Effective print advertising, whether a flier or newspaper/magazine ad, consists of two major parts.

The first part is the design of the ad. If an ad doesn’t have an eye-appealing design, chances are no one will look at it. The most important information in the world could be in that ad, but what good does it do if no eyes are drawn to the ad? So, what are some things that make an ad stand out on the page?

As a designer, I judge everything I create by four simple design rules. I learned these rules many years ago from a book called The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams (no, not the actor Robin Williams, but another one). I highly recommend Robin’s book to anyone looking to re-invent or update a business image.

Robin teaches four rules that are easy to remember and apply. She includes plenty of illustrations and drawings to help the reader visualize the concepts. And the best part is that even someone without any artistic background can understand her rules.

Her first rule is “contrast.” Think big / little, dark / light, thick / thin. Another word for this rule could be “opposites.” The typeface used in an ad shouldn’t all be the same size. There should be a headline (big) and information (little). Having a larger headline draws the reader’s eye to the ad. Another example with a typeface is the use of bold type (dark) compared to regular type (light).

The second rule is “repetition.” Certain elements should be repeated to make the ad look cohesive. The larger the ad, the easier it is to incorporate repetition. One example of repetition is the use of bullet points. The ad could use plain bullet points or maybe a fancier design; however, each new point uses identical bullets. Another example is being consistent with the fonts or typefaces used in the ad.

Robin’s third rule is “alignment.” One of the easiest traps to fall into when it comes to design, especially in business card design or with smaller ads, is using center alignment for everything. No matter what software program is used to create a design, two other options always exist for alignment – left and right. Experimenting with alignment can create some very different, and nice, looking designs.

The fourth rule works hand-in-hand with alignment – “proximity.” If certain parts of the ad go together, keep those parts together. The spacing between the different parts in the ad should vary. Don’t separate the street address from its city with the same amount of space as between the address and main ad information. The idea behind proximity is to make it look like the parts belong together and separate the pieces of information that don’t go together.

The second part of creating effective advertisements is the information that is included. While this may seem like common sense, every ad should include the business’s basic information – name, address, phone number, hours, and, if applicable, website. If the business is a retail business, a common practice includes the types of payment that are accepted. (This can be done visually with the various credit / debit card logos.) The basic information doesn’t have to be prominent in the ad, but it should definitely be included.

Once the basics are in the ad, the remainder of the ad can be built using the design rules. The most important information, the purpose of the ad, should take up the largest portion of space.

If the ad is meant to build name recognition, describe the business. For a retail store, describe what products are sold. For a service-related business, list what type of work is performed.

If the ad is for a sale or special event, include the details – effective dates, product  / event photos, and sale prices / costs. Research has proven that ads that include details get more attention than generalized ads. Don’t assume that the consumer will pick up the phone to find out more information. Give as much detail as possible in the ad to gain the consumer’s interest.

Kara Starcher is a freelance editor and designer and can be reached at 304-377-3941.