What is a flyer, what it is for and how to design an effective one

A flyer is a single-sheet graphic piece meant to be handed out or distributed at a specific point. Its job is simple: communicate one idea fast enough that the person does not throw it away before reading it.

Flyer, leaflet, brochure and tri-fold

They are often confused. A flyer or leaflet is a single unfolded sheet. A brochure has several pages. A tri-fold is one sheet folded in three. More folds mean more information, but also more cost and less reading.

Common sizes

• A5 (14.8 × 21 cm): the most common, fits in a bag.
• A6 (10.5 × 14.8 cm): cheap, ideal for mass handouts.
• A4 (21 × 29.7 cm): for dense information or light posters.
• Square (15 × 15 cm): stands out simply by being different.

For print, the file goes at 300 dpi in CMYK with 3 mm bleed on each side. Designed in RGB, the colours will shift when printed.

What it must contain

1. A headline readable from a metre away.
2. One single offer. Two messages compete and neither wins.
3. A clear action: scan, call, visit, present the flyer.
4. Contact details that are complete and legible.
5. An expiry date if it is a promotion.

The five most frequent mistakes

• Filling every corner. Empty space is what makes the rest readable.
• Small type. Nobody reads a flyer calmly; under 9 points gets discarded.
• Low contrast. Light text on a light photo disappears in sunlight.
• Low-resolution photos. What looks fine on screen can look pixelated in print.
• No call to action. A pretty flyer that asks for nothing produces nothing.

The digital flyer

The same piece usually gets reused on social media, and there the rules change: vertical format, even shorter text and, above all, no phone numbers that cannot be tapped. If you plan to use both channels, design two versions from the start instead of stretching one.