10 Expert Tips to Help You Create a Folder Design
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Are you looking to give your presentation files a professional and refined look to impress your clients and employers? Custom presentation folders are unique, well-designed folders that you can use in business meetings, conferences, events, and more.
A presentation folder design is a high-quality printed folder that is mostly used to organize and store documents. These lightweight design usually comes with a business card slot and customizable inside pockets that can be put in the mail.
Like every other design, designing a presentation folder design can be a hassle if you are not well-versed in creating designs. Whether you are working on your first folder design project or you are an experienced designer looking to enhance your skills, we’ve put together some helpful tips and checklists to guide you through the process.
What is a presentation folder?
A presentation folder is a kind of folder that is used to hold documents or paper together to organize and protect the document from damage. They usually consist of a sheet of heavy paper stock or hard cover materials that are folded in half with pockets to hold the documents.
For the longest time, presentation folders have been used as file folders for organizational purposes and have been used as a business tool in the sales process. Nowadays, business professionals and marketers are using customized presentation folders to enhance their presentations and give them a professional and sophisticated look. Check out some tips on presentation design.
Steps To Take Before You Start
Before your start designing your custom folders, ensure that you take the following steps to perfect the process:
Step 1: Conduct your In-depth Research
As you may have guessed, the first step to creating your presentation folder design is by carrying out thorough research about the business, why you need the folders, and what you intend to use them for. More specifically, you must conduct your research in the following areas:
- Have a clear vision: To conduct research that will yield positive results, try to gather as much information as possible from your client or those that will be using the folder. Ask them all the important information necessary to execute the design such as their colors of preference, how they want their image to be perceived, and the purpose of the folders. It is only when you know what the folder will be used for that you can come up with the best results.
- Know your audience: The target audience are the people that will most likely be using the folders (i.e the people the folders are targeted at). Understanding who will be using the folder by identifying their location, gender, and occupation can help you decide on the right design elements, images, and print materials to use.
- Know your competitors: Competitor analysis is important when making business decisions or creating marketable materials. You need to understand what your competitors are doing to get better at it. To learn more about your competitors, consider visiting their website and taking a look at their promotional marketing materials for inspiration.
Step 2: Choose the finish design material
Now that you have conducted your research on your target audience, competitors, and client expectations, the next step is to choose the final materials for the folder design.
For this, you might also want to consider which is the best print option to go for print, foil stamp or emboss. For more clarification, here’s what the folder designs look like in the three finishing options.
Printed Pocket Folders: For this finishing, the brand logo is printed in one color or has a full-color design. Most printed pocket folders have printed designs on the front cover, back cover, and pockets.
Foiled Stamped Folders: Foiled stamped folders have a unique imprint that gives your company a classic look (mostly at an affordable price). There are about 26 foil colors that you can use to match your branding.
Embossed Pocket Folders: Embossed pocket folders physically print the brand logo, pattern, or graphics into the folder to give it a classic touch with modern elegance. This print also adds an extra dimension to the sensory experience.
Expert Tips to Design Presentation Folders
Here are some of the tips from expert designers that you should use when designing your folder designs.
1. Only use your Logo
Your brand logo is the visual and distinct representation of your brand. It is one thing people see that helps them recognize your brand. The best decision you can make for your folder design is to use your logo to remind your customers about your company and help them recognize you at first sight.
In the situation where you have a colorful brand logo, consider printing the logo on a white paper stock to help it stay vibrant and good-looking.
2. Be mindful of the colors you use
Colors bring out life in a design. In most cases, you can achieve your desired result by using just one or two colors. Consider working with a color guide if you are struggling with choosing the right colors for your design.
3. Play around with shapes where ever necessary
There are about two to five design elements that designers can work with when creating designs. One of these is shapes, adding shapes to your design and placing them at strategic places on the folder can help you create a unique look and feel for the design. If you have added your brand logo and colors and are looking for a way to make it look more distinct, play around with different shapes.
4. Enhance your logo with high-quality paper
For most folder designs, the quality of paper used can enhance the look and feel of the brand logo. Consider working with high-quality print material such as marble, laid, linen, metallic, recycled, weave, or corduroy paper stocks to get the best results.
5. Leave enough white space
You must have heard the popular saying that less is more. To create a clean, professional, and modern design that can attract your audience, try not to go overboard with the design elements. Instead, keep it simple and leave plenty of white space in the design.
6. Avoid using stock images or graphics
Using generic stock images or graphics doesn’t represent your brand well. Consider hiring a professional photographer or designer to create a folder design that accurately reflects your brand image. Check out some catalogue design ideas.
7. Consider unconventional placement for your brand logo
Your brand logo is the face of your brand. To help your target audience recognize you and help you come up with a unique design, consider placing your logo somewhere unexpected in the design
8. Include your contact information
To further incorporate your branding in the design, consider adding your contact information in the business card slits of the pocket folders, at the bottom of the back cover, or just below the logo.
9. Include a professional headshot where necessary
For better branding, consider placing your business portrait or professional headshot next to your contact information. However, ensure that the portrait is placed so small that it doesn’t overshadow the design.
10. Add social media icons
Almost every business has a social media presence nowadays. If you have a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, TikTok, or YouTube account, consider adding social media icons with usernames to help your audience find you on social media. Beyond this, it also gives room for better communication.
Presentation Folder Design Templates
There are so many digital creative platforms where you can find your desired design online. We have identified a few folder designs below, check out the 12 folder design templates to guide you.
1. Presentation folders
2. Real Estate Folder Designs
3. Construction Folder Design
4. Medical Center Folder
5. Bank Folder design
6. Architecture folder design
7. Sports Folder design
8. Financial Planning Folder Design
9. Business Conference Folder Design
10. Interior Decor Folder Design
11. School Folder Design
12. Travel Agency Folder Design
Ready to Get Started?
Folder designs are brand-uplifting designs that come in different styles to serve a variety of purposes. More than just to protect files or papers, the majority of folder designs are created to market a company’s products or services while still fulfilling other functions.
Folders are mostly used at business conferences and corporate events to showcase the product or service benefits to the customers in an organized manner. If you are looking to create professional, unique, and high-quality folder designs, get in touch with our creative design experts at All Time Design today.
All Time Design is one of the leading creative design service providers well known for its excellent service delivery and proficient graphic designers. Check our works.
