The Ultimate Guide to Flyer Design

The Ultimate Guide to Flyer Design

Written by:
Chloe West

Jun 11, 2020
flyer design - header

There are many reasons to use a flyer, whether you want to promote an event, create brand awareness for your new business or something else entirely. Regardless of why you’re creating a flyer, there’s one thing to keep in mind – your flyer design.

If you really want to make an impact and grab audience attention with a flyer, you need to make sure you’re using high-quality visuals, large fonts and bright colors.

We’ve put together this ultimate guide to flyer design in order to help you create eye-catching flyers that do the job they’re meant to do.

Let’s dive in!

 

Should You Create a Flyer?

First things first, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Flyers and many other types of print marketing and advertising materials have been around for decades.

Are they still relevant? And should you be creating flyers?

The answer is yes! While digital has certainly taken the world by storm and is now a primary marketing method, flyers and other print tactics can still be effective.

This is the case for many reasons.

First, you can bring flyers for an upcoming event to other community events or gatherings that are hyper-relevant to your event’s audience, giving you the perfect opportunity to promote your function.

Second, people still go places and look at things. Hanging flyers in college halls, on light posts and other areas around town can be incredibly helpful for generating awareness and an audience for your promotion.

Third, flyers can still be used digitally. Print off a stack of flyers, then download the file as an image and share on social media, in emails, on your website and more.

Now that we’ve covered exactly why you should still be considering flyers for your marketing, let’s cover the various ways you might consider using one.

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Ways to Use Flyers

Curious if a flyer is going to be a good way to advertise an upcoming promotion? We’ve put together a list of the best ways to use flyers along with a few great examples you can edit and customize yourself!

Events

If you have a local event coming up, creating and handing out flyers can be the perfect promotional tactic. Whether you’re putting together a small seminar or a large concert in a local park, you should create a flyer.

Here’s a great example of a flyer advertising a local music festival.

flyer design - music festival flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

And an example of a flyer perfect for a smaller event, like a job fair or book club.

flyer design - job fair flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

You can hand out your flyers at similar events, hang them up at the venue to let people know of upcoming events or share them on social media to let your followers know of future happenings.

Just make sure you include necessary event information, like date, time, location, etc., so that anyone who finds your flyer knows exactly when and where to go!

Products/Services

Whether you’re promoting an upcoming launch or simply want to share information on your current products or services, a flyer can be a great way to do so.

These are perfect for distributing at networking events or keeping on a front table or checkout line for visitors to grab on their way in or out of your business.

Here’s an example of a great way to show off your company’s services.

flyer design - accounting services flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Leaving something like this in your lobby can be a great way to let people easily contact you if they need one of your services.

This can also be a great way to let prospective customers know about your pricing and packages, or simply to show off a collage of your work or your products, like in the example below.

flyer design - engagement photography flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Be sure to include contact information so that anyone who gets ahold of your flyer knows how to get in touch with you to inquire about services or buying your products.

Specials

Show off your weekly or daily specials by creating and sharing flyers. You can display them in your store or restaurant, share them on social media or leave them at the host stand for patrons to grab and keep.

Here’s a great example of a flyer you could create and share to show off your specials.

flyer design - cafe specials flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Here’s another great way to showcase a large photo of your meal or drink special as well.

flyer design - grand opening special flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Make sure you include your restaurant name and address so people with your flyer remember where to find you.

Sales/Discounts

Hosting a big sale in your shop? Let people know about it with a flyer! This is the perfect way to promote big discounts or a semi-annual sale.

Just keep flyers by your cash register and place them in shopping bags each time someone makes a purchase leading up to the sale to entice them to come back.

Here’s a great example of a flyer you could customize to hand out at your shop.

flyer design - fashion discount flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Or you could host an exclusive, online sale and promote it on your website, in your email newsletters, on social media and other online platforms.

flyer design - exclusive sale flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Be sure to include the date, time and location of your sale so no one will miss out.

Charitable Causes

Showcase that your business or organization is contributing to a charitable cause or hosting a fundraiser by creating and distributing a flyer.

This is a great way to give back to your community and showcase movements that you as a company support.

Here’s a great example of a flyer that’s simply to generate awareness about a cause or issue.

flyer design - global warming flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Or, if you’re hosting a fundraising event, you might use a flyer similar to the one below.

flyer design - fundraiser flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Be sure to include the name of the charity or organization you’re supporting and any applicable event information.

Brand Awareness

Flyers can also be great just for brand awareness, and letting people in your community know that your business or organization exists.

You can hang these on light posts, leave them at community buildings and other promotional tactics to help maximize the number of eyes on your flyers.

Here’s a great flyer for generating brand awareness.

flyer design - about us flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

You can see the business name in large letters, an about section and a small blurb about services. The website address is included, but you might also want to add your address if you have a physical location.

Here’s another fun brand awareness flyer example.

flyer design - coffee flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Just by displaying what you offer along with some high-quality visuals, you can catch the eye of a potential new customer.

 

What to Include in Your Flyer Design [Checklists]

Now we’re ready to start moving forward with your flyer design. But what information do you need to compile to create an effective flyer that gives viewers everything they need?

We’ve put together three different checklists based on the type of flyer you’re creating so that you know exactly what you need to be including in your flyer design.

Event Flyer Design Checklist

If you’re creating a flyer for an event, whether for your business, for a charitable event or for the community, this is the checklist you’re going to want to follow.

Take a look below to make sure you include everything your event flyer needs.

flyer design - event flyer checklist
Customize this checklist template and make it your own!Edit and Download

What to include in your event flyer design:

  • Name of your event
  • Subtitle specifying type of event
  • Location/date/time
  • Cost of entry, if any
  • Dress code, if applicable
  • RSVP information
  • Contact information/website/social media profiles
  • Event details
  • Visuals

Promotional Flyer Design Checklist

The next type of flyer is the promotional flyer. This covers sales, discounts, specials and other similar promotions your business might be running.

Run through this checklist while creating your promotional flyer design.

flyer design - promotional flyer checklist
Customize this checklist template and make it your own!Edit and Download

What to include in your promotional flyer design:

  • Title of your promotion/sale
  • Name of your business
  • Visuals
  • Sale information
  • Date(s)
  • Store address, if applicable
  • Contact information/website/social media profiles

Informational Flyer Design Checklist

Your informational flyer will be the one that includes product/service information or is simply meant to generate brand awareness for your business.

Here’s a checklist to help you include all of the best information within your flyer design.

flyer design - informational flyer checklist
Customize this checklist template and make it your own!Edit and Download

What to include in your informational flyer design:

  • Name of your business
  • Visuals
  • Product/service information
  • Business details
  • Address, if applicable
  • Contact information/website/social media profiles

 

Flyer Design Tips for Impactful Flyers

Now that you’ve been able to compile all of the applicable information for your flyer, let’s dive into our top flyer design tips. 

Keep all of these in mind when creating your flyer so that you come out with a stunning, eye-catching flyer design that makes an impact on your audience.

1. Focus On a Single Goal or Objective

You don’t want to shove too much information into your flyer. While these can come in different sizes, it’s still a single piece of paper, so you only want to have one goal or objective for each flyer you create.

This means you can’t cram brand awareness, a list of services and a major discount you’re offering all in a single flyer.

Instead, create one flyer per campaign so that you don’t clutter it with text, and can create a visually appealing flyer design instead.

Take a look at this flyer template.

flyer design - $100 off flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

It has one goal: to bring it new customers by offering $100 off summer bookings. There isn’t too much information overcrowding the design. Instead, the flyer is straightforward and right to the point.

2. Create a Bold, Attention-Grabbing Headline

You might choose to have your business name be the headline, or perhaps the name of your event. Whatever you decide, make sure that it’s in large, bold font and can grab your audience’s attention immediately.

Here’s a great example of a flyer with a bold, attention-grabbing headline.

flyer design - gallery of art flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

The headline is the largest piece of copy on the page, instantly letting viewers know what this flyer is about.

You want to do the same with your own headline. You could use a large font, bright colors or something else to make sure your headline is the first thing people see.

3. Keep Visual Hierarchy In Mind

Visual hierarchy is a design principle that helps you to place your design elements in the order of importance, making it obvious where a viewer’s eyes should look first, second, third and so on.

Here’s a great example of some basic visual hierarchy.

flyer design - lofts for sale flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

You first look at the Urban Living headline before your eyes fall to the loft information, then finally down to the contact number.

There are tons of different ways to incorporate visual hierarchy into your post to dictate what your audience should look at first. You can learn even more in this quick video.

4. Incorporate White Space

First things first, white space isn’t always white. We’re not saying you have to have white margins and space between design elements in every flyer you create.

White space, also known as negative space, is just empty space in your design. 

And it’s a good idea to incorporate white space around your design so you’re not designing edge to edge, as well as to give appropriate space between different pieces of copy or visual elements in your flyer design.

Here’s a great example of white space in a flyer design.

flyer design - herbs and spices flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Notice the nice margin around the text in the middle of the flyer. The translucent white square isn’t tightly cropped around the header. It’s been given a good bit of space, making the design look more high quality, and not crowded.

Be sure you’re not plopping design elements on top of each other in your flyer design, and that you’re providing enough white space around each piece of the puzzle.

If you customize any of these flyer templates in Visme, our editor also allows you to turn on grid view on your design so that you can measure the amount of space you’re giving your text, visuals and other elements.

5. Choose Fonts and Colors Wisely

If you’re creating a brand awareness flyer, you’re a bit lucky in this aspect, as you’re going to want to match all of your font and color choices to your branding.

Input all of this information into your Visme brand kit to keep it easily accessible when creating your brand awareness/informational flyer design.

However, if you’re designing a flyer for an event, seasonal promotion or something along those lines, you might want to get a bit more creative with your font pairing and color combinations.

Here’s a golden rule to remember, though: don’t use more than 2-3 different fonts or colors in your flyer design.

This is another way that flyers can start to look really cluttered really quickly. While putting a different font on each piece of copy in your design can seem like a fun, creative idea, it can actually turn out really off putting in execution.

Pay attention to the font choices in this flyer.

flyer design - pet adoption flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

While it may look like there are a few different fonts being used, there are actually only two. There’s the accent font that animals is displayed in, then another font that’s being used in several different weights and capitalizations.

And that’s absolutely okay to do. In fact, you might even use a single font throughout your flyer design, but you bold the headline, italicize the subheading and keep the normal font weight for your body copy.

You just want to make sure that you don’t use any more than three fonts or your design will start to look messy and overwhelming.

The next thing you want to think about is your color choice. This can also be really easy to go overboard on, so you need to choose carefully.

Color psychology is an important factor to keep in mind, as you want your flyer to elicit specific feelings in your audience. Knowing what different colors mean can help you create the impact you’re looking for.

You don’t want to crowd too many colors into your flyer design, unless it’s necessary for your event or celebration. Sticking to two or three colors is ideal, along with keeping the 60-30-10 rule in mind.

The 60-30-10 rule states that in a color scheme with three different shades, your primary color should take up 60% of the design, your secondary color should take up 30% of the design and an accent color should take up the last 10%.

Here’s a flyer example falling right in line with that principle.

flyer design - summer camp flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

The primary color is the teal background, the secondary color is the white text and the accent color is pink.

You could also try a monochromatic color scheme (all different shades of a single color), like in the flyer design below.

flyer design - open house flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

There are many different options. You just want to make sure you’re not overwhelming your audience with colors and fonts.

6. Remember Your Target Audience

Different audiences respond better to different designs. And different flyer objectives need different levels of professionalism in their design.

For example, you could use a brighter and more fun flyer design when you’re trying to garner attention to a yard sale, like in the design below.

flyer design - yard sale flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

But you need to have a much more straightforward and structured design when creating a more corporate flyer design, like in the example below.

flyer design - services flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Keeping your target audience and flyer objective in mind can help you to create a design that resonates with the people you’re looking to target, rather than a different crowd.

7. Stay Away From Walls of Text

A flyer is not the place to get copy heavy. You want to be able to provide as much information as necessary in as little words as possible.

In order to achieve this, you want to use bullet points where you can, place the most important information in bold font, and create clear, concise copy to input into your flyer.

Here’s a great example of creatively using text in your flyer so that it’s not overwhelming your design.

flyer design - yoga flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

The font is in a variety of different sizes and weights, helping to create distinctions between each piece of information. There’s a short quote in large font then a small paragraph that doesn’t overwhelm the design.

Other bits of information, like time, date and location, are prominently displayed and easy for your viewers to find.

Be sure that your copy doesn’t take over your entire flyer design and that there are still tons of beautiful design elements that pull the whole design together.

8. Highlight Key Words or Phrases

Want a certain part of your flyer to stand out? Like your discount, your launch, your event type or something like that?

Use your design to highlight or call out key words or phrases that could entice your audience to take action.

Some of these words might be something like, NEW, FREE, CONCERT or % OFF. If you’re promoting something big and exciting, you want that to be the first thing your flyer viewer sees to reel them in.

This flyer design provides a great example of this.

flyer design - black friday sale flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

This flyer highlights a Black Friday sale, but even more prominently, they’re letting their audience know that everything is 35% off

That’s a major sale, and they know it. So that’s what they want their viewer to see first – this incredible, ⅓ off everything in their store discount.

9. Think About Your Distribution Plan

Where will your flyer be shown? What size will your flyer be? This might have a really big impact on how large you need certain elements to be to grab your audience’s attention.

If you plan to hang a larger flyer up in a window for people to see as they walk or drive by, make sure you have little to no copy and very large fonts to get the message across.

This is a good example of a flyer with large copy that immediately grabs your attention and lets you know what’s being promoted.

flyer design - ballet flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

You can easily customize this flyer to add dates, times, locations and other essential information beneath the main call to action.

If you plan to hand out the printed off flyer, or keep them in a place for people to pick up, you’re able to include more information, like in the flyer design below.

flyer design - resume help flyer design
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Just make sure you know your distribution plan before you design your flyer so that your design makes sense for where your audience is going to find it.

10. Use High-Quality Visuals

You don’t want to print off 1,000 flyers and get ready to hand them out, only to realize your photos are fuzzy and your icons are distorted. What a waste!

When creating your flyer, make sure that you’re using high-quality graphics within your flyer design and aren’t skewing them anytime you resize.

When you create a flyer in Visme, you have access to over a million high-quality stock photos, plus vector icons, graphics and illustrations to kick your designs up a notch.

find the perfect stock photo for your background with visme

Plus, you’re able to download as a high-resolution image or a PDF with bleed marks, perfect for printing and distributing.

11. Brand Your Flyer

While finalizing your flyer design, you want to make sure that people know to link it back to your brand. 

Whether this means you want to use your brand fonts and colors or at the very least add your company logo, make sure you tie it back to your brand in some way, shape or form.

Many Visme templates have a spot already laid out for you to simply drop your logo into the flyer, like in the one below.

flyer design - weekend sale event flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

This way you can easily brand your flyer and link it back to your business or organization.

12. Include a Call-to-Action

Think back to the main goal or objective of your flyer. Do you want them to come into your store or place of business? Do you want them to make an online purchase? Do you want them to attend an event?

Be sure to create some kind of call-to-action to further strengthen your flyer’s objective.

Whether you include a line that says, “Join Us,” “Buy Now” or “Sign Up,” you want to finish your flyer copy off with some action for your audience to take.

Here’s a great example of a call-to-action on a flyer.

flyer design - sketch club flyer template
Customize this flyer template and make it your own!Edit and Download

Find a call-to-action that makes sense for your objective and include it at the bottom or above your website or physical address.

13. Start With a Template

The best way to create a stunning flyer design quickly and effectively is to get started with a flyer template.

Lucky for you, Visme has hundreds of flyer templates to get you started. Browse our flyer library and choose the one that fits your objective and business type before fully customizing it to fit your brand.

 

Design Your Flyer Today

Ready to get started with your flyer design? Get started with Visme and create your next flyer in no time at all.

Keep all of these top design tips in mind to make sure your flyer is as effective and impactful as possible so that you can generate a large audience for your event, business, organization and more.

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    About the Author

    Chloe West is the content marketing manager at Visme. Her experience in digital marketing includes everything from social media, blogging, email marketing to graphic design, strategy creation and implementation, and more. During her spare time, she enjoys exploring her home city of Charleston with her son.