How to make a trifold brochure that gets results

Digital marketing can be expensive and finicky. Print remains a powerful tool for small businesses and while it’s harder to track its impact, a well-designed brochure can play an important role in marketing efforts. Let’s see it is to make a trifold brochure in Canva.

Brochures occupy that magic place between the brevity and impact of a postcard and the storytelling capacity of a booklet. The clever design of the trifold brochure gives you a huge amount of space to play with by creating six different areas. This allows you to fit a lot of information into a compact piece of marketing collateral.

And the design allows you to control which information is revealed first , so you can really take people on a journey and utilize some great storytelling about your brand or product. And the best part is, Canva makes it easy. You can even professionally print your brochure directly from the Canva editor.

If this is your first time designing a trifold brochure, you can find more information in our in-depth tutorial on how to make a trifold brochure that gets results⁠(opens in a new tab or window). And if you prefer to learn by doing, start inspired with a template. To find a template, search ‘Trifold Brochure’ on the Canva homepage.

Templates are a game-changer for small business owners, small teams and sole traders – anyone who’s time poor and needs some design help. Templates offer shortcuts for experienced designers and an experienced guiding hand for those who need it. You can customize templates as much or as little as you like. To preview your brochure design in realistic settings, use our brochure mockup generator⁠(opens in a new tab or window).

One of the more challenging aspects of designing your trifold brochure, and one you want to get right, is correctly ordering your pages. It’s a bit counterintuitive but the front cover is the right panel on the top page. The back cover is the middle panel, and the left panel is the inside flap. The bottom pages, from left to right, are all the inside pages – that’s the easiest way to remember it.

It’s a good idea to number your panels while you’re designing so you can keep track of what information needs to go where. And to make sure the order and flow makes sense.

After designing your trifold brochure, the hardest part of creating a trifold brochure is printing it. Once again, Canva has made it easy and you can print it directly from the editor instead of having the call up a printer and work your way through the different jargon. In the top right of the editor, next to the share button, click ‘Print Trifolds’ and follow the prompts.

Mark which is the front and back so it folds correctly and the order appears as you need it. Then choose your paper finish, quantity and you can even include envelopes⁠(opens in a new tab or window). You’ll then be prompted to proof your design and copy and then you checkout and that’s it – you’ve sent your brochure to print!

For a more in-depth look at How to make a trifold brochure that gets results, check out our video tutorial⁠(opens in a new tab or window).