If you are preparing an event, presenting a product, or organizing your company’s booth at a conference, chances are that you use presentation folders to package marketing information for prospective clients. Marketing collateral placed inside these folders can range from brochures and sales sheets to flash drives and business cards, but what about the outside of the folder?
In this post, we will explain which design elements, as well as the main utilities and reasons, you should consider in your folder design. Below are the key aspects that can be included or compensated for while designing presentation folders.
Note that the requirements for designing a pocket folder vary from organization to organization depending on the industry. Nevertheless, this list is a solid baseline for coming up with the initial look and feel.
Company Name or Logo
The name of the company and its logo will always appear on the cover. It is recommended to include only this information so that the folder can be used at any time, regardless of changes that the company may undergo (address and phone numbers, product releases, media kits, etc.).
If your budget allows for it you can also include your logo within the folder but be careful not to overuse graphics beyond the branding of the company.
Business Tagline
A good tagline is your chance to tell people what you do at a glance. The tagline of your company should be a short phrase and easy to remember, communicating what you want your audience to know upon first seeing your folder.
Creating a tagline is not easy. It’s no secret that for a tagline to be successful it must be designed around your personas or target demographics, so you should put some thought into who will be receiving your collateral.
Contact Details
A presentation folder design should always include a way for the customer to follow up with you. For this reason, you need to include your company’s contact information, whether it be a phone number, email address, physical address, or website. The folder’s back cover is a popular place to include this info because it’s easily accessible yet not distracting.
Closures
“One often-overlooked aspect of folder design is the folder closure – not all pocket folders need to open in a traditional manner,” says Vladimir Gendelman, the owner of Company Folders, Inc. “In fact, you can use a button, Velcro, tuck tab, or other adhesives to incorporate those physical aspects into the graphic design.” As such, it is essential to make this decision early in the design process since it can heavily influence your front or back cover design.
Photographs
Many print designers choose to include photographs in the front and back covers. These images should be related to the company in one way or the other. Photos of key product/service offerings and company owners add value to the overall design. Photo collages of employees or partners can also be used, based on the context against which the presentation folder will be distributed.
Brand Colors
The color of your marketing folder is of utmost importance because it must resonate with company branding. Many companies have dedicated color schemes with specific color combinations. Office supplies like presentation folders should also be designed with this in mind.
In closing, a presentation folder is a classic marketing tool that has been with us for more than a century. Tangible, physical print media helps people remember your business, what you offer, and how you can help them. Presentation folders help you make a great first impression, packaging all your marketing collateral in an attractive and easily accessible manner.
Interesting Related Article: “How to Build Impactful Business Forms“