Macs were made for graphic design. In fact, there was a time when no self-respecting graphic artist would work on anything but a Mac. Windows PCs have come a long way since then, but the Mac platform remains the favorite among professionals in the graphics community. With the right programs, it's possible to create all kinds of useful artwork and marketing materials on a Mac. One such program is Pages, a part of the iWork suite that often comes pre-installed on Mac systems. If it isn't already present on your Mac, a free 30-day trial can be downloaded, so you can try it out to make your brochure.
Things You'll Need
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- Pages softwareMac computerDigital photos (optional)Text for brochure
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Step 1
Open Pages, which is located in the Applications>iWork folder.
Step 2
Choose "Brochures" in the pop-up menu of templates that comes up. In iWork 2006 these are located under the "Marketing" menu; in iWork 2009 they are under "Page Layout." There are several templates from which to choose.
Step 3
Choose a template that most closely matches the final look you want to achieve. Double-click to open it.
Step 4
Save the file and name it so you can easily find it.
Step 5
Replace the placeholder text and any photos you desire with your text and images. Any photo file on your computer can simply be dragged from the Finder onto a placeholder image, and it will automatically be placed and resized to fit. Text can be typed directly into the document, replacing the placeholder text, or it can be copied and pasted from another document and formatted using pre-existing style sheets from the "Style" option on the menu bar. New text boxes can be created by clicking anywhere outside the main body and choosing Insert>Text.
Step 6
Save the file again when you are finished. You can either print it yourself or export it as a PDF and have it printed professionally. There are two pages in each document; the first page is the outside of the brochure and the second page is the inside. Printing it yourself is easiest if you have a duplexer that will automatically print front and back. Otherwise you will need to re-feed the paper after the first side is printed. To export as a PDF go to File>Export in iWork 2006, or Share>Export in iWork 2009.
Tips & Warnings
- There are many applications that can be used to produce brochures on Mac computers; Pages is just one of the easiest, and the most likely to be pre-loaded on your Mac.