Daily designer news

The ultimate collection of print design inspiration

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 05:46 PM PDT

As more and more businesses are taking better advantage of the nearly limitless possibilities of cyberspace, designing for the web has slowly but surely began to take up a large part of the world of design.

However, much of the world still relies on physical materials—unique brochures, catchy flyers, flashy posters, modern business cards, etc.— in acquiring new information, whether it is about products, services or news. Print design still rests on its seat of honor; only now, it has to be changed and utilized in a more appealing and efficient manner to compete with the convenience and creativity of web design.

With the growth of web design comes a proliferation of helpful and easily accessible resources on the Internet. Fortunately, this same surge has brought with it a number of resources that would aid in inspiring designers who are looking for the much needed spark to squeeze out their creative juices.

Impressive Examples of QR code Business Cards

Merge the traditional with the modern by implementing Quick Response Codes onto business cards.
Let potential clients and customers access more information easily through smartphones.

Beautiful and Creative Business Cards Design

Experiment with the size and shape of business cards.
Keep in line with the business' identity for a coherent idea.

Unique Business Card Design Inspiration

Play with the many possible forms business cards can take.
Engage clients and customers so that they interact with the business card.

Awesome Brochure and Print Design Inspiration

Place the product/service front and center in brochures to focus readers' eyes.
Make use of relevant and thematically-aligned colors and imagery.

Beautiful Brochures and Booklets

Understand the importance of typography in brochures and how it affects readers.
Place text and images appropriately so that they complement each other instead of clashing with one another.

Creative & Fresh Brochure Design

Utilize various materials to keep clients and customers excited to explore the product/service.
Try out different forms for the brochure while keeping the theme consistent.

30 Best Brochure Designs for Your Inspiration

Emphasize the product/service by increasing the size of the text.
Keep the brochure design simple and let the colors do the work.

Brochure Design Showcase

Use whites and blacks to help streamline information through clear spaces.
Lay out pages within the brochure so everything flows naturally.

Inspirational Print Brochures

Remember the adage, "Show, don't tell," so keep the text to a necessary minimum.
Use pictures, infographics, symbols, timelines, etc.

44 Cool Flyer Designs

Harness striking iconography to get people's attention in the small space of a flyer.
Make the purpose of the event as clear as possible.

25 Flyer Design Inspirations

Use highlighted text to give focus to flyers packed with wild colourful images.
Balance the placement of text and images to maximize the limited space.

Best Flyer Design Illustration

Magnify the event with arresting color schemes and patterns.
Integrate information with the imagery.

35 Awe-Inspiring Booklet Designs Inspiration

Write short but precise copy next to chunks of text in order to highlight what the product/service is about.
Make use of two-page spreads in the middle of booklets to deliver the most important message to the readers.

Letter Press Business Cards Inspiration

Add texture to simple business cards through letterpress printing.
Achieve elegance through simplifying the design and letting the text stand out.

Realizing Design Concepts: Tutorials for Print Designers

Hopefully, these sources of inspiration can spur the creative minds of the ambitious, but getting inspiration for print design is only the beginning of a laborious but rewarding process. Having to channel that inspiration to produce the marketing materials is the next step.

Not everyone has the same level of expertise and tools to actually achieve his or her desired designs. Searching for the resources that can help improve the end product can take precious time, and not every tutorial found can be helpful.

For the would-be designers' convenience, gathered here are the best tutorials and other print design learning resources to guide in the creation of the important marketing items such as business cards, brochures and flyers.

Making a Print-Ready Business Card

A step-by-step process of designing a simple business card with a few layers and text using Adobe Photoshop.

Business Card Design Walkthrough

A guide to laying out the placement of the company logo and details with a modest background using Adobe Illustrator.

Create and Print a Business Card with UPrinting

A tutorial on how to create business cards with the online business card printing service UPrinting and matching the specifications with Adobe Illustrator.

Business Card Tutorial for Print Ready Cards

A 7-step tutorial for making business cards using multiple layers in Adobe Photoshop, while keeping with the physical requirements of template designs taken online.

Designing for Print – Setting Up Crops and Bleeds

Instructions on how to set up the borders for business card designs through effective use of "crops" and "bleeds" using Adobe Illustrator.

Design & Print Bold Promo Cards in 60 minutes

A guide on how to employ mini promo cards to great effect using vectors and brief but bold copy in bright backgrounds with Adobe Photoshop and MOO.com.

Design a Print-Ready Business Card Design for Designers

An in-depth walkthrough using the different tools of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to create a business card most suitable for designers.

Create and Print Brochure

A tutorial on making a multi-page brochure with a number of images and texts aligned in frames through Adobe Photoshop and Indesign; and uploading and printing it through UPrinting.

Design a Ready to Print Brochure

A long but detailed step-by-step procedure on how to create a three-fold brochure; tackles design, borders, backgrounds, textures, shadows, layout of content, etc. using only Adobe Photoshop.

Being able to hold a tangible object that has been meticulously crafted gives a more personal connection to clients and customers, thereby inspiring loyalty and a sense of belonging to an exclusive group. This bond is something not quite as apparent in the inherent distance of designing for the web. Taking advantage of this link can be the deciding factor in having a strong network to support a company.

About The Author: Jessica Simmons writes about blogging, branding, marketing and graphic design. She writes for Uprinting, a leading socially responsible online printing, marketing and technology firm that offers photo custom business card printing, modern business cards printing, and various printed marketing media.