How to Make a Medical Brochure Template in InDesign

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

Looking for a simple, clean, easy-to-edit medical brochure? This tutorial shows you how to make a brochure template in InDesign.  

Brochure designs play an important role in the impact of your marketing communication. Brochures are a nice way to engage customers by providing key points of your medical center, clinic, or hospital. 

In this tutorial, we will set up a ready-to-print template using color swatches and paragraph styles. These two panels will make it easier for you edit the design in a variety of colors and fonts. This template is fully editable and a time saver! This template is packed with design essentials, ready to get your business up and running. 

What You Will Need

You’ll need access to Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator. If you don’t have the software, you can download a trial from the Adobe website. You’ll also need the following assets:

Download the assets and make sure the font is installed on your system before starting. When you are ready, we can dive in! 

Looking for amazing InDesign brochure templates? Head on over to Envato Elements or GraphicRiver.

1. How to Create a New InDesign File

Step 1

In InDesign, go to File > New. Name the document Medical Brochure Template. We will create an A5 brochure template. Set the file to the following dimensions:

  • Width to 14.8 cm
  • Height to 21 cm 
  • Orientation to Portrait
  • Pages to 4 
  • Check Facing Pages
  • Margins to 1 cm 
  • Bleeds to 0.3 cm (it’s best to seek your professional printer’s preference)

Click Create.

Create a new indesign file

Step 2

For this brochure design tutorial, we will work with two Layers. Organizing layers is an important practice when designing a template.

Bring up the Layers panel by going to Window > Layers. Double-click on Layer 1 and rename it Images/Vector. 

On the Layers panel main menu, select New Layer. Name it Copy. Click OK. This is where all of the text will go.

Create two layers imagesvector and copy

Step 3

Before we start with the design, let’s organize the color swatches. Head over to Window > Color > Swatches to expand the Swatches panel. Select the default swatches, and Right-Click > Delete Swatch.

Delete all the original color swatches

Choose New Color Swatch button from the main menu. Add the following colors:

  • Dark Blue: C=100 M=50 Y=0 K=40
  • Light Blue: C=45 M=10 Y=0 K=0
  • Dark Grey: C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=50
  • Light Grey: C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=15

Click Add after inputting each color value. Click Done. 

create new color swatches

2. How to Place Images and Create Vectors in Adobe InDesign

Step 1

On the Layers panel, make sure you are selecting the Images/Vector layer. 

On the toolbar, select the Pen Tool (P). We will create a path. Click outside the left side of the page to create the first point—this is an anchor point. Next, click inside the page, and hold and drag to create a curve. This is called a direction point, and you can alter this later. Click outside the right side of the page to complete the curve. Close the object by going around the page until you meet the initial point. 

To edit the curve, select the Direct Selection Tool (A) from the toolbar. Select the center point and move the handles around until you’ve achieved a curve you are happy with.

Use the pen tool to create a rectangle with a curved bottom

Duplicate the object by pressing Shift-Option and dragging to the side. Duplicate this once more—we will go back to these two objects shortly. 

Duplicate the object twice

Step 2

Select the original object that is currently on the page. Press Command-D to Place an image. Select the Happy doctor image, and click OK. 

Head over to the control bar and activate the Constrain Proportion Scaling button. Set the Scale to 56%. Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to Move the image within the object. 

Lock the object by pressing Command-L.

Place an image in the object we created

Step 3

Let’s go back to the duplicate objects. Color each object by going to the Swatches panel. Color one object with light grey and the other object with dark blue. 

Select both objects and press Shift-Command-[ to send the objects to the back. Spread both objects across the page to create a wave below the image. 

Color the duplicated object grey and blue Place behind the image

Step 4

As mentioned before, keeping the files clean is ideal, especially if you will be using this as a medical brochure template. We will cut out the leftover part hanging outside the bleed mark. Using the Rectangle Tool (M), draw a rectangle covering the outside of the bleed and just enough to cover one of the shapes. Select the new rectangle and the grey object.

Bring up the Pathfinder panel by going to Window > Object & Layout > Pathfinder. Select the Subtract button. Repeat the process for the second object. Perfect! 

Use the pathfinder tool to cut the leftover objects outside of the bleed

Step 5

To add a logo, press Command-D and select the logo. Click OK. Drag on the document instead of clicking to place the object at a smaller size than the original. If you click on the document, the software will place the object at 100% scale.

Place the logo on the bottom right side.

Place a logo

To create a cohesive look, draw a rectangle at the bottom of the cover. It should cover the width of the page. I set the Height to 0.6 cm on the Control bar.

Create a blue rectangle at the bottom of the cover

3. How to Create Paragraph Styles in Adobe InDesign

Paragraph styles are a great tool when creating a template. We can set text styles, similar to the colors on the Swatches panel. This will allow us to create a cohesive look throughout the brochure template. It will also be faster to edit to specific brand guidelines.

For this project, we will set styles for a title, tagline, subheading, body copy, and pull quote. 

Step 1

Open up the Paragraph Styles panel by going to Windows > Styles > Paragraph Styles. 

From the main menu, select New Paragraph Style. 

In the New Paragraph Style window, set the Style Name to Headline. Select Basic Character Formats from the left side menu and use the following settings:

  • Font Family: Catesque
  • Font Style: Bold
  • Size: 22 pt
  • Leading: 22 pt
  • Tracking: 20

Select the Character Color option from the left menu. Set the color to the darker blue. Click OK. 

Using the paragraph styles create new styles

Perfect! Now let’s create a few more styles, and then we will be ready to format text boxes. Use the following settings for the tagline:

  • Font Family: Catesque
  • Font Style: Medium
  • Size: 10 pt
  • Leading: 12 pt
  • Tracking: 45

Set the Character Color to dark grey. Click OK. 

Use the following settings for the subheading:

  • Font Family: Catesque
  • Font Style: Black
  • Size: 12 pt
  • Leading: 14.4 pt
  • Tracking: 45

Set the Character Color to dark blue. Click OK.

Use the following settings for the body copy:

  • Font Family: Catesque
  • Font Style: Regular
  • Size: 8 pt
  • Leading: 9.6 pt
  • Tracking: 0

Set the Character Color to dark grey. Click OK. 

Use the following settings for the body copy:

  • Font Family: Catesque
  • Font Style: Bold
  • Size: 14 pt
  • Leading: 16.8 pt
  • Tracking: 0

Set the Character Color to dark blue. Click OK.

Create styles for each hierarchy level

Step 2

Perfect! Select the Text Tool (T) from the toolbar. Draw a text box opposite the logo. Add a headline and a tagline.

Select the headline by highlighting it with the text tool. Select the Headline style from the Paragraph style panel. Keep in mind you can still customize text boxes. For the headline, I will set the second line in the dark grey color. 

Select the tagline and set it to the Tagline style on the Paragraph panel.

Add text to the cover use the paragraph styles to format it

Step 3

If you’ve been working on the Images layer, select the text box. Head over to the Layers panel, and click and drag the blue square to the Copy layer. This action will transfer the objects from one layer to the other. 

Place the text boxes on the copy layer

Step 4

Let’s work on the inside pages of the medical brochure. Using the Rectangle Tool (M), draw a rectangle at the very top of the pages. Make sure it is going over to the bleed mark. Set the color to dark blue. 

Create a few text boxes using the Text Tool (T). Don’t worry about the placement for now—we can move them around as we develop the rest of the pages. 

Add copy to the inside of the brochure use the paragraph styles to format the text boxes

Step 5

Press Command-D to Place these two images: Smiling medical team and Sisters smiling. I’ve arranged the two photos as shown in the image below:

Place images inside the brochure

Profile headshots are an important part of medical brochures. They’ll give the target market a chance to get to know some faces. Select the Ellipse Tool (L) from the toolbar. Click on the document and set the Width and Height to 2 cm. 

Head over to the Control bar, and set the Stroke Weight to 3 pt. Set the Stroke color to dark blue. 

Create a circle with the ellipse tool

Step 6

Duplicate the circle by pressing Shift-Option and dragging. Have a total of four circles. 

To distribute the four objects evenly, place two of them on each side of the page, ideally just inside the margin. Head over to Window > Object and Layout > Align to open the Align panel. Select all four objects and press the Distribute Horizontal Center button. 

Duplicate the circle 3 times to have a total of 4 circles

Step  7

Select one of the circles and press Command-D. Select the Healthcare workers image and click OK. 

Select the Direct Selection Tool (A), and set the Scale to 40%. This image contains several headshots, so repeat this action for the rest of the circles.

Place an image within each circle

Step 8

To bring it all together, we will add some blue vectors at the back. Use the Rectangle Tool (M), and click on the document. Set the Width to 15 cm and the Height to 3.45 cm. Place this object behind the headshots. 

Create another rectangle with the same dimensions. Place it on the opposite page. Using the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the top right point and move it downwards. This will create some movement on the spread. 

Select both items and press Command-L to Lock both the objects.

Add a blue object behind the circled images running across to the second page

Step 9

Let’s add some names to the headshots. Using the Text Tool (T), draw text boxes under each photo. Use the Paragraph Styles to set the styles. Remember you can still change the format of the text box after setting a style. I’ve chosen Body Copy to make sure the size is uniform but changed the color to white and the name to the Bold family. 

To align the text boxes to the headshots, use the Align panel and select the Align Horizontal Center button. 

Add text under each circled image

Step 10

Let’s add some icons on the right page. This is perfect to promote any kind of services. Open the colored version of the healthcare icons in Adobe Illustrator. Select three icons of your choice to copy to the medical brochure design. Use Command-C to Copy and Command-V to Paste. 

Open the icons vector on Adobe Illustrator

Head back to the brochure design. Select all three icons, and on the Align panel, select the Top Edge button. 

Head over to the Control panel, activate the Constrain Proportions button, and set the Height to 1.5 cm.

Select three icons copy and paste onto the InDesign file

Step 11

This time, to divide the icons equally, we will use Guides. This is a second method of dividing objects across a page. 

Head over to Layout > Create Guides. In the Create Guides option window, set the Columns to 3 and the Gutter to 0.5 cm. Set Fit Guides to: Margins and click OK.

Create a three column guide on the right-hand side page

Step 12

Create three text boxes using the Text Tool (T) on each column. Use Paragraph Styles to format the text. Set the Alignment to Align Center. 

Create three text boxes in each column

Step 13

Select an icon and a text box. On the Align panel, select the Align Horizontal Center button. The two objects will align; place them on one of the columns. Repeat this with the other objects until you’ve centered each on a column. 

Let’s add a divider in the gutter. Select the Line Tool (\) from the toolbar. Hold Shift and drag to create a straight line.

Using the align tool center an icon and a text box in each column With the line tool create dividers in each gutter

Step 14

Let’s work on the back cover. Press Command-D to add an image. Place the image on the top two-thirds of the brochure. Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to move the image within the frame.

Repeat the blue stripe by using the Rectangle Tool (M). Set the Width to 15.4 cm and the Height to 0.4 cm. This time, place it under the image. 

Using the Text Tool (T), add a pull quote over the image. Use the Pull quote style from the Paragraph Styles panel.

Place a logo on the bottom right side using the Command-D shortcut. 

Select the Text Tool (T) to add contact information. Place this text box opposite the logo, and use Paragraph Styles to format the text. 

Add an image to the backcover along with a blue stripe Add a text box with contact information and a logo

4. How to Export a PDF File for Printing

Before exporting a file for printing, it is useful to take a look around the edges of each page. Make sure all the objects that are meant to bleed out of the page are touching the bleeds. 

Step 1

To export the file, go to File > Export. Name the file medical brochure template and choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format dropdown menu. Click Save. 

Export the file

Step 2

In the Export Adobe PDF window, set the Adobe PDF Preset to Press Quality.

Select the Press Quality Preset

On the left side of the panel, select Marks and Bleeds. Check All Printer’s Marks and Use Document Bleed Settings. Click Export. You will have a ready-to-print PDF file.

Activate the printers marks and document bleed settings

Great Job! You’ve Finished This Tutorial!

In this tutorial, we learned how to make a medical brochure template in InDesign. Marketing is an important part of any business, and brochures play an important role in making it effective. Today, we’ve learned to:

  • Create a ready-to-print Adobe InDesign file
  • Place images within vector objects
  • Use the Paragraph Styles panel
  • Use the Color Swatches panel
  • Export a ready-to-print PDF file

If you would like to explore more template ideas, you can find many customizable brochures and flyers over at Envato Elements and Graphic River. Check it out!

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