Question

Topic: Strategy

1 Business, 4 Divisions, 1 Brochure Cover?....hmmm

Posted by nchazan on 12/11/2008 at 3:22 PM ET 250 Points
working on revamping our company overview brochure, which will be the backbone of the "sales kit" we distribute to customers. The overview brochure is 6"x6" square, like our logo, and so far I've got most of the inside layout completed. The visuals are very vibrant photos of not only products but more importantly the people who use them in their various environments.

backup - We are a "building interiors" firm. We design,sell, and install commercial interiors ( we are not a manufacturer ). I.E. - office furniture from A thru Z, laboratory casework, conference rooms, demountable walls, etc. etc. and we also provide facility services such as asset management and storage.

Our new tagline is "Furnishing Productivity". because productivity is the end result, no matter the application (high school, pharmaceutical company, commercial office, college). Our 4 major clients are EDUCATION,OFFICE,PHARMA,HEALTHCARE.

My challenge was to help rebrand us from a "furniture dealer" to a design-oriented, innovative, service oriented company specializing in all aspects of the commercial building interior.

SOOOO (sorry for being so long here). At first I decided to populate the cover with 9 photos, layed out 3x3 grid swapping between photos of furniture,laboratory stuff, and people of various professions (doctors, kids at school, professionals). I wanted badly to give the impression that we service all these types of clients, because this overview has to be included in all marketing materials no matter the audience. The actual information IN the sales kit will be industry specific, but we cannot afford to print 8 different overview with different covers.

My question to you wonderful forum members is how can I design a cover for a brochure, utilizing even less photos....but still getting the point across that we are multi-faceted. A graphic design forum told me "LESS IS MORE". What SINGLE photo can I use....to encompass all this? or is it not even possible? Any suggestions or brainstorms are greatly appreciated!

This is a link to what I've got so far.

[inactive link removed]

I dont love it.

[Moderator: Inactive link removed from post. 2/14/2011]
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by nchazan on 12/11/2008 at 3:27 PM Author
    Here's my current work,

    https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/pinksnyper/1-2.jpg

    I dont love it. The back cover is identical in layout but has different people and different settings.
  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 12/11/2008 at 3:40 PM Accepted
    A couple of your pictures dont really tell much of a story. It would seem that you could reduce the number of pictures by at least a three.

    Then we get into personal preference, but I believe you should avoid having the pictures layed out straight and square. Instead, I tend to appreciate pictures that are ramdomly posted with angles and turns...
  • Posted by nchazan on 12/11/2008 at 3:41 PM Author
    I am also looking into cool illustrations(vectors) of a city....lots of buildings, and maybe let the interior of the brochure do the talking.
  • Posted by michael on 12/11/2008 at 5:56 PM Accepted
    Personally I would rather see the front cover be your logo...or some of the products.

    Inside you can put people using your products. This from someone who buys the product...so filing the brochure and pulling it (after say 3 months) I'd wonder what your company did.

    Just thoughts.

    Michael
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 12/11/2008 at 6:25 PM Accepted
    Commercial interiors means commercial interiors. It already paints the pix of the niches you serve. How about focusing on the turnkey services. Project management, interior finishes, etc. In fact that would be a good visual, turn key (keyhole) one stop shopping.

    Turnkey dealerships used to be common place but no so anymore. Those that are (in my opinion) have a huge leg up on their competition. Its a real differentiator and strength-- that should be high lighted.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 12/12/2008 at 9:00 AM Accepted
    You could also use a graphic of a cityscape, and have arrows/lines pointing to factories, labs, stores, etc. Your text would remain (or I'd suggest a slight change from "We help..." to "Our furnishings...")
  • Posted on 12/12/2008 at 10:43 AM Accepted
    I like the photos of your interiors in the various settings. If I was buying, those would intrigue me. Just seeing smiling people doesn't help illustrate your product or services. If you're going to use stock photos of faces, make sure they are of the businesses you are targeting.

    Fewer pictures would be better. I like the random placement idea, too.

    I don't like the words on each photo: if you keep your present layout, I'd remove one photo in your 3 x 3 and change it to your logo in the upper left or bottom right, and your tagline placed diagonally opposite the logo.

    You could also do larger photos of each client setting with watermark lettering that tells the setting: PHARMA, HEALTHCARE, OFFICE, etc... Incorporate your logo, and your tagline, unwatermarked, into the page.

    If your company has a signature design style, that is important to illustrate: evidently the style, shape, etc. is becoming the new branding effort so that an actual logo is redundant. Like the Coke bottle, the Tiffany box, etc. You know what it is without the logo.

  • Posted by nchazan on 12/12/2008 at 11:18 AM Author
    Michael, in speaking about your idea - is it too simplistic to have just a logo and slogan on the cover?
  • Posted by michael on 12/22/2008 at 11:57 AM Member
    I think you should keep the logo and slogan, but if you are not well known in the industry, that might not be enough.

    So, build your brand with images AND logo/slogan and move to logo/slogan by itself....like Nike

    Michael
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