- Let's talk about printed matter and size.
As we discussed previously,
the rise of digital communication,
increased pressure on the importance of printed matter.
Once designers printed everything
from a company phone directory to informational brochures,
now, much of the most mundane information lives online.
Anything printed has a new significance.
Regardless of the content,
we expect it to be practical, unique,
or necessary if it's published.
Format in this setting is the size,
proportion, number of pages and purpose of a deliverable.
A printed item can be a multi folded sheet,
and oversized newsprint publication,
or a booklet among hundreds of other options.
Designing something that will stand out
from the other printed material is job one.
Consider this, when I get home after a long day
and find a pile of junk mail, I just want to ignore it.
I have enough menus from local restaurants
and flyers from the grocery store,
so I throw everything out.
Or when I go to a conference,
I end up with a tote bag of items
and I need to decide what is worth keeping and shipping home
and what ends up in the hotel trash bin.
Unless something stands out
as unique or special out it goes.
Here, size matters.
Something that isn't a standard letter
or business or envelope size will stay on my desk longer.
A good rule in design
is to stay away from the expected and ordinary.
Anything that doesn't get lost
with the rest of the typical format sizes has an advantage.
Even shaving one half of an inch off a side
makes a difference.
There will always be multiple factors
that point to the appropriate format.
How much and what kind of information is there?
Does it mail or is it handed out?
What is the budget?
How is it used?
One brochure or a booklet
may work perfectly on a refrigerator door,
another smaller size can fit in a shirt pocket.
The most successful examples feel special
are easy to use and are relevant to the content.
One of my least favorite brochures
was a piece that folded down like a map.
The content had nothing to do with a map format
and I couldn't fold it back correctly.
After multiple tries, I gave up and threw it away.
Annoying the user is a bad idea.
Smaller items such as the size of a postcard
are effective and feel personal.
A multi-page brochure
can take on the characteristics of a book.
Few people enjoy destroying books,
so these have a good chance of being saved.
Prominent tabloid sized publications,
communicate confidence and boldness.
They are perfect when you need to accommodate
a large amount of information or the message needs volume.
If I find a brochure, booklet, or publication
with an exciting size or format, I save it in a box.
I don't need to love the designer content,
does it fold compellingly?
Is it a size that I noticed?
Do I like the paper?
Is the binding unique?
So to recap, work with a unique format and size
that is different from every other brochure
or booklet in the world.
Don't make something
that is a wildly complex paper sculpture,
impossible to open or close.
Take chances and do something unexpected, a tiny brochure,
a giant broadside or anything that is fun to find
and you would want to keep.