When you’re running a small business, especially when you’re in the start-up phase, every penny counts. Whatever you’re printing; business cards, leaflets, brochures… they’re an investment in your business and you want them to look great. You know that marketing is important, but perhaps there’s no room in your budget to hire a professional graphic designer just yet?

Don’t panic! We’ve got some great tips to help you do it yourself in the meantime, regardless of your artistic ability:

Keep it simple

The best designs are generally simple and uncluttered. Whatever item you’re designing, try to figure out what is most important to convey to the person looking at it. Get that in there first and then you spend time on the aesthetics. When considering poster printing always remember the simpler the better when it comes to design.

Use a limited palette

If you haven’t yet decided on your brand colours, now is the time! Your brand colours should be synonymous with your business as a whole. They should be included in your logo, your website, your packaging, and of course, your printed items too. Being consistent with your colours helps to maintain a cohesive look across your marketing efforts. Coherent colours will help to cement your brand in your customer’s mind.

Take a look at other companies branding that inspires you – often they use just two or three different colours, or even a few different shades of the same colour for the best effect.

Less is more

Be mindful of the finished size of anything you’re going to send to print. Don’t be tempted to squeeze in too much information or too many images that might end up too small to see.

Similarly, think carefully about what fonts to use and what size. A design that’s too busy isn’t pleasing to the eye and is likely to be overlooked. Try to make good use of negative space to draw the viewer to what’s most important.

Use a template

We created our design templates to help take the headache out of design. They’re simple to use and can be customised to suit your business perfectly. Take a look at the templates here, and get ready to design some fantastic printing that will get your business the attention it deserves. PrintUK.com