Create a flyer with the free Scribus desktop publishing software

Party Alert!

Article from Issue 163/2014
Author(s):

Linux comes with Scribus, a comprehensive desktop publishing program that can help you create a flyer with a professional layout.

The Apple Mac is still commonly regarded as a tool of choice for creative professionals in the design business. Linux, however, includes a comprehensive and free toolbox that gives you a workable and even convenient option for creating professional layouts. To show how simple this can be, I look at how to design a flyer for a party invitation.

The obvious choice of tool for this task is Scribus [1], the layout program, complemented by GIMP [2] for editing photos and other images. If necessary, Inkscape [3] completes your toolkit if you want to create your own vector graphics or edit third-party graphics. You don't need expensive hardware and even more expensive licenses for commercial software: These three tools can be found in the repositories of all the major distributions, so you can easily install them using your package manager.

Structure

A typical flyer is fairly concise – usually letter-sized (A4 or DIN) or postcard-sized, with color printing on both sides. In contrast to business advertising and informal flyers, a party flyer can and should be colorful. However, you should consider where you will be distributing the flyer: If it will be competing with many other colorful printed works, a more subtle or unobtrusive color scheme might attract more attention.

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