For old design hands to the graphically challenged

If you have children, you'll understand that one of the most important gifts you can give them is the confidence to be themselves. It is the same with your business! One of the most important things you can do for your business is to help it stand out ... give it the confidence to be itself. If your customers' first contact with your business is through your posters or flyers, then they are the materials you need to give personality and style. Today we check out some of the best design tips for poster printing and flyer printing, that every designer from amateur to expert should remember.

1. Follow the KISS principle

That is, Keep It Simple & Sweet! Determine a single purpose for the existence of your poster printing or flyer printing, and ensure every element on the poster works towards that aim.

2. Create a colour scheme

Resist the temptation to add more colours. Set a full colour scheme of at least 4 – 5 colours to use when you begin, and try to ensure that any photography used has these colours dominating also.

3. No more than 50 words!

Posters and flyers should convey their messages with a minimum of reading. The design is mostly about the feeling - so use carefully chosen or purpose-created images to tell your viewers something, rather than trying to explain it in words. Few people will read poster printing or flyer printing with more than 50-100 words.

4. No more than 3 fonts

Too many different fonts and your poster printing or flyer printing will look jumbled. There will be no visual hierarchy. Remember also to make use of sizing, bolding and italics within the same font to indicate more important information.

5. For posters - use at least 48 point font for the heading

The actual point size will naturally vary depending on the particular font you use. You'll need to use a far larger decorative font that if you use Arial Rounded MT Bold. The ultimate aim is to make the poster printing readable from 6 metres away, and 48 point is a good place to start!

6. Create a centrepiece

You'll need a single visual element - either a central graphic or the title - that stands out above every other element. This is necessary whether you're poster printing or flyer printing - resist the temptation to 'balance' out all your sizing.

7. Ensure your images are large enough

Even if posters will generally be viewed from a distance, there's no excuse for using pixelated logos and photos! If you don't have a large enough version of your logo, check out some of the raster to vector image conversion services online.

8. Tell people what you want them to do

This is known as a 'call to action', and you'll find that although they can sound a little cheesy, without them flyer printing and poster printing is far less effective. If you are aiming to get bookings, tell people to call. If you want them to redeem a coupon, verbally invite them to do so.