A brochure is something you pick up and open in a sequence. On a web page the reader scrolls wherever they like; in a brochure you set the order. That is why the first decision is not colour or typeface but the fold — it determines which information appears at which move.
Choose the fold first, then design
Three patterns cover most work. A bi-fold opens like a booklet and gives four panels, which suits longer copy and generous imagery. A tri-fold gives six panels and is the format most often used in a pocket, on a stand or on a table. A Z-fold also has three sections but opens like a concertina, which works when the content walks through three steps in order.
Choosing the fold after the design is like cutting a finished page into pieces: sentences land on creases and images split in half. Picking the pattern at the start removes the problem entirely.
What goes on which panel
In a tri-fold the reading order runs cover → inner cover → inner spread. The cover does one job: persuade someone to open it. A company history belongs elsewhere; the cover carries what you offer and who it is for.
The inner spread is the widest area seen as a whole once opened, so the main argument goes there. The back panel is often left blank or filled with a logo, yet it is the face that shows when the brochure is put down on a table. Contact details, a map and a QR code belong there.
Paper: weight and finish
For the body of a brochure the typical range is 130–170 gsm. Lighter paper will not hold its shape in the hand; heavier paper cracks along the fold. If a heavier stock is required, the fold needs to be scored first — telling the printer this is what stops the piece tearing at the crease after delivery.
Choosing between matt and gloss is more about use than taste. Gloss makes colour look livelier but reflects under light and cannot be written on. Matt is easier to read and is the better choice for a brochure containing a price list or a technical table.
Brochure or flyer?
If you have one message and one call to action, a flyer will do; it costs less and is produced faster. A brochure earns its place when you need to present several products or a process. Printing a single campaign on folded paper is spending money on paper.
The print-ready file
Three things make or break the job. Bleed: colour and images that run to the edge must extend a few millimetres beyond the trim line, otherwise the smallest shift in cutting leaves a white strip. Colour mode: screens work in RGB and presses print in CMYK; leaving that conversion to chance produces surprises, especially in vivid blues and oranges. Safe area: text needs to sit well inside the edges and away from the folds.
Supplying a print-ready PDF with fonts embedded is the safest route. Sending an open working file risks a font you have but the printer does not being silently substituted.
The mistakes that come up most
Filling every panel comes first. White space is the cheapest legibility tool in print. Second is low-resolution imagery: a photograph that looks fine on screen falls apart on paper. Third is leaving contact details until last and setting them small — that line is often the whole reason the brochure exists.