be sure to include some brand creative rework in your brochure project. See our section on Corporate Identity / Brand Development.

Value Propositions.  What’s so great about your product, service or business? If you’re going to develop a new brochure, then you’re going to need to know the answer … you’ll need to know what your value propositions are. These key points are what clearly state why your customers should choose you, over your competitors. Whether discussing a product, a service or just promoting your business in general … MG Lomb can help you to define your value propositions, as well as other important brochure content.

Written Content.  What’s written in your brochure needs to “sell” your business successfully; being grammatically correct is simply not enough. To achieve effective writing, an experienced writer is absolutely required (note: a writer is not a graphic designer, or vice versa). MG Lomb provides business oriented writing services. Part of developing new and effective written business content depends upon what you have available, as input. Most business people know precisely what their business does, but they’ve not considered how to get that information to a writer (so that the writer can understand it well enough to communicate the information to your customers). Also, during brochure development, the products, services and philosophies of your business often need to be scrutinized, to update and prioritize them. For these important reasons, a business savvy and experienced team like MG Lomb is needed to write your new brochure content. With MG Lomb doing the writing, what’s being communicated will represent your business accurately, professionally and effectively.

Printing Considerations.  If a printed version of your brochure is required a creative team with experience working with printers is needed. MG Lomb has designed hundreds of brochures and worked with hundreds of printers. To learn more about MG Lomb’s capabilities in managing your printing considerations see our section on Print Brokering.

Legal.  One variable that is frequently overlooked is legal considerations. Are the photographic images selected for your new brochure free from copyright restrictions, and use considerations? Are the trade names used in your written content correctly affixed with the lawfully registered trademarks? Is the general tone of your new written content such that it exposes you to lawsuits? If you’re unsure, you need to find out now. When working with MG Lomb, you can be assured that these and other important legal considerations will be considered.

If you’re looking for Rochester brochure design, MG Lomb is the most qualified to support your needs. Among those designing award winning Rochester brochures, MG Lomb is among the best.