Brochure of Squares

Before&After
®
BAmagazine.com i U X
Design a
brochure
of squares
Modular construction
makes a brochure that’s
great for many topics.
Continued 
Continued  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Before&After
®
Design a brochure of squares

Modular construction makes a brochure that’s great for many topics.
This nifty, modular brochure Cover panel

It’s only a letter-size sheet,
makes design easy by breaking
but it makes a big impres-
a big task into small parts! It’s a sion! Square(-ish) modules
sheet (or Web page) of squares
Peabo’s are easy to design and
repetitive, too; consistent
that each contain a photo or
text. Each photo fills its square,
Gourmet typestyles and margins leave
you free to concentrate on
and all text squares are typeset Stuff the cool stuff like composi-
tion, colors and voice!
alike. Your job is to arrange the squares.
Key to the best look is to have same-length
copy in every square. This is perfect for some
topics and limiting for others; products
and other repetitive entries are ideal. What
follows are tips to navigate the variety of
situations you’ll encounter. Watch:
 2 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Before&After
® Design a brochure of squares 3 of 21 BAmagazine.com i U X
Two kinds of squares

The brochure has two kinds of squares — photo squares and text squares — arranged
on a tic-tac-toe-style grid. Photos and text can fill one or more adjacent squares.
11”
Simple grid (Left) Divide the page vertically Text squares Photo squares
and horizontally into nine equal sections. Three- Head style, text Here, three photos
81/2” panel brochure can be a letterfold like ours or an and price line are fill six squares.
accordion fold. We’re calling the sections squares, the same on all
even though they aren’t, quite. squares.

Before&After
Four sections
The brochure has four sections — a front, back, fold-in panel, and three inside panels.
The front panel uses one square for the headline and two for the photo.
Go freeform
To an open square you can
add freeform photos. Here,
a spray of wheat makes a
touchable counterpoint to the
circles and squares. This tech-
nique works best if the free-
form photo is closely related
to the primary photo, as it
is here. Headline colors are
derived from the photo and
complement the entire page.
Photo covers two squares

Design simply. The photo fills two adjacent
squares. Headline is squared off to the left,
which complements the square modules.
Circular objects (left) collaborate beautifully
with the square, making the page a hand-
some design of circles and rectangles.

Before&After ® Design a brochure of squares 5 of 21 BAmagazine.com i U X
Center variation
A center headline square can be used when the photo is big enough to fill the
page, as it is here. It can also buffer two different-but-related photos.
Add depth
Three star aniseeds overlap the square
and cast their shadows onto the main
photo, adding dimension to the panel.
The three seeds are really just one, a
cheap but useful trick that works best
with organic photos like these.
Two possibilities
(Above, far left) A center square buffers two different-
but-related* photos. (Above) A center square also
works with photos that are big enough to fill the
panel. In the case of this photo, the two ends retain
the visual continuity they need, but covering the
center can sometimes break that up. Be aware.
*similar shapes and textures

Create separation
The back panel has two adjacent text squares. For separation, color one square
like the photo, and leave the other in contrasting white.
Outside spread
Headline matches her skintone.

It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.
Texture and flasp end mist of Leam restart that can prebast.
it snooling. A faci eugiam do Faci eugiam do nosto diam
sto diam riuscin velent lupta- riuscin velent luptatetue ea
tetue ea feugait atet aut et, feugait atet aut et, sent augait
sent augait alisl ulluptat. alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum
vel ulput iure in henim delit!
Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12
Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff It’s opposite

It’s our mojo. It’s our mojo.
Corner of Church and Main
Roseville, California 95678
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
Opposite (complementary) colors

www.peabosgourmet.com
Phone: 916-123-4567
Leam restart that can prebast. Leam restart that can prebast.
It’s our mojo. can add richness and depth. To get

Faci eugiam do nosto diam Faci eugiam do nosto diam
riuscin velent luptatetue ea riuscin velent luptatetue ea
feugait atet aut et, sent augait
alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum
alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum that, pull out your color wheel (below)
vel ulput iure in henim delit! vel ulput iure in henim delit!
Leam restart that can prebast. and, in this case, pick out a medium
Faci eugiam do nosto diam green across from the red. Note that
Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff
Corner of Church and Main riuscin velent luptatetue ea both colors are equally desaturated
Roseville, California 95678 Roseville, California 95678
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day feugait atet aut et, sent augait
www.peabosgourmet.com www.peabosgourmet.com
(somewhat gray). Generally speaking,
Phone: 916-123-4567 Phone: 916-123-4567
vel ulput iure in henim delit! similarly saturated colors will yield
the most pleasing results.
Borrow color from the photo Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

(Above) Sampling color from her rosy cheeks gives Roseville, California 95678
the photo and center square similar, medium value Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
and sets off the white address square at the bottom. Phone: 916-123-4567
(Right) The white-square head and text are the same
style and size, separated only by color. Note that
although the text is smaller than a standard square,
it remains aligned with the contents above it.

Proportions
Pay attention to the proportions of your images relative to their spaces—put tall
with tall and short with short, for example. Exceptions require cropping.
Outside spread 1 2 3

It’s our wines. It’s our wines.

Phone: 916-123-4567
Texture and flasp end mist of Texture and flasp end mist of
It’s our wines.

it snooling. A faci eugiam do it snooling. A faci eugiam do
sto diam riuscin velent lupta- sto diam riuscin velent lupta-
tetue ea feugait atet aut et, tetue ea feugait atet aut et,
It’s our breads. sent augait alisl ulluptat. sent augait alisl ulluptat.
Na faci eugiam do nosto diam
Texture and flasp end mist of

riuscin velent luptatetue ea
vel put iure ver in henim delit.
Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12 Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12
it snooling. A faci eugiam do

Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98
It’s our fruits. It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.

Nosto diam riuscin velent
luptatetue ea feugait atet aut
et, sent augait alisl ulluptat,
vel dolore tatum vel put iure
sto diam riuscin velent lupta-
tetue ea feugait atet aut et,
Leam restart that can prebast.
Faci eugiam do nosto diam
sto diam riuscin velent lupta- It’s our wines.
ver in henim delit net flasp. sent augait alisl ulluptat. alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum
Fresh Limes 39¢ Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12
Fold-in It’s our coffees.
Velent6 luptatetue
Hours: a.m. to 10 p.m.ea feugait
every day
sent augait alisl ulluptat. sto diam riuscin velent lupta-
atet aut et, sent augait alisl
Phone: 916-123-4567
ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel
panel
ulput iure ver in henim delit es-
sequi ex ex et utpatisi.
sent augait alisl ulluptat.
$12
$8 lb.
Peabo’s Holiday Merlot

Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra
Complementary proportions It’s opposite

The wine bottle fits the tall fold-in (Above) 1) Centered square works equally well on
panel beautifully, so be bold and a white background. 2) Smaller bottle is functional
It’s our wines.
put the text square right across the but has less impact, and the text square now looks Texture and flasp end mist of
center! Color it a rich, wine red with like a base, not a label. 3) If you’re limited to one
text in a complementary green. square, instead of making the bottle tiny (right),
design boldly by turning it sideways and cropping.

Before&After
Inside spread
Inside, horizontal photos make a counterpoint to the vertical images on the
outside. With super-closeups like these, proportions do not matter.
It’s our breads.

Stagger the squares (Above) Single column is

static; a staggered presentation is more engaging. It’s our fruits.
Three horizontal photos ver in henim delit net flasp.
Breads, lime slices, and coffee beans are close Fresh Limes 39¢
enough to taste! This close up, proportions are irrel-
evant; the photos can be cropped in any direction.
(Below) Note the visual collaboration between grid It’s our coffees.
squares and the roundish objects (similar sizes and Velent luptatetue ea feugait
similarly simple). Lots of bold energy on this page! ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel
Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra $8 lb.
Three color contrasts (Above) Orange and green secondary colors are grocery
fresh! Note the orange is different from its bread; green blends with its limes,
and brown blends with its beans but contrasts with adjacent white.

Basic configurations
The nice thing about stackable squares is that they look good in many ways!
Generally speaking, simple horizontal and vertical shapes are clearest.



Phone: 916-123-4567
tetue ea feugait atet aut et, feugait atet aut et, sent augait Squares, plus vertical and horizontal shapes
3
Phone: 916-123-4567
(Above) Align text squares vertically

1
and horizontally, and maintain
uniform margins. L shape (Above, left) When using an L, put its caption in it, not beside
it (inset, left). (Above, right) Note that the photos are one, two, and three
squares in size.

Contrasts
Contrasts keep the design moving. Be sure to make enough difference between unrelated
squares that your eye doesn’t “jump tracks.” This often requires juggling!
Peabo’s
Gourmet
Stuff
It’s our wines. It’s our mojo. It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.
Texture and flasp end mist of Leam restart that can prebast. Texture and flasp end mist of Leam restart that can prebast.
it snooling. A faci eugiam do Faci eugiam do nosto diam it snooling. A faci eugiam do Faci eugiam do nosto diam
sto diam riuscin velent lupta- riuscin velent luptatetue ea sto diam riuscin velent lupta- riuscin velent luptatetue ea
tetue ea feugait atet aut et, feugait atet aut et, sent augait tetue ea feugait atet aut et, feugait atet aut et, sent augait
sent augait alisl ulluptat. alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum sent augait alisl ulluptat. alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum
Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

Corner of Church and Main Corner of Church and Main
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
Phone: 916-123-4567 Phone: 916-123-4567
Not enough contrast Here, side-by-side squares are attractively colored Higher contrast A small color change to the background is enough to
but too similar in value — your eye can wander left to right “across tracks” ifferentiate values, so the squares no longer look as though they’re twins.
d
rather than vertically.

Image
Photographs work better than illustrations because they fill the squares with tone
and texture. White backgrounds make great counterpoints. Use sparingly.

Fill the squares Corner of Church and Main
(Above) Fill each square fully; Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
Phone: 916-123-4567 Phone: 916-123-4567
floating an image will mess up
the alignment.
Recolor Reposition
(Above) White background bleeds into the adjacent (Above) A second solution is to swap the wine
white square, which leaves the image floating and and grapes.
the page top-heavy. One solution is to re-color two


squares (left).
Phone: 916-123-4567

Typesetting
This design requires disciplined typesetting. Establish a style — try a single typeface
and weight, then repeat it — exactly — in every square. Write to fit.
Set the words aligned left Differentiate with space Differentiate with size
It’s our fruits.

It’s our fruits.
It’s our fruits. Big
luptatetue ea feugait atet aut Nosto diam riuscin velent

et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, luptatetue ea feugait atet aut
vel dolore tatum vel put iure et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, Medium
ver in henim delit net flasp vel dolore tatum vel put iure
ver in henim delit net flasp.
Fresh Limes 39¢ ver in henim delit net flasp.
Fresh Limes 39¢
Fresh Limes 39¢ Small
Differentiate with color Right-align the price Keep the alignments consistent
Headlines
It’s our breads. It’s our fruits.
It’s our fruits. It’s our fruits. Na faci eugiam do nosto diam
Descriptions
Nosto diam riuscin velent Nosto diam riuscin velent vel put iure ver in henim delit. ver in henim delit net flasp.
$2.98 39¢
luptatetue ea feugait atet aut luptatetue ea feugait atet aut
Organic Ciabatta Bread Fresh Limes
Prices
et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, et, sent augait alisl ulluptat,
vel dolore tatum vel put iure vel dolore tatum vel put iure It’s our coffees. It’s our sweets. If the description is
ver in henim delit net flasp. ver in henim delit net flasp. Velent luptatetue ea feugait
riuscin velent luptatetue ea short, maintain the
ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel feugait atet aut et, sent augait
ulput iure ver in henim delit es- alisl ulluptat, vel dolore price alignment.
Fresh Limes 39¢ Fresh Limes 39¢ sequi ex ex et utpatisi.
Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra $8 lb. Candied Walnuts, 10 oz. $5.95

Typestyle
You’ll get the most integrated look using a typeface that has properties similar to the
squares. Our example: Helvetica Neue Medium is simple, clean-edged, upright.
It’s our freshly It’s our breads. It’s our breads.

baked breads Na faci eugiam do nosto diam
riuscin velent luptatetue ea feu-
Na faci eugiam do nosto diam feugait atet aut et, sent augait gait atet aut et, sent augait alisl
riuscin velent luptatetue ea alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel put
Simple, upright typestyle feugait atet aut et, sent augait. vel put iure ver in henim delit. iure ver in henim delit.
Helvetica Neue Medium’s simple
lines correspond to the simple Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98 Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98 Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98
grid — horizontal and vertical
strokes without detailed serifs,
thick-thin lines or angled ends Avoid mixing line counts Avoid italics Avoid mixed or busy typefaces
(terminals). Set a uniform margin Headlines should be only one line The grid is strictly horizontal and vertical. In small blocks like these, mixing serifs
inside every square and stick to it. (below) or two (above), but not both. Italics add only a skewy third direction. and sans-serifs is not necessary for dif-
ferentiation and adds only busy-ness.
Similarly, funky, stylized, hand-drawn
It’s our breads. It’s our fruits. It’s our coffees.
Na faci eugiam do nosto diam Nosto diam riuscin velent Velent luptatetue ea feugait typefaces (inset) can
It’s our breads.
riuscin velent luptatetue ea luptatetue ea feugait atet aut atet aut et, sent augait alisl
feugait atet aut et, sent augait et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel be fun but add hard-
alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel dolore tatum vel put iure ulput iure ver in henim delit es-
vel put iure ver in henim delit. ver in henim delit net flasp. sequi ex ex et utpatisi.
to-read texture to
Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98 Fresh Limes 39¢ Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra $8 lb.
riuscin velent luptatetue ea the clean grid.

Background colors
The square colors that will look best are in, or related to, the colors in the photos.
They can complement or contrast and be light, dark, subtle or bold.
Check out your colors Colors from the images Colors in the range
To see what you’re working with, start by placing When your photos are as similar as ours are, . . . a fuller, more dimen-
each photo on the c olor wheel according to its domi- colors can be eyedroppered directly. The domi- sional look can often be
nant color. In this case, we see that the colors are nant colors of each image will always go found nearby. Just move
clustered in a fairly narrow band from lime green to together and are often perfect (and so easy!), up or down a color col-
orange — only one third of the wheel. but if they feel a little flat . . . umn or over one.

More color possibilities . . .
Analogous colors Monochromatic colors Outside the range

Analogous colors are side- Monochromatic colors are A few columns outside
by-side on the wheel and light and dark versions of the naturally occurring
always look good together. the same hue and always range can yield beauti-
The differences are subtle work together. ful additions that work
and usually beautiful. because they have color
in common with an original.

Type colors
Colored type adds contrast and vitality to the single-color backgrounds. The rule
is the same; choose colors from the same palette as the photos.
It’s our breads.

Medium contrast
riuscin velent luptatetue ea Orange and yellow are vibrant
feugait atet aut et, sent augait and roasty at the same time;
alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum white text provides clear, read-
vel put iure ver in henim delit. able contrast.
It’s our fruits. Low contrast

Two almost-analogous colors
luptatetue ea feugait atet aut are fresh, cool, juicy. Yellow on
et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, lime is not easy to read, but
vel dolore tatum vel put iure there’s not much of it, so it’s
ver in henim delit net flasp. worth it for the added vitality.
Fresh Limes 39¢ Price line is black and white.
Add colors to colors!

Type colors add depth and dimension;
detailed contrasts strengthen the large,
It’s our coffees. Lowest contrast
square-to-photo contrasts. Velent luptatetue ea feugait Almost monochromatic, analo-
atet aut et, sent augait alisl gous coffee colors are warm and
ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel 50%
earthy. Small difference in color
ulput iure ver in henim delit
between text (50% tint) and
essequi ex ex et utpatisi.
price line adds subtle richness.

Template: Three-panel brochure | Outside spread

Letter-size page in decimal inches (11” x 8.5”)
Folded size in decimal inches (3.7” x 8.5”)
Fold-in panel (Left) On an accordion fold, all three panels

are equal in width. But on a letter-fold brochure like Peabo’s,
the fold-in panel needs to be slightly narrower than the
other two. In your layout program, open a new, two-page,
letter-size document with 0 columns, gutters and margins.
On page 1, draw the following ruler guides . . .

Accordion Letter-fold
0 0 20p2 42p4
1p6
17p0
34p0
49p6
2p0 21p8 (Fold line) 43p10 (Fold line) 64p6 23p8 45p10

Template: Three-panel brochure | Inside spread
The inside spread is basically a mirror image of the outside

spread, with a few minor adjustments. So on page 2, draw
the following ruler guides . . .
0 0 20p8 42p10
1p6
17p0
34p0
49p6
Strokes On the top layer in the Layers palette, draw

white lines over the folds and the two center horizontal
guides as shown above. Ours is a 1-pt stroke.

Article resources
Typefaces Colors
11 3
1 (a–c) Helvetica Neue Bold 11 C31 M32 Y56 K2
12 5 a) 39/34 pt, b) 16 pt, c) 12 pt
13 2 (a–b) Helvetica Neue Medium 12 C38 M72 Y100 K45
1a
a) 32 pt, b) 16/18 pt
2a It’s our wines. It’s our mojo. 13 C0 M0 Y0 K100
2b it snooling. A faci eugiam do Faci eugiam do nosto diam
1b
feugait atet aut et, sent augait 4 14 C42 M23 Y77 K20
vel ulput iure in henim delit! Images
1c Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12
15 Images: iStockphoto 15 C27 M76 Y53 K9
1c Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff
Roseville, California 95678 16 3 (1692734)
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day 16 C16 M28 Y58 K0
6 www.peabosgourmet.com
17 4 (974862)
Phone: 916-123-4567
17 C9 M40 Y100 K36

14 18 5 (1830741)
6 (3860242) 18 C10 M55 Y100 K10
9 7
7 (10638626)
8 (3017027)
10 8
9 (1548158)
10 (8915876)
Related articles
0693 | 0683 | 0671 | 0665 | 0663 | 0661
0659 | 0651 | 0650 | 0648 | 0642 | 0638
0635 | 0634 | 0633 | 0632 | 0626 | 0625
0623 | 0619 | 0607 | 0603 | Issue 32
Issue 25 Article revised on 05/24/11

Article resources
Images Colors
It’s our breads. 4
Images: iStockphoto 14 C20 M0 Y100 K50
feugait atet aut et, sent augait 5
1 (4540129)
$2.98 6 15 C0 M23 Y100 K20
2 (4475700)
Organic Ciabatta Bread
7 It’s our fruits. 1 3 (2630692) 16 C0 M70 Y100 K40

5 et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, 2
vel dolore tatum vel put iure 17 C35 M0 Y100 K20
6 Fresh Limes 39¢ 3 Colors

18 C0 M15 Y100 K20
It’s our coffees. 8 4 C0 M82 Y100 K0
Velent luptatetue ea feugait
19 C0 M15 Y100 K50
9 5 C0 M20 Y100 K0
20 C0 M60 Y100 K20 2
Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra $8 lb. 10
6 C0 M0 Y0 K100
21 C0 M60 Y100 K50
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 7 C58 M8 Y100 K0
22 C0 M60 Y100 K0
8 C19 M50 Y100 K80
23 C85 M0 Y75 K0
9 C9 M40 Y100 K36
24 C75 M8 Y34 K0
10 C10 M52 Y100 K0 2
25 C20 M0 Y100 K0
11 C50 M14 Y100 K0
20 21 22 23 24 25
12 C17 M32 Y60 K0
13 C44 M74 Y85 K57

Before&After
Subscribe to Before & After Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
Subscribe to Before & After, and become a to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
more capable, confident designer for pennies has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-
per article. To learn more, go to
able, useful and even fun for everyone.
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
E-mail this article Dexter Mark Abellera Senior designer
To pass along a free copy of this article to
Before & After magazine
others, click here. 323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Fax 916-784-3995
Join our e-list
E-mail mailbox@bamagazine.com
To be notified by e-mail of new articles as www http://www.bamagazine.com
they become available, go to
Copyright ©2011 Before & After magazine
http://www.bamagazine.com/email ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass along a free copy of this article to others
by clicking here. You may not alter this article, and you
may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections
for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and
let us know. To link Before & After magazine to your
Web site, use this URL: http://www.bamagazine.com.
For all other permissions, please contact us.
 21 of 21 | Printing formats  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Before&After
®
Before & After is made to fit your binder

Before & After articles are intended for permanent reference. All are titled and numbered.
For the current table of contents, click here. To save time and paper, a paper-saver format of this article,
suitable for one- or two-sided printing, is provided on the following pages.
For presentation format For paper-saver format

Print: (Specify pages 1–20) Print: (Specify pages 23–32)
Print
Format: Landscape
Page Size: Fit to Page
Save
Presentation format or
Paper-saver format
 Back | Paper-saver format 
Before&After ®
Design a
brochure
of squares
Modular construction
makes a brochure that’s
great for many topics.
Continued  Design a brochure of squares 0697
This nifty, modular brochure Cover panel
It’s only a letter-size sheet,
makes design easy by breaking
but it makes a big impres-
a big task into small parts! It’s a sion! Square(-ish) modules
sheet (or Web page) of squares
Peabo’s are easy to design and
repetitive, too; consistent
that each contain a photo or
text. Each photo fills its square,
Gourmet typestyles and margins leave
you free to concentrate on
and all text squares are typeset Stuff the cool stuff like composi-
tion, colors and voice!
alike. Your job is to arrange the squares.
Key to the best look is to have same-length
copy in every square. This is perfect for some
topics and limiting for others; products
and other repetitive entries are ideal. What
follows are tips to navigate the variety of
situations you’ll encounter. Watch:
0697 Design a brochure of squares Before&After | www.bamagazine.com Design a brochure of squares 0697
1 of 10
Two kinds of squares
The brochure has two kinds of squares — photo squares and text squares — arranged
on a tic-tac-toe-style grid. Photos and text can fill one or more adjacent squares.
11”
Simple grid (Left) Divide the page vertically Text squares Photo squares
and horizontally into nine equal sections. Three- Head style, text Here, three photos
81/2” panel brochure can be a letterfold like ours or an and price line are fill six squares.
accordion fold. We’re calling the sections squares, the same on all
Before&After ® Design a brochure of squares
even though they aren’t, quite.
4 of 21
squares.
Four sections
The brochure has four sections — a front, back, fold-in panel, and three inside panels.
The front panel uses one square for the headline and two for the photo.
Go freeform
To an open square you can
add freeform photos. Here,
a spray of wheat makes a
touchable counterpoint to the
circles and squares. This tech-
nique works best if the free-
form photo is closely related
to the primary photo, as it
is here. Headline colors are
derived from the photo and
complement the entire page.
Photo covers two squares
Design simply. The photo fills two adjacent
squares. Headline is squared off to the left,
which complements the square modules.
Circular objects (left) collaborate beautifully
with the square, making the page a hand-
some design of circles and rectangles.
2 of 10
Center variation
A center headline square can be used when the photo is big enough to fill the
page, as it is here. It can also buffer two different-but-related photos.
Add depth
Three star aniseeds overlap the square
and cast their shadows onto the main
photo, adding dimension to the panel.
The three seeds are really just one, a
cheap but useful trick that works best
with organic photos like these.
Two possibilities
(Above, far left) A center square buffers two different-
but-related* photos. (Above) A center square also
works with photos that are big enough to fill the
panel. In the case of this photo, the two ends retain
the visual continuity they need, but covering the
center can sometimes break that up. Be aware.
*similar shapes and textures
Create separation
The back panel has two adjacent text squares. For separation, color one square
like the photo, and leave the other in contrasting white.
Outside spread
Headline matches her skintone.
Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff It’s opposite
It’s our mojo. It’s our mojo.
Opposite (complementary) colors
Phone: 916-123-4567
Leam restart that can prebast. Leam restart that can prebast.
It’s our mojo. can add richness and depth. To get
Faci eugiam do nosto diam Faci eugiam do nosto diam
riuscin velent luptatetue ea riuscin velent luptatetue ea
alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum that, pull out your color wheel (below)
Leam restart that can prebast. and, in this case, pick out a medium
Faci eugiam do nosto diam green across from the red. Note that
Corner of Church and Main riuscin velent luptatetue ea both colors are equally desaturated
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day feugait atet aut et, sent augait
(somewhat gray). Generally speaking,
Phone: 916-123-4567 Phone: 916-123-4567
vel ulput iure in henim delit! similarly saturated colors will yield
the most pleasing results.
Borrow color from the photo Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff
(Above) Sampling color from her rosy cheeks gives Roseville, California 95678
the photo and center square similar, medium value Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
and sets off the white address square at the bottom. Phone: 916-123-4567
(Right) The white-square head and text are the same
style and size, separated only by color. Note that
although the text is smaller than a standard square,
it remains aligned with the contents above it.
3 of 10
Proportions
Pay attention to the proportions of your images relative to their spaces—put tall
with tall and short with short, for example. Exceptions require cropping.
Outside spread 1 2 3
It’s our wines. It’s our wines.
Phone: 916-123-4567
Texture and flasp end mist of Texture and flasp end mist of
It’s our wines.
it snooling. A faci eugiam do it snooling. A faci eugiam do
sto diam riuscin velent lupta- sto diam riuscin velent lupta-
tetue ea feugait atet aut et, tetue ea feugait atet aut et,
It’s our breads. sent augait alisl ulluptat. sent augait alisl ulluptat.
It’s our fruits. It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.


sto diam riuscin velent lupta- It’s our wines.
ver in henim delit net flasp. sent augait alisl ulluptat. alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum
Fresh Limes 39¢ Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12
Fold-in It’s our coffees.
Velent6 luptatetue
Hours: a.m. to 10 p.m.ea feugait
every day
sent augait alisl ulluptat. sto diam riuscin velent lupta-
Phone: 916-123-4567
panel
$12
$8 lb.
Peabo’s Holiday Merlot
Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra
Complementary proportions It’s opposite
The wine bottle fits the tall fold-in (Above) 1) Centered square works equally well on
panel beautifully, so be bold and a white background. 2) Smaller bottle is functional
It’s our wines.
put the text square right across the but has less impact, and the text square now looks Texture and flasp end mist of
center! Color it a rich, wine red with like a base, not a label. 3) If you’re limited to one
text in a complementary green. square, instead of making the bottle tiny (right),
design boldly by turning it sideways and cropping.
Inside spread
Inside, horizontal photos make a counterpoint to the vertical images on the
outside. With super-closeups like these, proportions do not matter.
It’s our breads.
Stagger the squares (Above) Single column is
static; a staggered presentation is more engaging. It’s our fruits.
Three horizontal photos ver in henim delit net flasp.
Breads, lime slices, and coffee beans are close Fresh Limes 39¢
enough to taste! This close up, proportions are irrel-
evant; the photos can be cropped in any direction.
(Below) Note the visual collaboration between grid It’s our coffees.
squares and the roundish objects (similar sizes and Velent luptatetue ea feugait
similarly simple). Lots of bold energy on this page! ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel
Three color contrasts (Above) Orange and green secondary colors are grocery
fresh! Note the orange is different from its bread; green blends with its limes,
and brown blends with its beans but contrasts with adjacent white.
4 of 10
Basic configurations
The nice thing about stackable squares is that they look good in many ways!
Generally speaking, simple horizontal and vertical shapes are clearest.
Phone: 916-123-4567
tetue ea feugait atet aut et, feugait atet aut et, sent augait Squares, plus vertical and horizontal shapes
3
Phone: 916-123-4567
2
(Above) Align text squares vertically
1
and horizontally, and maintain
uniform margins. L shape (Above, left) When using an L, put its caption in it, not beside
it (inset, left). (Above, right) Note that the photos are one, two, and three
squares in size.
Contrasts
Contrasts keep the design moving. Be sure to make enough difference between unrelated
squares that your eye doesn’t “jump tracks.” This often requires juggling!
Peabo’s
Gourmet
Stuff
Corner of Church and Main Corner of Church and Main
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
Phone: 916-123-4567 Phone: 916-123-4567
Not enough contrast Here, side-by-side squares are attractively colored Higher contrast A small color change to the background is enough to
but too similar in value — your eye can wander left to right “across tracks” differentiate values, so the squares no longer look as though they’re twins.
rather than vertically.
5 of 10
Image
Photographs work better than illustrations because they fill the squares with tone
and texture. White backgrounds make great counterpoints. Use sparingly.
Fill the squares Corner of Church and Main
(Above) Fill each square fully; Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
Phone: 916-123-4567 Phone: 916-123-4567
floating an image will mess up
the alignment.
Recolor Reposition
(Above) White background bleeds into the adjacent (Above) A second solution is to swap the wine

white square, which leaves the image floating and and grapes.
the page top-heavy. One solution is to re-color two
squares (left).
i U X
Before&After BAmagazine.com
Phone: 916-123-4567
® Design a brochure of squares 12 of 21
Typesetting
This design requires disciplined typesetting. Establish a style — try a single typeface
and weight, then repeat it — exactly — in every square. Write to fit.
Set the words aligned left Differentiate with space Differentiate with size
It’s our fruits.
It’s our fruits.
It’s our fruits. Big
luptatetue ea feugait atet aut Nosto diam riuscin velent
et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, luptatetue ea feugait atet aut
vel dolore tatum vel put iure et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, Medium
ver in henim delit net flasp vel dolore tatum vel put iure
Fresh Limes 39¢ ver in henim delit net flasp.
Fresh Limes 39¢
Fresh Limes 39¢ Small
Differentiate with color Right-align the price Keep the alignments consistent
Headlines
It’s our breads. It’s our fruits.
It’s our fruits. It’s our fruits. Na faci eugiam do nosto diam

Descriptions
Nosto diam riuscin velent Nosto diam riuscin velent vel put iure ver in henim delit. ver in henim delit net flasp.
$2.98 39¢
luptatetue ea feugait atet aut luptatetue ea feugait atet aut
Organic Ciabatta Bread Fresh Limes
Prices
et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, et, sent augait alisl ulluptat,
vel dolore tatum vel put iure vel dolore tatum vel put iure It’s our coffees. It’s our sweets. If the description is
ver in henim delit net flasp. ver in henim delit net flasp. Velent luptatetue ea feugait
riuscin velent luptatetue ea short, maintain the
ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel feugait atet aut et, sent augait
ulput iure ver in henim delit es- alisl ulluptat, vel dolore price alignment.
Fresh Limes 39¢ Fresh Limes 39¢ sequi ex ex et utpatisi.
Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra $8 lb. Candied Walnuts, 10 oz. $5.95
6 of 10
Typestyle
You’ll get the most integrated look using a typeface that has properties similar to the
squares. Our example: Helvetica Neue Medium is simple, clean-edged, upright.
It’s our freshly It’s our breads. It’s our breads.
baked breads Na faci eugiam do nosto diam
riuscin velent luptatetue ea feu-
Na faci eugiam do nosto diam feugait atet aut et, sent augait gait atet aut et, sent augait alisl
riuscin velent luptatetue ea alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel put
Simple, upright typestyle feugait atet aut et, sent augait. vel put iure ver in henim delit. iure ver in henim delit.
Helvetica Neue Medium’s simple
lines correspond to the simple Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98 Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98 Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98
grid — horizontal and vertical
strokes without detailed serifs,
thick-thin lines or angled ends Avoid mixing line counts Avoid italics Avoid mixed or busy typefaces
(terminals). Set a uniform margin Headlines should be only one line The grid is strictly horizontal and vertical. In small blocks like these, mixing serifs
inside every square and stick to it. (below) or two (above), but not both. Italics add only a skewy third direction. and sans-serifs is not necessary for dif-
ferentiation and adds only busy-ness.
Similarly, funky, stylized, hand-drawn
It’s our breads. It’s our fruits. It’s our coffees.
Na faci eugiam do nosto diam Nosto diam riuscin velent Velent luptatetue ea feugait typefaces (inset) can
It’s our breads.
riuscin velent luptatetue ea luptatetue ea feugait atet aut atet aut et, sent augait alisl
feugait atet aut et, sent augait et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel be fun but add hard-
alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel dolore tatum vel put iure ulput iure ver in henim delit es-
vel put iure ver in henim delit. ver in henim delit net flasp. sequi ex ex et utpatisi.
to-read texture to
Organic Ciabatta Bread $2.98 Fresh Limes 39¢ Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra $8 lb.
riuscin velent luptatetue ea the clean grid.
Background colors
The square colors that will look best are in, or related to, the colors in the photos.
They can complement or contrast and be light, dark, subtle or bold.
Check out your colors Colors from the images Colors in the range
To see what you’re working with, start by placing When your photos are as similar as ours are, . . . a fuller, more dimen-
each photo on the color wheel according to its domi- colors can be eyedroppered directly. The domi- sional look can often be
nant color. In this case, we see that the colors are nant colors of each image will always go found nearby. Just move
clustered in a fairly narrow band from lime green to together and are often perfect (and so easy!), up or down a color col-
orange — only one third of the wheel. but if they feel a little flat . . . umn or over one.
7 of 10
More color possibilities . . .
Analogous colors Monochromatic colors Outside the range
Analogous colors are side- Monochromatic colors are A few columns outside
by-side on the wheel and light and dark versions of the naturally occurring
always look good together. the same hue and always range can yield beauti-
The differences are subtle work together. ful additions that work
and usually beautiful. because they have color
in common with an original.
Type colors
Colored type adds contrast and vitality to the single-color backgrounds. The rule
is the same; choose colors from the same palette as the photos.
It’s our breads.
Medium contrast
riuscin velent luptatetue ea Orange and yellow are vibrant
feugait atet aut et, sent augait and roasty at the same time;
alisl ulluptat, vel dolore tatum white text provides clear, read-
vel put iure ver in henim delit. able contrast.
It’s our fruits. Low contrast
Two almost-analogous colors
luptatetue ea feugait atet aut are fresh, cool, juicy. Yellow on
et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, lime is not easy to read, but
vel dolore tatum vel put iure there’s not much of it, so it’s
ver in henim delit net flasp. worth it for the added vitality.
Fresh Limes 39¢ Price line is black and white.
Add colors to colors!
Type colors add depth and dimension;
detailed contrasts strengthen the large,
It’s our coffees. Lowest contrast
square-to-photo contrasts. Velent luptatetue ea feugait Almost monochromatic, analo-
atet aut et, sent augait alisl gous coffee colors are warm and
ulluptat, vel dolore tatum vel 50%
earthy. Small difference in color
ulput iure ver in henim delit
between text (50% tint) and
essequi ex ex et utpatisi.
price line adds subtle richness.
8 of 10
Template: Three-panel brochure | Outside spread
Letter-size page in decimal inches (11” x 8.5”)
Folded size in decimal inches (3.7” x 8.5”)
Fold-in panel (Left) On an accordion fold, all three panels
are equal in width. But on a letter-fold brochure like Peabo’s,
the fold-in panel needs to be slightly narrower than the
other two. In your layout program, open a new, two-page,
letter-size document with 0 columns, gutters and margins.
On page 1, draw the following ruler guides . . .
Accordion Letter-fold
0 0 20p2 42p4
1p6
17p0
34p0
49p6
Template: Three-panel brochure | Inside spread
The inside spread is basically a mirror image of the outside
spread, with a few minor adjustments. So on page 2, draw
the following ruler guides . . .
0 0 20p8 42p10
1p6
17p0
34p0
49p6
Strokes On the top layer in the Layers palette, draw
white lines over the folds and the two center horizontal
guides as shown above. Ours is a 1-pt stroke.
9 of 10
Article resources
Typefaces Colors
11 3
1 (a–c) Helvetica Neue Bold 11 C31 M32 Y56 K2
12 5 a) 39/34 pt, b) 16 pt, c) 12 pt
13 2 (a–b) Helvetica Neue Medium 12 C38 M72 Y100 K45
1a
a) 32 pt, b) 16/18 pt
2a It’s our wines. It’s our mojo. 13 C0 M0 Y0 K100
2b it snooling. A faci eugiam do Faci eugiam do nosto diam
1b
feugait atet aut et, sent augait 4 14 C42 M23 Y77 K20
vel ulput iure in henim delit! Images
1c Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12
15 Images: iStockphoto 15 C27 M76 Y53 K9
1c Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff
Roseville, California 95678 16 3 (1692734)
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day 16 C16 M28 Y58 K0
6 www.peabosgourmet.com
17 4 (974862)
Phone: 916-123-4567
17 C9 M40 Y100 K36
14 18 5 (1830741)
6 (3860242) 18 C10 M55 Y100 K10
9 7
7 (10638626)
8 (3017027)
10 8
9 (1548158)
10 (8915876)
Related articles
0693 | 0683 | 0671 | 0665 | 0663 | 0661
0659 | 0651 | 0650 | 0648 | 0642 | 0638
0635 | 0634 | 0633 | 0632 | 0626 | 0625
0623 | 0619 | 0607 | 0603 | Issue 32
Article revised on 05/24/11
Before&After ® Design a brochure of squares 20 of 21 Issue 25 BAmagazine.com i U X
Article resources
Images Colors
It’s our breads. 4
Images: iStockphoto 14 C20 M0 Y100 K50
feugait atet aut et, sent augait 5
1 (4540129)
$2.98 6 15 C0 M23 Y100 K20
2 (4475700)
Organic Ciabatta Bread
7 It’s our fruits. 1 3 (2630692) 16 C0 M70 Y100 K40
5 et, sent augait alisl ulluptat, 2
vel dolore tatum vel put iure 17 C35 M0 Y100 K20
6 Fresh Limes 39¢ 3 Colors
18 C0 M15 Y100 K20
It’s our coffees. 8 4 C0 M82 Y100 K0
Velent luptatetue ea feugait
19 C0 M15 Y100 K50
9 5 C0 M20 Y100 K0
20 C0 M60 Y100 K20 2
Peabo’s Fair Trade Sumatra $8 lb. 10
6 C0 M0 Y0 K100
21 C0 M60 Y100 K50
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 7 C58 M8 Y100 K0
22 C0 M60 Y100 K0
8 C19 M50 Y100 K80
23 C85 M0 Y75 K0
9 C9 M40 Y100 K36
24 C75 M8 Y34 K0
10 C10 M52 Y100 K0 2
25 C20 M0 Y100 K0
11 C50 M14 Y100 K0
20 21 22 23 24 25
12 C17 M32 Y60 K0
13 C44 M74 Y85 K57
10 of 10

Brochure of Squares

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Brochure of Squares

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Before&After

Continued  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Design a brochure of squares

This nifty, modular brochure Cover panel

 2 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Two kinds of squares

 3 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Photo covers two squares

 4 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

*similar shapes and textures

 5 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Headline matches her skintone.

Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff It’s opposite

Opposite (complementary) colors

It’s our mojo. can add richness and depth. To get

Borrow color from the photo Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

 6 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.

Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

It’s our wines. It’s our wines.

It’s our wines.

Texture and flasp end mist of

it snooling. A faci eugiam do

It’s our fruits. It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.

Peabo’s Holiday Merlot

Peabo’s Holiday Merlot $12

Complementary proportions It’s opposite

 7 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

It’s our breads.

Stagger the squares (Above) Single column is

 8 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.

Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

It’s our wines. It’s our mojo.

(Above) Align text squares vertically

 9 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

 10 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

the page top-heavy. One solution is to re-color two

Peabo’s Gourmet Stuff

 11 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

It’s our fruits.

luptatetue ea feugait atet aut Nosto diam riuscin velent

 12 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

It’s our freshly It’s our breads. It’s our breads.

 13 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

 14 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

More color possibilities . . .

Analogous colors Monochromatic colors Outside the range

 15 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

It’s our breads.

It’s our fruits. Low contrast

Add colors to colors!

 16 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Template: Three-panel brochure | Outside spread

Fold-in panel (Left) On an accordion fold, all three panels

On page 1, draw the following ruler guides . . .

 17 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697

Template: Three-panel brochure | Inside spread

The inside spread is basically a mirror image of the outside

Strokes On the top layer in the Layers palette, draw

 18 of 21  Design a brochure of squares 0697