Seth's Blog: Q: What do you think of my brochure

Q: What do you think of my brochure

A: The thing you must remember about just about every corporate or organizational brochure is this:
People won't read it.

That's right. People won't read it.

Seth has a good post on the viability of your brochure and what it really means to create one.

People won't read it. But you can get them to look at it... with great images and compelling design. Compelling design with crap images... not gonna do it. Great images with average design... has a better shot actually. People like pictures.

People won't read it. That is one of the most important reason to get the best images possible for your brochure. Seth has a good list of things to do to make it a better brochure. Read the post.

I would of course add that great imagery can make all the difference in the world. Where do you get great imagery?

1. Off the internet for a buck?
2. From one of those image sharing sites?
3. From a trained and professional photographer with vision?

Uhhh... answer is 3. In most every case.

Are there good images at some of the free or nearly free sites? Sure, but you are finding an image to 'fit' your work instead of creating a work that enhances you work. Yes, there is a difference.

When I design a brochure the first thing I do is to nail down a photography budget. If they have no money for great photography I can (and have) reject the job if I feel it is what is needed to make the brochure sing.

Are there times and clients where getting a $3 image is appropriate? Yeah, I guess. Small, small business or maybe for backgrounds - even some web use. But if you are investing in premium paper, 6-7 color inks, truly unique design and think that you can 'get off' with some crap you snagged off Flickr... well, that is so wrong on so many levels.

There are some incredible shots on Flickr, and Slide and Loop and the myriad of Photoblogs that can astound. If one of those images truly gets you going and that is the image you want, then I will concede that contacting the photographer and Paying for use is fine. (This works so much better if the brochure only needs one image. That way the vision is at least consistant.) I just believe that in most cases a unique image, viewpoint, vision, style will make the brochure connect at a slightly higher level.

Seth's Blog: Q: What do you think of my brochure: "At its best, a brochure is begging for someone to judge you. It says, 'assume that because we could hire really good printers and photographers and designers and writers, we are talented [surgeons, real estate developers, whatever]' And more often than not, people do just that."