We tend to talk a great deal about all of the things that you should do in your print marketing campaign for maximum effectiveness. You always want to make sure that your message is clear and concise and make sure that your pages are designed in a way where you can naturally control the flow of how people are taking in your important information. As a change of pace, we thought it would be fun to talk about some of the things you SHOULDN’T do if you want to unlock the maximum value of your campaign.
A good piece of print marketing material is an incredible investment, but a bad one will quickly have the exact opposite reaction that you intended.
Remember the End Product – Particularly Its Size
Unlike the old days, most print marketing materials today are designed on a computer. After all, it’s never been easier to get the exact look that you want with just a few, quick clicks of your mouse. One of the most important things to keep in mind, however, is that the way a material looks on a crystal clear HD computer screen can be quite a bit different from the way it looks in real life if you’re not careful.
More specifically, pay attention to the font size that you choose to use – particularly if your print material is something that you’ll be blowing up to a much larger size later. Even small printing looks perfectly legible when you’re sitting a few inches away from a 1080p computer monitor. When you print out the banner or other item that you’ve just designed and blow it up to its intended size, though, you may find out that the small font size you chose to fit as many words on the page as possible is suddenly impossible to read unless you move closer. You can pretty much guarantee people who are just going about their busy lives are not going to take the time to slow down and move in closer to your marketing.
Forgetting to Account for Light
Any print marketer will spend a huge amount of time making sure that their materials look and feel just right. You’ll go over everything with a fine-toothed comb and may even spring for that extra glossy paper to really sell the look of professionalism you’re trying to get across. If your print material is going to be hanging in a well lit area like a store window, however, you may want to skip the glossy paper for a very important reason.
Forgetting to account for the lighting in the environment where the material will be viewed is a disaster you want to avoid at all costs. At worst, the shine from something like the sun on a glossy window banner will make it difficult to read. At just the right angle, it can actually create a dangerous situation for drivers who suddenly have the full force of the sun beaming directly into their eyes.
Always remember where your material will be viewed and under what conditions when designing.
These are just a few of the things that we think you need to keep in mind when designing your print marketing materials for maximum effect. Remember, it isn’t just your message that is important – it is ultimately who will be viewing those materials, how they’ll be exposed to them, and under what conditions this will happen that you also have to focus on for the best results.
