“pride of authorship” and their candid suggestions are
appreciated.
4.Photographs should be incorporated effectively, to illus-
trate the gorgeous venue or the face of a famous keynote
speaker. Photos without a purpose, or used simply to fill
space, are often impediments to easy reading. Finally, clip
art should not be used on major pieces. Readers know that
it is a cheap computer contrivance, and that will make
your brochure seem cheap as well.
5.All photographs, artwork, and illustrations must be used
with the proper permission from creators or producers.
6.Type fonts should be used sparingly. Preferred is a font
with a simple design that is large enough (never less than
10-point type for text) to be read easily by older readers. A
change in type fonts can be used (e.g., between headlines
and text), but the brochure designer should never use more
than three fonts in a brochure. It will make the brochure
look as though someone was playing around with the com-
puter. (That’s fun, but not effective!)- Bright, contrasting colors make for memorable, easily iden-
tifiable mailing pieces. Subtle combinations, such as pink
type on a red background or light gray on a darker gray,
may be an elegant combination but will likely not grab
attention. - The reader should not be forced to search for the response
mechanism. Make it easy to respond! The registration form,
hotel reservation form, as well as hotel descriptions and
rates, and airline/train/bus information should be placed
prominently and must be usable without destroying im-
portant contiguous information that the attendee will want
to review later. Also, critical response aids such as all tele-
phone numbers, e-mail addresses, fax numbers, and other
information needed for quick responses should be included
on all registration/reservation forms. Additionally, it is im-
perative to include information for those who need to re-
quest special assistance for the handicapped. - Not all of the space need be filled with text or photographs.
Blank areas (or “white space”) should not be overdone, but
a strategic allocation of white space will make the reading
easier on the eyes.
112 Chapter 5 Marketing Association Meetings, Conferences, Events, and Expositions