6 Tips for Designing Eye-Catching Marketing Materials

The success of your direct mail campaign depends, in part, on how eye-catching and impactful the design is. Effective design attracts the attention of recipients, encouraging them to take a closer look and see what you have to say. 

Conversely, poor or unattractive design means your mailer is more likely to be overlooked. Recipients may assume that your business is unprofessional, that your services are low-quality, or that they wouldn’t be interested in your offer. 

An eye-catching design helps ensure a positive first impression, which is absolutely key in marketing. It increases your likelihood of customer acquisition and conversions, and improves your brand reputation.

However, just understanding the importance of good design is one thing; actually designing an attractive mail piece is another. That’s where Troi Mailing Services comes in. Our printing services in Toronto are the answer to all your design needs.

Our in-house team of graphic designers are ready to assist you in any way they can. We’ve also put together this article with six tips for creating eye-catching marketing materials.

1. Follow design principles

Whenever you begin designing anything, whether it’s a postcard or a flyer, you should reflect on the basic principles of design. These principles provide a roadmap to impactful, attractive, and effective composition.

1. Emphasis: Emphasis refers to the focal point and the order of importance of each element within the design. Size, colour/contrast, and font choice can be used to establish emphasis or dominance.
2. Balance: Balance is how elements are arranged and their visual weight. A balanced design is visually pleasing and calming, whereas an imbalanced design looks confusing and messy. Objects can be arranged in a symmetrical or asymmetrical design.
3. Contrast: When we talk about contrast in design, we’re speaking about the noticeable differences between visual elements. Contrast makes things “pop.” It establishes a distinction between objects and creates a sense of space or depth.
4. Unity: Unity can also be called harmony, as its goal is to create visual harmony. It refers to the relationship between individual parts of the composition. Alignment, continuation, proximity, repetition, and rhythm contribute to a sense of unity or variety.
5. Scale: Scale or proportion is the visual size and weight of elements and how they relate to each other. You can use scale to create a focal point or a sense of movement.
6. Movement: Movement is the visual path a viewer’s eyes follow. It can help ensure information is properly communicated to your audience, since it guides them to different areas in the intended order.
7. White Space: White space, aka negative space, is the empty area in the composition. Despite being made up of nothing, it’s very important. It creates hierarchy and organization. Plus, it helps prevent visual overwhelm.

Many of the following tips are related to these seven key principles.

2. Choose colour scheme wisely

If you want your marketing material to “pop,” start with colour. Colour can help your material stand out in the mail. Bright and bold colours grab the attention of recipients, announcing that you have important news to share. Additionally, a unique colour scheme means your mailer looks different from the competition, so you stand out even more.

There are several factors to consider when choosing the colour scheme for your marketing materials. The first is colour psychology. Different colours impact our emotions in unique and useful ways. Consequently, you can shape someone’s reaction and perception simply through your choice of colour.

For example, red implies excitement, passion, or importance, whereas blue stirs up feelings of trust, calm, and harmony. That’s why red is often the colour of choice for sale announcements.

Alternatively, you can design using your brand’s colours. This helps increase brand recognition and recall. Recipients will begin to associate certain signature colours with your organization.

3. Select fonts strategically

When it comes to fonts, less is more. Don’t use more than two or three font types, as this can create visual clutter and confuse readers. Smaller marketing materials, like postcards, shouldn’t use more than two. 

You may think that choosing an elaborate typeface is an easy way to make your mailer more eye-catching. However, this isn’t usually the case. Complex fonts are harder to read and can appear unprofessional, meaning they’re just as likely to repel recipients as attract them.

Large text signifies immediately that certain information is important. Consequently, it can help catch the attention of recipients. The mailer should only contain two or three different font sizes, as well as styles, all of which must be easy to read. 

4. Utilise white space effectively

White space (negative space) is one of the key design principles, and it has a significant impact on the effectiveness of your marketing materials. It’s also one of the easiest elements to overlook.

Business owners often want to add as much information as possible to their direct mail pieces. Although this is an understandable impulse, it can become very problematic, especially on smaller materials like postcards. It’s very easy to create an overcrowded design that’s off-putting rather than eye-catching. Negative space, therefore, is critical.

Negative space gives your design room to breathe. It prevents your mailer from appearing cluttered, overwhelming, and unprofessional. Furthermore, white space can guide readers to important information, add emphasis, and improve comprehension.

5. Include high-quality visuals

High-quality visuals are key to eye-catching designs. These can be professional photographs or illustrations—just make sure they’re high-resolution and worthy representations of your brand. If the file sizes are too small, then they won’t look good once printed.

The images should resonate with your target audience and convey quality and professionalism. Avoid using clip art, as these can appear lazy and uncreative. It’s best to hire a professional photographer, graphic designer, or illustrator to produce top-tier visuals that attract attention and showcase your brand in the best light.

Printing also impacts the appearance of images. Even if you select high-resolution, vibrant, and professional visuals, the end result will disappoint if the printers aren’t up to the task. That’s why Troi Mailing Services works alongside Timeline Printing, a professional printing company with more than 35 years of industry experience.

6. Use a unique material or size

One of the reasons why direct mail remains a powerful marketing tool is because it’s tactile. Recipients have to sort through their mail by hand, physically interacting with each flyer, brochure, and postcard.

As a result, you can stand out simply by choosing a unique material or size. If your mailer looks and feels different, it’s more likely to pique their interest and warrant a closer look.

Unique paper thicknesses, gloss, material, and size can effortlessly enhance your designs and increase your campaign’s effectiveness. Ask the commercial printing team at Troi Mailing Services for more ideas! For many years, we have been offering professional printing services in Toronto and are more than happy to give you the help you need.

Need help with design? Ask Troi Mailing Services!

Effective and eye-catching design is crucial to the success of your direct mail campaigns. 

Fortunately, Troi Mailing Services offers superior printing services in Toronto that will meet and exceed your needs. Our expert design team produces impactful designs that gain responses and adhere to postal formatting guidelines. 

Furthermore, we can assist with every step of your next campaign, from creating the marketing materials to analyzing the results. Choose our printing services in Toronto for your marketing materials and get ready to watch your brand skyrocket! 

To learn more about our printing services in Toronto, call Troi Mailing Services at 1-866-486-9350 or contact us online.