Your first impression, passed from hand to hand.

What to consider when having business cards and brochures designed

Business card and brochure design is the work of preparing the printed materials that present your brand correctly, both visually and in terms of printing techniques. A good design catches the reader's interest and conveys information quickly; a correctly prepared print file prevents trimming, color and resolution problems at the printer. Sova Ajans designs these materials to match your corporate identity and delivers them as print-ready files.

What should a business card include?

A business card is a small space; trying to fit everything in harms legibility. The following information is usually enough:

• Name and title
• Company name and logo
• Phone and, if needed, a WhatsApp line
• Email and website address
• If needed, a full address or a QR code leading to the location

The back can be used to highlight the logo, give a short list of services or place a QR code. Very small type sizes, light-colored text on light backgrounds and ornate script fonts are the most common legibility problems on business cards.

The difference between a brochure, a catalog and a flyer

These materials are often used interchangeably, but their purposes differ:

1. Flyer: One page, one message. It quickly announces an opening, an event or a seasonal notice. The reader should understand within a few seconds what they need to do.
2. Brochure: Usually bi-fold or tri-fold. It describes the company, its services and its way of working in a bit more detail; it is left at proposals and visits.
3. Catalog: Multi-page, it shows the range of products or services in an orderly structure. A consistent page structure makes it easy to find the product being looked for.

Whichever material you choose, it should be clear in each one what you want the reader to do in the end: call, visit the website, come to the store or request a quote. Having this call to action in a visible place alongside the contact details directly affects whether the printed material works.

We decide which is right for you by looking at where and to whom the material will be given. A material to be handed out at a trade fair and a product catalog to be sent to dealers are not designed with the same approach.

Paper choice also affects how the material is perceived. A thick matte business card and a thin glossy flyer leave different impressions. Finishes such as lamination, spot varnish or embossing should be considered part of the design; if they will be used, the file is prepared accordingly. We evaluate the options your printer offers together and recommend the one that suits the intended use.

What does a print-ready file mean?

Not every design that looks good on screen gives the same result in print. For the printer to print without problems, the file needs the following technical settings:

• Bleed: Extending the background color and images slightly beyond the trim line so that no white strip is left at the edge when cutting.
• Safe area: Keeping text and logo from getting too close to the trim line.
• CMYK color mode: Screen colors (RGB) come out differently in print; the file must be prepared in print color mode.
• Sufficient resolution: Low-resolution images downloaded from the web look blurry and pixelated in print.
• Embedding fonts and images: Typefaces not installed on the printer's computer should not cause problems in the file.

We make these settings according to the specifications of your printer. If your printer requires a particular bleed, file format or color profile, you only need to pass it on to us.

Before delivery we put the file through a final technical check: texts close to the trim line, low-resolution images and elements in the wrong color mode are caught at this stage.

Digital business cards and QR code use

Printed business cards are still widely used, but most people want to save the details to their phone right away. For this reason, adding a QR code that saves the contact details to the phone, or a link to a website, location or WhatsApp, is a practical solution. We also deliver the same design as an image or PDF that can be shared on screen.

For a QR code to work, it needs to be placed at a sufficient size, with strong contrast against the background and with space left around it. It is also important that the address the link leads to is one that will not change for a long time; otherwise the printed material becomes unusable. Before printing we test the code with different phones.

On-site and online work

With clients in Sakarya and the surrounding area, we can evaluate paper types and fold options in person using samples. With clients across Turkey we run the process entirely online, share drafts as PDFs and deliver the print file in a form you can send to any printer you choose.

If you need to update the same material after printing, for example when a phone number or a product changes, the editable source files let us revise the design quickly without starting over.

Common mistakes

• Trying to fit all of a company's information into a single brochure and losing the main message.
• Using photos found online whose usage rights are unclear in the design.
• Assuming that colors approved on screen will come out the same on paper; asking for a proof print is useful for important jobs.
• Printing a QR code without testing it or using it at a very small size.
• Giving final approval in a hurry and not rechecking details such as phone and address.
• Choosing a format without thinking about where it will be distributed. For example, a business card that does not fit in a pocket or wallet, or a brochure that does not fit standard brochure racks, causes problems in use.
• Putting more than one campaign or message on a flyer; the reader cannot tell which one to focus on.
• Not comparing the information on printed material with the website and social media profiles. Different phone numbers or opening hours damage trust.