Print is Not Dead, it's Special

People may tell you that print is dead, but this misses a vital point. While websites catch attention, brochures hold it. Brochures project solidity and quality by offering a tactile emotional experience that you can't get from a screen.

Print is not dead, it’s special - and here are the two reasons why:

Communication is a human experience

Websites compete in a noisy world of distraction, and are always one click away from oblivion. They are easier to ignore and forget than print. A really good brochure gets to the point and communicates your messages with clarity, confidence and beauty. Your viewer’s time and attention are cherished and rewarded.

A good brochure brings business credibility and design creativity together. It creates a physical interaction between you and your customer. Details in the way you bind or stitch the pages, tactile paper stocks and exciting postal packaging feed into the customer journey – working together to inspire and delight.

The finished object is a tangible and precious gift, designed to be held. The look, feel and quality of the brochure plays on multiple senses and offers physical beauty and style to be enjoyed and digested slowly.

Print brings depth and character to your communication. Your brochure builds trust and confidence as part of an uncluttered, slow and meaningful interaction away from the busy world of search engines. It offers your clients the comfort and safety of thinking-time in a frantic world.

This is particularly true for the much maligned millennial - research from Bangor University suggests that hand-held print makes far deeper impressions on 18-34 year-olds than the flood of input from screens.

Trust is something you feel with your body

A good brochure really stands out and draws comment. It will be saved, treasured, and put on show as something your client is proud to be associated with. A brochure that is well designed and beautifully printed will be kept and revered, adding weight to your brand and psychological intimacy with your customer.

Brochures exist to be saved and shared. Both those things can be done online, but sharing a solid physical experience has far more impact.

Design that actually works

Brochures must be viable and useful, and this is down to design. Consider making print that is useful to the consumer (for example by including interactive features, or aids to decision making). Modern brochure design is flexible, creating modular sales tools for different audiences, seasons or pitching processes.