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Designing Eye-Catching Promotional MaterialsContest Tips | Design Tips | Self-Editing Tips |
By Tracy Cozzens When it comes to publicizing your book, a little bit of graphic-design knowledge will go a long way. Keeping a few guidelines in mind will help you create promotional materials which catch the reader's eye and get your message across. I've collected a lot of publicity material (the stuff goody bags are made of) over the years. I built my collection with an eye toward someday being published and borrowing some of the ideas. In the world of graphic design, this isn't considered stealing. Invariably I adapt the ideas to suit myself, and the finished product often bears scant resemblance to the sample I started with. As a consumer (reader), I would much prefer to read well-designed and "unoriginal" publicity materials than too original, poorly designed ones. In other words, if you don't know where to begin, find a sample with an appealing design and start from there. Take a look at some of the postcards, bookmarks, and flyers you've seen to publicize works of fiction. Which ones catch your eye? Try to understand what makes them stand out. Which ones did you flip right past? Chances are these items—if they're anything like ones in my collection-violate one or more of the basic rules of design. They're confusing, hard to read, a jumble of information, and lack a clear message. Typefaces: More Isn't Better Now that most of us have jazzy new computers and printers with two bazillion typefaces, we can't resist using as many of them as possible. It's just so darned fun! Resist the temptation. Limit yourself to two or three typefaces in one product. Too many are distracting and muddy up the message. It works well to use one font family for text and a completely different one for headlines. A font family encompasses the regular, bold, condensed, and italic faces of the same name. Try choosing one serif font family for body copy (your description) and a serif font family for headlines. serif: Times Roman is an example. It's easy to read because serifs (flourishes at the ends of the strokes) help differentiate individual letters and guide the eye across the line. This is a good for body copy, which should be from 8 to 14 point in size. sans serif : Helvetica is the best-known example. Without the serifs, these are easiest to read in large "headline" sizes and where space is at a premium, such as captions or lists. (Both these paragraphs are in the same size type, but this one seems larger.) One kind of serif typeface is script. These can be quite elegant, adding distinction to your design. However, a little goes a very long way. Romance authors often seem to think they should publicize their romances in a flourishing romantic style. Can you imagine an entire page filled with type like this? I've seen it. But I won't read it. Neither will potential readers. When it comes to fancy fonts, stick to headlines of no more than a half-dozen words. Less is always more. Similarly, large sections of bold or italic text are hard to read. Use bold type for emphasis or to draw attention to a particular word. Once you choose your typefaces and design your product, put it to the test. Read your page (or postcard or bookmark). If your type gets in the way of your message (that you've written a great book which is now for sale!), you need to rethink your typefaces. Get your punctuation right. With computers, we're past the era when we needed to substitute punctuation marks for the "real typeset deal." For instance, instead of using two hyphens to indicate a long dash--like this, use a real long dash—like this. I always notice this when I read what otherwise appears to be professionally designed and printed material. The same goes for "quote marks" facing the correct direction, and actual · bullets, rather than using small o (for me, those just beg to be colored in!). Also, to mimic professional typesetting, use only one space after a period, even if you use two when typing your novel manuscript. Most word processing programs enable you to use actual typesetting symbols. Check your manual. Here's another way: PC: Hold down the ALT key and type a zero on the numeric keypad followed by the ASCII Character Code.
“ 147 MAC:
“ = option [
Give it space. Don't crowd every word you can onto the back of your bookmark
or postcard. White space opens up a design, inviting the reader in, and makes
your design look neat, appealing, and professional (instead of appearing
as if you just couldn't decide what to edit out!).
Text set flush left (like this) is easier to read than
text set flush right, where the eye doesn't know where to begin on each line.
Watch your type size. Don't make it too small in order to cram
in more text or your copy gets very hard to read! 11, 12,
or even 13 point is ideal for body copy (your main description).
Watch the length of your lines relative to the size of your type. A line
should run 55 to 60 characters. Too long a line tires the eyes, while
Above all, remember: LESS IS MORE.
If you're using a computerized file of your cover or other illustration,
make sure it's a TIF or BMP file, not a JPG or GIF. JPG and GIF formats were
designed for web pages, not printers. They look great on screen, but usually
appear raggedy when printed.
Don't use every cute piece of clip art you come across. If you use more than
one piece of clip art, try to choose ones which are in the same or similar
styles, as if a single artist drew them. Too many styles appears amateurish.
Again, remember: LESS IS MORE.
Paper stock: Keep your reader's eyesight in mind
Colors can be fun, but make sure the type is readable. Studies have shown
that the most readable design is the everyday high-contrast black type on
white paper. Off-white, buff, and light gray paper can add class and distinction.
Going too far, into a very dark mauve or bright purple for instance, might
make your paper stand out. But how many readers will bother struggling to
read the text?
If you're making bookmarks, choose a heavy stock (such as card stock). It
should be able to stand up to typical wear and tear. My favorite
bookmarks—always heavy stock—I reuse again and again. Besides being
of heavy paper, they usually have a nice white edge which I can use to
horizontally underline the text I'm reading (I do this when I'm tired, or
am interrupted mid-page.) Too much text on a bookmark is a huge distraction
for me, and I won't use the bookmark for its intended purpose. A well-designed
bookmark can be an ideal advertising medium. When a reader uses one, she
is looking at your product and your name a dozen times or more. |
