I took the three rough brochure designs which I thought had the most potential and worked them up into computer visuals which you can see below.

1. The first option I used the “O” from the logo which looked like an “on switch” and tried to make it look like when activated it would show all the features/benefits of Auto-Maskin

2. The second option I tried to combine a circuit board with waves to give the idea of controlling the waves

3. The third option used a shape similar to the “A” in the logo to show images relating to their industry

The first option was chosen to be developed. I was asked to introduce the circuit board image into this option and some more colour (blue) in addition to the black. The final brochure design can be seen below.

Following on from this I went on to design two further range brochures, adverts, screen savers as well as an exhibition design and product sheets following the same style which I will post about at a later date.

If you already have an existing logo design you may want to consider how well recognised it is. If it is already quite well known it may be worth considering evolving your existing logo rather than starting from scratch. This can bring your logo up to date whilst still retaining its recognition. There are different ways this can be done from using more modern typography to refining the image/icon if your logo has one.

If you are looking to commission a new logo try to get a clear picture in your head what you would like the logo design to portray. A questionnaire can be helpful to help you decide what you want. Take a look at the Roskell Design logo questionnaire which may help you clarify your logo design requirements.

A logo design can give a good first impression of a company and can create perceptions of a business. For example a small company which has a well designed logo can (if they wish) portray the impression of being a larger enterprise. This can also work the other way round if a large company deliberately wants to appear a smaller friendlier company.

If you do want to commission a logo design, make sure you use a reputable designer and be wary of designers offering cheap logos. A reputable designer will spend time thinking about your design individually, your logo design will be tailored specially towards your company. I have recently heard a horror story from a fellow freelance designer who took over design work from a company that had previously commissioned a cheap logo designer. The logo designer had used bits of clip art to create their logo which he had also used on other local company logos. It was only after the company had had their logo printed on all their stationery and vehicles that this was discovered. What was first considered a cheap logo had turned into an expensive mistake.

Your logo design will appear on all your literature, stationery and livery so its well worth making sure it’s right for your company.

Colour palette
Keep your basic colour palette to a minimum perhaps stick to two key colours, which will help to give your design a cohesive feel. If you need inspiration for a colour palette try colour lovers

Fonts
Try to stick again to a couple of fonts for your design and use different weights within that font family. For example you could choose a sans serif font (a font without the curly bits such as Arial or Helvetica) for your main heading and then your sub headings also in the same typeface but smaller and perhaps a different weight (bold). For your body copy (main text) you could use a serif font (with curly end bits such as Palatino or Times). For a main text size I would suggest anywhere around 9 or 10pt (larger if your target audience is mature adults/young children or people with poor sight)

Text Readability
If you are producing a brochure or newsletter you ideally don’t want the line width of your text to be too long, or too short as it becomes difficult to read. If your line length looks too long think about putting your text into columns which makes it more readable.

Images
As the old saying, a picture can tell a thousand words, adding images to your graphic design can enhance the look and create interest. There are many low cost and free options for finding imagery. If possible avoid clip art as it will tend to make your design look amateurish.

Grids
In general designs look better when everything lines up. Try to make sure elements of your design line up with other elements. If you are using several columns of text try and make the bottom lines of text line up to give a nice tidy finish. You can achieve this by adding in pictures to make your text fall to the right length. Pick up any magazine or brochure design you can find and you will see how the designer has lined things up.

Inspiration and Reference
If you have not designed much before start collecting brochures and magazines that you think are well designed. Look at why the design works, does it use strong typography, perhaps a large photo? Try and apply some of these elements to your design.

1. NUMBER OF PAGES
This refers to the number of sides to a brochure rather than the number of leaves. So for example the diagram below shows a 4 page A4 brochure design created by folding a single sheet of A3 paper in half.

2. TYPES OF BROCHURE BINDING
Brochures are mostly commonly bound in one of two ways

i) Saddle Stitch
This is when a brochure is stapled through the middle and can be used on brochures of up to 80 pages (depending on the paper thickness). Pages have to be in multiples of 4.

ii) Perfect Binding
This is when the left edges of the paper are glued and is ideal for larger brochures.

3. COMMON BROCHURE DESIGN FOLDS
Some possible folds suitable for brochure design are shown below. You can find further brochure design fold options here

4. BROCHURE DESIGN FORMATS
Some of the most commonly used brochure design formats are:

DL (99mm x 210mm)
For example a 6 page DL brochure will be a brochure created from a piece of A4 paper that has been folded into thirds on its long side.

A4 (210mm x 297mm)
Very commonly used for business brochure designs.

A5 (148.5mm x 210mm)
more economical than an A4 for postage cost if the brochure is going to be mailed out.

210 square (210mm x 210mm)
Sometimes used as an alternative to an A4 brochure design to stand out from standard A4 brochures.

5. DIE CUTTING ON BROCHURE DESIGN
A die cut is essentially when a brochure is created with a shape other than the usual straight lines which can be made with a guillotine. For example you could cut a circle out of the front page of a brochure to reveal an image on the page below or you could create a wavey instead of straight edge on some of the brochure sides.

6. BROCHURE LAMINATION
Sometimes the covers of brochures are laminated (clear film applied) in order to help keep them clean for longer. This is ideal if the brochures are going to be stored for a long time or handled a lot. Lamination is available in matt or gloss.

7. SPOT UV VARNISH ON PARTS OF A BROCHURE
If you have something on your brochure that you really want to stand out you could matt laminate the whole page/cover then pick out one item, for example a logo with a spot UV varnish. This will make the logo look glossy when the rest of the page is matt.

My brief from Perkz was to initially design the look for an A5 brochure, this style would be then followed through to the other elements. Perks wanted to look trustworthy/serious, but also fresh, modern and approachable (corporate handshakes etc were definitely a direction to avoid).

Stage 1: I began the design work as I usually do by looking at the websites of Perkz competitors, and then starting to brainstorm and sketch out ideas. I generally start looking at cover options first to get an overall feel for the design. Amongst other ideas I thought about the concept of a box full of goodies/the excitement of opening a parcel, employees standing at the end of a rainbow (waiting for the pot of gold) and the use of typography with a face and think bubble.

Stage 2: The next stage was to develop my preferred brochure design sketches into visuals created on the computer. Again I started with the cover designs and then when I was happy with these designed a sample inside spread. I presented cover designs and sample spreads for the different options to the client. The covers are shown below.

Stage 3: The client chose their preferred brochure design option and with a few minor amendments this option was then artworked, you can see the result below.

Stage 4: I then followed through this style to the design of the DL leaflet, poster design and powerpoint presentation.

David Tedford, Managing Director of Perkz, Northamptonshire, was very happy with the design work and kindly gave me this testimonial - “I was delighted with the work that Tara produced for us. It met our needs perfectly in terms helping us stand out from the competition and giving a more professional look to our literature whilst at the same time not compromising on our desire to remain a fun, fresh-faced organisation. Tara’s work has resulted in our most successful direct mail campaign to date. Tara was a joy to work with and I hope that we will work again soon.”

• Over 15 years experience in the design industry - more than many designers working for local design agencies in Northamptonshire.
• Experienced in a wide variety of design areas including: logo design, brochure and leaflet design, packaging design, exhibition panels.
• Lower overheads than a design agency - cost effective
• You speak directly to me, the designer, no talking to a middleman
• You are a big fish in a smaller pond. Every client is important to me. You can guarantee if you leave a message, or email, you will be called back as soon possible.
• Down to earth and easy to work with
• Straight talking - I will stick to your deadlines, I only believe in agreeing to deadlines that I know can be met. So if I promise your design visuals or artwork for a certain day then you can be confident I will deliver.

Take a look at my design portfolio or request a design quote to find out more.

As my previous post about the logo design process I asked In4systems some questions to find out the type of logo they were looking for. I then started looking at what their competitors logo designs looked like, which were generally fairly conservative. I began by sketching very loosely to generate ideas, try out shapes and designs. I felt it would be a good idea for the company to have a strap line or simple description line which encapsulates what the company does and so included this in the sketches. Once I was happy with some of the sketches I scanned them in.

I then began working up some of the logo designs, just in black and white at first so I could get a feel about how shapes and typography worked together without being distracted by colours.

Using the black and white logo designs that I felt were working the best I experimented with colour combinations and then presented these to the client.

The client made a few changes to their preferred design, the addition of shapes representing windows and a change of colour from orange to an additional shade of blue. The final designs are shown below

I was delighted just before Christmas to be invited by Computer Arts Projects Magazine to contribute an article with my views on logo design. My logo design article appears on the inside back cover “Last Word” in The Branding and logo edition of the magazine which was out in February.

It is an honour to be featured in one of my favourite design magazines.

• Your company name - as it should be used on the logo design
• Please provide a little information about what your company does
• What do you like/dislike about your current logo (if you have one)?
• Who are your competitors?
• “Look and feel” required such as contemporary/traditional/brash/minimal/corporate/fun/
• Any definite ideas you have about the logo design or examples of logo design you like/dislike?
• Your Target audience
• Colour preferences if any. Should the logo be single colour/two colour/full colour/no specific preference?
• How/where will the logo be used?
• Any other information you would like to add

These questions will form the basis of a brief which I can then start to work with.

Stage 2: Researching Logo Designs
I will generally (time and budget allowing) spend a little time looking at competitor logos and logo designs of companies working in similar fields.

Stage 3: Sketching Logo Ideas
The sketch stage is very important for logo design it allows me to explore different ideas quickly and fluidly. I will spend a considerable amount at this stage deciding what designs I think will work best and should be taken on to the next stage

Stage 4: Working up Sketches to Computer Generated Logo Designs
By this time I will have narrowed down my multiple pages of sketched logo ideas to the ones I think have the most potential and at this point I will scan them in and begin working them up on the computer. First I will work on the form and shape of the logo and how letter forms fit together. Once I am happy with the overall shape of the logo design I will experiment with colour combinations.

Stage 5: Logo Design Selection for Client Presentation
Once again I will narrow down the best computer generated logo designs and present them to the client for comment and discussion.

Stage 6: Chosen Logo Design is Refined
Once the client has chosen their preferred logo design, this will be refined and developed according to their requirements

Stage 7: Logo Finalisation and Artwork Supplied
When the Logo design is refined to the total satisfaction of the client it will then be supplied to the client in several different formats suitable for many uses. If stationery is also required then this will be the next stage of design development.