Leaflet Design

GDES2012 – Graphic Information Design

Concept development – Leaflet

Part of the brief was to update and simplify the existing tour leaflet. My idea’s are based around the nature & wildlife of the region, as well as the organic nature of the regions cider production.

The criteria suggested that the leaflet should use an A3 page, but that the format could be determined by ourselves. I spent some time looking at various different folding options on the internet as well as trying a few out myself that I thought might suit design.

I tried a variety of different folding techniques to determine the format and style of my design

The original was folded in half then half again, effectively creating 4 individual pages (cover, rear cover & 2 inner pages) which resulted in an A5 sized leaflet.

The outer pages of the original leaflet (folds to A5 format)

The map spread of the original tour leaflet

The pages of the original flyer were very information heavy and so I have simplified this by only including necessary information, placing more emphasis on family activity, walks & cycle routes.

I narrowed down my selection based on the audience requirements and it’s purpose and the content. Some of the formats were a little too fussy or resulted in the pages being to small, so I incorporated user testing to find out how potential readers would handle the format. I handed a few of the folded mock ups to friends and family and observed how they unfolded then and how they viewed it. I found that with the 6 page format that all users unfolded the way I intended and liked the slight smaller format, some commenting that it felt like a CD cover which they liked. I therefore that my flyer would fold smaller than the original, creating 6 pages with the inside being a gatefold of the map & the featured towns.

This is the format I selected after user testing, it creates 6 outer pages with one large gatefold centre page

The inner gatefold. Another consideration was that there are 5 towns on the trail, as well as the map which neatly distributes into the 6 sections and so looks neat when unfolded.

The elements that make up the design of my finalised flyer are as follows:

Colour Scheme

The main colour scheme is taken from cider apples (red & green)
A subtle background pattern is based on the star shape that the seeds leave when an apple is cut in half sideways
Each town is colour coded and this is also reflected on the map with individual location markers

Covers

Photograph of the Teme Valley, with Elgar’s portrait overlaid to imply his significance to the region
Typography modern in style
Typeface (Panton) customised to create a valley shape between the V & the A
Rear cover features Malvern District Council contact details
Large web address
Apple image due to regional cider production

Inner pages

Typeface Avenir throughout as readability & legibility is good, plus it offers versatility with it’s numerous weights
Typeface Panton used for all headings
Background llustrations used to create visual interest
Wildlife page added to engage readers both young & old and to encourage them to look out for the nature & wildlife in the area
Photography of areas of interest throughout the tour

Gatefold

The 6 page folding method means that the 5 towns + the map could be placed symmetrically
Colour coding to identify each town
QR codes & instruction on how to use it
Key for colour coded Walks & cycle routes
Time Valley Tour logo as visual identifier, used to create a visual system

The following pictures show the development of my sketchbook ideas into illustrator.

Layout options for tour leaflet

Time Valley cider heritage

My original test print, you can see here my notes for amendment

Further test prints on higher quality paper revealed further need for amendment

Cover & format development

The finalised leaflet which shows Elgars portrait over the Teme Valley area, his land of “hope & glory”

The inner pages of the flyer which better shows the format & folding method

This shows the inner page which reveals the region map & towns that feature on the tour

Final Flyer layout

Teme Valley brief – Research

Time Valley Trail Leaflet

Part of the brief is to redesign the existing ‘Teme Valley Trail’ folding leaflet, so before starting on the design elements I decided to take a look at folding techniques, both creative and more traditional.

The leaflet currently folds out to reveal an A3 spread which features the main tour map as well as information regarding the area and towns on the tour. It is currently very information heavy and quite dated in it’s looks.

Considerations:

The sample text from the supporting document should be included.
Use clear grid & column structure.
Consider use of pictograms or informational diagrams to help put across the content.
Could tie in wildlife, nature, local foods & drinks into the theme.
A general want of the client is to have more visual interpretation/dynamism/pictograms on the leaflet & less text.
2 sides of A3 to work with.
Consider audience when looking at format. i.e. cyclist may have a pouch to read quickly from the handlebars of a bike. Walkers may want it to fold small for pocket, perhaps like a train timetable.
There are 5 areas to be included on the leaflet – Tenbury Wells, Bromyard, Broadheath, Great Witley & Cleobury Mortimer. (this may help determine the number of folds or sides created by folds that are needed.

Examples of folding techniques/possibilites:

I looked at a number of folding styles from creative to more traditional. I think for the purposes of this brief, the more creative designs may be a little too out there, They often seem to be used for promotional purposes in the “creative” arena such as promoting an event or an exhibition, or even self promotion.

As this brief is aimed at an audience who’s main interest is navigation of the area and information on things to see & do, I feel the more traditional approach is best suited.

Examples of folding techniques

Creative use of fold to create visual interest

This would fold to A6 in size, so would be very pocketable.

Creative fold of a map

Added features

Once I started creating mock-up flyers using some of the different folding techniques that I researched, I discovered that I would end up with more pages than I needed in terms of the information I have to include from the supporting document.

I decided it might be interesting to include a few different elements to the design to engage with the audience a little. For example a page directing the audience to look out for wildlife along the route.

Therefore I researched a few of the different species of bird, butterfly, insect and wild flowers that can be seen in the area.