: Industry secrets of effective brochure / advert design I don't have a formal education in design, so have never been taught any industry secrets or methodologies of general design. I am however

@Turnbaugh909

Older question.... but still....

I once had a client propose to pay me to create an outline of what does and does not make an effective design for direct mail sales pieces.

As I was simply exploring the idea and creating an outline of design oriented topics to cover, I quickly realized that what I had was a text book or manual.

I then started thinking of other areas of design and the same is very, very true. If creating advertising for something like a periodical (do people still use that word?) then there are almost an equal amount of different topics to consider based on demographics.

There are some simple rules such as:
- Reverse type is harder to read
- Older demographics require larger text
- Smaller logos convey more professionalism
- adding white space makes something feel more open and friendly

But beyond these basic, simple guidelines which most experienced designers would know, this topic would be very specific to the end goal of the design in addition to any demographic data for the audience. I don't really think there are specific "rules" or "secrets" as much as there are experience-taught methods for a specific project.

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@Cofer715

Given that the OP identifies him- of herself as a seasoned designer, I actually don't think this is answer is open ended at all. The answer is "no, there are no secrets," only technical and useability restrictions, all of which you are familiar with.

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