With the kids back at school for the new academic year, it will be on some ones task list to start preparing for next years school prospectus – if this sounds like you then this article should help you out!

In this forward thinking, fast paced society, schools will already be looking to promote to potential students for the next school year. There are many things to consider before printing school prospectuses, first of all and most importantly… the front cover design. It is the first thing that potential students and parents will be seeing, so an instant impact is important. On average it takes a person 7 seconds for a first impression of something, so the front cover is key. Normally photography and imagery works best, whether it is an image of happy students, or carrying out science experiments – to paint a picture of what life will be like if you choose to attend that school. Images of model students works both ways, it also shows the potential student what is expected of them if they were to be accepted at the school.

Depending on the type of school, should depend on colour scheme for the design. For example, if you are designing for a primary school, lots of bright colours would be more suitable and eye catching for a younger audience. Sports colleges tend to use light colours or white backgrounds, so that the bright colours on the sport imagery stand out. A more traditional school or college would opt for darker colours that are more professional and academic.

When choosing content for your school prospectus, put yourself in the mind of the reader, what are they looking for? Most people will have an agenda, an idea of what they are looking for. This is why big headings, and basic layouts are important. If you try to be too clever with the layout of the wording, important information could be missed or not easily accessible. Clear and concise fonts should be used, normally a traditional serif font or a modern simple font work best, depending on the type of school. You will need to choose the right font that will work with the whole design. You can mix it up by using a different fonts for things like large captions and headings, but the main body of text should be simple and easy to read.

So you have the design covered, time to get them produced! Choose the right paper finish to compliment the design of your school brochure. Traditionally, you would choose an uncoated card for the cover and a slightly light paper for the text pages. For brighter, image heavy designs, silk and gloss papers tend to work best as they give the image colours a boost. Effects such as gloss spot UV help really make an impact, normally just used on a front cover on something like the school logo.

Hopefully this has helped with your school prospectus design and print. To make an enquiry regarding the printing or design please contact us.