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Create a theme-related brochure in Microsoft Office Word 2007

Learn how to create a theme-related brochure for your class using Microsoft Office Word 2007.

Video: Create a theme-related brochure

Create tri-fold brochures for anything: language arts, math, social studies, science, and art. Student-created brochures can promote activities or sports. Quick and easy brochures serve as great handouts at student orientation or parents' night. Watch the video

Plan your brochure

With Office Word 2007 you can lay out a tri-fold brochure so that elements, such as text and images, align correctly when the brochure is printed and folded. The quickest way to create a tri-fold brochure from scratch is to divide pages into three panels using columns. Another quick way is to download a template from Microsoft Office Online.

Do a rough sketch

Before you start Office Word 2007, take a sheet of 8.5-by-11-inch paper and fold it in thirds. Make sure the right third is folded in and the left third is folded across the top. Label the front panel Front, and then turn the paper over and label the back panel Back.

Image of a theme-related brochure in Microsoft Word
Side 1
Image of a theme-related brochure in Microsoft Word
Side 2

Plan out what you would like to put on each panel of the brochure. In other words, write down and sketch out what you want to see, leaving room for a picture, diagram, or graph.

Set up a new document using columns

  1. Open a new blank Office Word 2007 document in Print Layout view.
  2. On the Page Layout tab in the Page Setup group, click Columns, and then select Three. The ruler at the top of the window shows the three sections or columns.
  3. Click the Page Setup dialog box launcher. On the Margins tab, under Orientation, select Landscape so that your document has more space horizontally.
  4. Under Margins, set Top and Bottom margins to .5, and then set Left and Right margins to .25. By default, there is a half-inch gap between columns, so by entering these settings, the columns will be centered on each panel. Check the Preview thumbnail to see what the pages will look like. Click OK.
  5. With the first column selected, click Breaks, and then click Column. Repeat until the insertion point is in the top of the sixth column (page 2). Now you can start typing in any column.

Tips:

  • You can press F4 to repeat the last step you completed (in this case, inserting a column break).
  • On the Home tab, click the Show/Hide button to see formatting marks.
  • Try zooming in and out to see more or less of your page as you design your brochure. Use the zoom controls on the status bar.
    You can see how the tri-fold panels will appear in the Page Layout tab.
     
  • Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click Word Options. Click Advanced, and then select Show Text Boundaries. Now you can see the boundaries of each column. Text boundaries do not show when you print the document.

Set up a new document using templates

  1. Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click New.
  2. Under Microsoft Office Online in the left navigation pane, click Brochures.
  3. In the center pane, look through the brochure templates. Click a template thumbnail to view details in the right pane.
  4. Select the tri-fold brochure template you want, and click Download. The template is applied to a new document.
  5. You can modify any of the placeholder objects, such as Text Boxes, Pictures, and Shapes, to create your layout.

 

   

​Add your content

  1. Dive in, and type your brochure. Here are some tips:
    1. If you are using columns, type inline; if you are using a template, type in a text box.
    2. Try using large font sizes for titles, and center them using the Center button on the Home tab.
    3. WordArt works nicely for the front (title) page. To insert WordArt, on the Insert tab, click WordArt, and then select a style.
    4. To prevent text from flowing from the bottom of one column to the top of the next column, you can use text boxes. Draw a text box over a column. When you type in the text box, all text will remain inside the container. If you want text to flow from one text box to another, select the first text box, and then, on the Text Box Tools Format tab, click Create Link. Then, click the empty text box that you want the text to flow into.
  2. Add pictures, shapes, SmartArt, and any other object to go with your text. Here are some tips:
    1. On the Insert tab in the Illustrations group, click an object, such as a Picture or SmartArt graphic, to add it to your brochure. You can also drag a picture file from a folder.
    2. Select an object, click the object Format tab, and then click Text Wrapping to align the object to the column (In Line with Text) or click one of the other options to move the object freely.
    3. Try the other options on the object Format tab, such as Outline, Effects, and Fill. For example, you could add a light fill color to a text box or a drop shadow to a picture.
  3. Remember to save your document regularly. When you're finished with your brochure, print it. Fold it into thirds, and see how it looks. You might need to move things away from the edges a bit so you don't cut off text or pictures.

 

   
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