Too easy or Not Hard Enough?
As everything has gone online there has been an explosion of online design websites for digital brochures. And for some the template driven offerings are what they are looking for and at a price that seems fair. So why isn’t everyone using them to create their online brochures?
What we will investigate is why some people use these online design websites for digital brochures, whilst others still choose to use professional designers.
Limited Customisation Options
For these websites to be able to work at all they have to make certain choices on what templates are available and what restrictions these templates put on editing or personalisation.
This restriction of control over layouts, fonts and even colours means that any brochure using the template will look very similar to anyone else using the same template. Without the ability to change spoke of these items may mean that your brand identity may not be applied consistently.
Generic Templates and Lack of Originality
Pre-designed templates by their very nature means they may lack uniqueness as the design was not in response to a specific brief, but the outcome of an open requirement. Templates are often chosen through personal preference rather than with the end user in mind.
Anyone who has access to the website tool can create a brochure using the same template that you have chosen, an unavoidable risk of similar designs being used by other businesses. It may not necessarily be your competitor but a near identical brochure may confuse or mislead your customers and their perception of your services or products.
This risk of another company creating a near identical brochure to yours could have a truly significant impact on brand identity and differentiation. Customers may mistake the other company’s brochure as yours and associate any experience with them as a reflection on your company and its brand
Limited Design Expertise
Design is in part about application. Being given a template and left to make changes to layout, colours, fonts and images without any prior training in graphic design may yield less than ideal outcomes. The absence of relationship with the person who designed the template and knowing what their intention was will be reflected in the finished product.
At best you may end up with a brochure that is less than pretty to look at or read, but more serious considerations of best practice and design principles could mean you inadvertently disappoint your reader. This lack of any training or support may cause severe difficulty in achieving high-quality and polished designs.
Intellectual Property and Legal Concerns
When you commission a professional designer to design a digital brochure for you, it is common practice for the IP or copyright to be assigned to you at the end of the project. When you use an online design tool you do not own the design and could inadvertently infringe copyright of another design.
Ownership issues do not only apply to copy and design, online design tools often promote their own images and graphics, which again you do not own or have any rights to use elsewhere such as on a website.
Horses for Courses?
We started this post with the statement that for some users, online design tools are exactly what they need, but as the post developed it became clear that for many it is the wrong choice. If you are serious about building and maintaining a brand identity and reflect this in your digital brochures you need to ensure that they are designed professionally and correctly.
If you are in any doubt about what the best route is for you, then why not get in touch and talk through your next digital brochure requirement. We will provide you with our professional opinion and a free quote for you to consider.
Talk to us today on 01295 266644
