5 Colorful Flyer Ideas That Make You Stand Out

Flyers are tried-and-tested advertising tools, allowing you to spread info fast. But how do you get it right? One way to instantly grab your audience’s attention is by picking striking color combinations. Here are some colorful flyer ideas that’ll help you stand out.

According to research done by the DMA, 89% of respondents remember receiving a flyer when asked. On top of that, 45% of respondents regularly keep flyers for future reference. Compare this to other forms of advertising, and you can see that a flyer may be an old-school way of advertising, but a successful one.

Flyers are a tried-and-tested way of advertising: they’re versatile and affordable. According to PostGrid, the average response rate on flyers lies between 1% and 5%. This means on any 100 flyers you distribute, 1 to 5 people perform an action.

That’s some rather impressive stats. However, these statistics all stand or fall on whether you have a good flyer. One that grabs attention and displays all the information necessary to perform an action.

First things first, let’s have a look at some tips on how to make a flyer look good. With colors being a major aspect, we’ll then look at some stunning flyer inspo with gorgeous color palettes. Let’s dive in!

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How to make a flyer look good

To make the most out of your flyer’s potential, it must look good. You can easily ensure a good flyer design with just a few simple tricks.

• Grab attention with imagery – Your flyer's imagery must be top-notch. Stay away from grainy photos or ones that don’t have anything to do with the information on your flyer.
• Include branding – Make sure it’s instantly clear that your flyer is coming from your brand. Consider placing your logo on your flyer and using your branding colors.
• Show, don’t tell – Keep it short and simple rather than giving your audience an information overload. Icons are your best friend when it comes to designing a flyer.
• Size matters – Before designing your flyer, consider the size.
• Include a call-to-action – What action do you want your audience to perform? Make it clear as day.
• Choose the right colors – The right color palette fits your brand, evokes a particular emotion, and grabs attention. Sounds like a tall order? Then let’s learn how to get it right!

Choosing a color palette

When you pick your color combinations strategically, they can help make your marketing material more relevant and memorable. But there’s a little more to it than just opting for a random combination that you find pleasing to the eye.

Different colors evoke different emotions, and some even trigger specific actions. That’s why it’s crucial to understand that colors can distinguish a good flyer from a bad one.

Color psychology

A professional designer doesn’t only pick striking colors that match your branding; they also take color psychology into account. Doing so may just make the difference whether your flyer lands in the bin or is put on the fridge for later usage.

Learning basic color psychology will help you create print materials that encourage your audience to take the intended action. ColorPsychology.org provides a neat overview of each color and its cultural and emotional meaning.

Via ManyPixels

Pastel colors also make for great background colors, as shown by the flyers above by studio Outcrowd. A pastel background is a way to add a touch of color to the overall design without overdoing it.

Via Dribbble

The leaflets in the example above by designer Tomás Gouveia show that pastel colors make for great accent colors. By keeping the rest of the design clean and minimalistic, the pastel-colored text instantly draws your attention.

Via Behance

Above is a flyer example that utilizes natural colors as well. However, sticking to a more green palette instantly gives a calming, almost soothing effect. If you have a natural skincare brand, using earthy tones and natural colors, such as green, brown, and orange are great ways of portraying your brand colorfully.

Via Dribbble

The colors of a sunset are an analogous color scheme. This means the colors are placed next to each other on the color wheel, forming a harmonious color group to create with.

Ever been mesmerized by a stunning sunset? Chances are you have, proving the fact that such color combinations can instantly draw you in and captivate your attention. Why not use that to your advantage when designing your new flyer?

Via ManyPixels

Using photography to match your brightly colored flyer may be a little too bold. Pictures and multiple bright colors can cause a chaotic appearance. That’s where custom illustrations come in. You can stick to the same color palette and still use imagery to transfer information without giving your audience a sensory overload.

Flyers with bold colors are excellent for announcing a launch or an opening party. Additionally, they are great for flyers that need to give off a summer vibe.

Via Behance

Talking about fun flyer designs… The one above by designer Linh Vu Pham Ferrari contains a mix of elements you can’t go wrong with. Custom illustrations, a stunning color palette, and a matching type font make for a recipe for success.

Via Behance

Via Dribbble

Via Pinterest

Via Behance

Via ManyPixels

Using all three primary colors is a so-called triadic color scheme. These three colors are equally spaced along the color wheel, making them a harmonious color combination. However, since they aren’t monochromatic, they give an exciting and vibrant look that draws attention.

Via Behance

Using two or three primary colors gives off a clean look and endless possibilities. If you want a more retro look, mute the colors a bit. Or use the three primary colors as accents, as the Bauhaus poster series did below.

Via Design Inspiration

Color selecting tools

Saw a stunning color palette from a certain brand and want to know the exact colors they used? Or are you struggling to build a palette around a single color that evokes the right emotion and portrays your brand? Luckily, quite a few color-selection tools are available to spark some colorful flyer ideas.

• Coolors – Create a palette with this fast generator, or get inspired by stunning color combinations.
• Adobe’s Color Wheel – Especially useful if you already have a certain color in mind and want to apply a color harmony rule such as monochromatic or complementary.
• ColorSlurp – Saw a color that you like? ColorSlurp will instantly give you all the details, such as the RGB and hex color codes.
• Khroma – A nifty AI tool that learns which colors you like and creates limitless palettes out of them.  

Colorful flyer inspiration to stand out from the crowd

Sure, your color combinations should fit your branding as well as your audience. But there is no harm in having a peek at how others did it! We’ve listed 5 colorful flyer ideas with a bunch of matching examples for you to get inspired by.

1. Pick primary

Want to play it safe, or are you just a big fan of the Bauhaus design movement? Primary colors are always a good idea. In painting, red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors. You can’t make them by mixing other colors, yet the three can mix every other color. With bold colors like these, there are plenty of options to make your design stand out from the crowd.  

2. ‘Tis the season

When it comes to marketing material, you need to find the right angles to make it relevant. What better way to do this than by embracing festivities?

December gives you a free pass to Christmas colors only, allowing you to throw your branding guidelines overboard (well, some of them). Revamp your gift cards and make them extra Christmassy, or add a flyer for a Christmas raffle with each sale. The options are endless.

Of course, you can still keep things on a brand by using shapes and elements like you normally would. Add in the colors green and red, and suddenly you have yourself a merry little flyer.

Not a big fan of Christmas? There are many more holidays that have a distinguished color palette you can use for your flyers. Like the Fourth of July with a patriotic red, white, and blue.

Design studio AbraDesign provides some flyer inspiration for the spooky season, showing you don’t have to stray away from specific brand guidelines. You can stick to your unique typography and modern look using only a color palette that matches the festivities.

3. Go bold or go home

If you’re a colorful brand, flyers are the ultimate medium to go all out. Bright colors work best to grab a person’s attention, as they can make a design come to life.

Make sure you stick to a harmonious palette and do not just throw in any bold color you like. Otherwise, you’ll risk overwhelming your audience with the design, which is the opposite of what you want to achieve. A color-picking tool is your best friend when you’re a non-designer wanting to go bold!

4. Inspired by nature

If there is one way to create a color palette that works instantly, it’s by looking at Mother Nature herself. Whether it’s a stunning sunset, leaves in fall, or a landscape, nature is a fantastic source to get your flyer inspiration.  

5. Pleasing pastels

If you want to use bright colors without them being too bold, pastels are the way to go. These eye-pleasing colors are happy and lively yet have a hint of calmness to them.

Final thoughts

Hopefully, these amazing flyers and color palette ideas have given you a spark of inspiration to create your own attention-grabbing design.

Of course, one way to ensure your flyer has a stunning color palette is by having a professional designer create one for you. Investing in a custom design is a tried-and-tested way to amp up your conversion rate, and it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Did you know a subscription with an unlimited design company like ManyPixels starts from just $549 a month? And that includes unlimited design requests and revisions, ensuring you end up with the best design only! Sounds good? Have a look at our available pricing plans.