For most companies, a brochure detailing your company information is a great way to get your products and company message out into the masses. Creating content for your brochure is the easy part. You know your company, what it stands for and its unique selling points… actually getting down to the nitty gritty and designing the brochure? That’s the tricky part.
The best option would be to hire a designer or reach out to a design company. However, especially in the current climate, your budget may not be able to stretch to hiring a professional to do the work for you. Below are some examples of the best software to use for DIY brochure designing.
Adobe InDesign
InDesign is the industry standard design tool and is considered the best in the business. It is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud software suite, so transferring between InDesign and other programmes in the suite is seamless.
An article in Smashing Magazine states that it’s the most flexible and complete application out there. With this software, you can arrange the workspace to whatever suits you, by keeping those tool-windows you constantly use and removing ones that have no use for your brochure. It is worth noting that InDesign isn’t for beginners. If you’ve never used it, it can be a steep learning curve and would need time to master, and it also comes at a cost of around £50 a month.
Scribus
Although not as flexible as Adobe Creative Cloud, it has impressive features and is free to use! It supports industry standard layouts and comes with over 200 colour palettes, supporting CMYK, RGB and spot colours. It’s also a lot less complex to use than Adobe, so if you were pushed for time and couldn’t get a budget sign-off, Scribus would do the job! According to this review on g2.com, the Scribus design presents a pleasant and orderly interface.
Canva
For non-professionals and simple brochures, Canva is a popular choice amongst do-it-yourself designers. It has a free version and a paid version with a lot more features. At only around £10 a month and with the option to cancel at any time, it’s perfect for those who are a little money-conscious.
Don’t want to pay? The free version still brings a lot to the table, with heaps of templates and editable content ideas. Beginners through to the more advanced would be able to get the most out of this software. You can only download your brochure as a PDF or images, so make sure these outputs would be suitable for your needs.
What should you do next?
Once you’re happy with the design, approach a quality company that offers a binding machine and achieve a highly premium and long-lasting finish to your brochures. After putting in all that work to showcase your company at its best, don’t get caught short wondering how best to print it! Whether you have the time to master InDesign, or use a template on Canva to get the job done quicker, do-it-yourself designing definitely has its perks!
