Nightclub flyer designs - an example of market profiling.

More than anything else, good printing design is determined by the target marketing you are trying to reach. There is no point designing an outstanding looking flyer or leaflet, if it does not attract the right kind of client.

But how do you know what will attract your target market? Well, I am going to put down a few tricks within the context of a common type of flyer design - nightclub flyer designs.

Be specific about the target. When profiling there is a tendancy to generalise. Obviously, a nightclub is trying to target a young audience (primarily 18-30), but for a well targetted design you need to break this down much further. There is a big difference in the tastes and social standing of a 29 year old London professional, and an 18 year old student for example. Try to think of a single, typical customer rather than a large group and examine their personal tastes.

Use other brands to help. A quick and easy way of profiling a customer type is to look at the brands which they like. If you isolate a popular brand within your sub-group then you can effectively lift the imagery and tone which these brands use for your own purposes.

Look at their interests. Within the context of what you are advertising, look at your target markets' interests. In the nightclub flyer designs example, the obvious thing to look at is taste in music. If your target market is into dance music, then look at the imagery and approach used by dance music magazines, CDs and websites. Likewise, if they are into urban music then look at hiphop magazines etc. The idea is to find the key elements which attract the interest of your group and bring them into your design.

Pick a key selling point. Every good flyer should pick one key selling point as the centre of the design. You need to consider what aspect of the thing you are advertising will appeal most to your target market. Back to the nightclub flyer design, if you are targetting a student audience then you may want to emphasise the value for money (2 for 1 on drinks, cheap entry cost . . ). If you are targetting a young professional you may want to emphasise the exclusivity of the event. Just think of that one thing, which alongside the targetted design elements you are using, is most likely to pursuade your target to act.

Flyer designer - what makes a good designer.

Being a good flyer designer means balancing lots of the different talents. Obviously, you have to have good printing design skills but to truly excel as a flyer designer you need to have other skills as well. A good flyer design is one which targets the right customer in exactly the right way.
This means that alongside graphic design ability you need to have sharp marketing skills, and more specifically, a very good understanding of the target market and what might appeal to them. At Add Design, our flyer designers handle projects from all kinds of businesses in all kinds of industries so understanding the target market is not always easy and involves the ability to undertake quick and effective research. It also helps to talk to the client about their understanding of the market, so good communication and interpretive skills are a must.
The actual design, of course, is only half of the flyer design - the text can be just as important so if there is not a good copywriter at hand then the flyer designer also needs to fulfil this role and be able to cut down text into short and effective copy which will work alongside the design to create the right tone to engage the target market.
Lastly, there is an understanding of print. A design may look fantastic on screen, but a good graphic designer needs to be sure that it will also look good in print. Different paper types (silk / matt / gloss) and thicknesses are good for different effects and functions so every flyer designer needs to know which is the best combination to work with their design to make it as an effective piece of advertising as possible.