Last Updated on October 13, 2022 by

We see them everyday — in the mail, at work or school, on community bulletin boards, in store windows. Flyers.

That’s right, those bits of paper that often end up in the trash, trampled in the street, or buried under a pile of bills. But if they’re doing their job (read: have been designed well), flyers should catch your attention and maybe even get you to take action (attend this grand opening; use that coupon; buy tickets to this concert — you get the idea).

Maybe you’re a business owner and you don’t want your marketing efforts to end up in the recycling bin. Or maybe you need to advertise an event or fundraiser for your club or community organization. Whatever your needs, check out 50 stellar examples below with design tips that will get you inspired for your next flyer design project. And when you’re all ready to design your own, our collection of awesome flyer templates is waiting for you to edit and customize.

Want more flyer inspiration? Then check out our round up of 20 bold, minimalist flyers – or if you prefer a louder style, get inspired by 20 vibrant flyer designs.

01. Embrace Color

Bright, bold color palettes really give flyers punch and attract attention, even from across a room. This flyer design by Martin Azambuja uses vibrant hues that reflect the fresh ingredients of the dishes the flyer is advertising.

02. Mix It Up

Combining different font styles and sizes can give your flyer a distinct look and help it stand out. In this piece from Overloaded Design, 3D effects on the text and some subtle, grungy textures also make the design pop.

Try these designs. A mix of illustration and photo makes the Red Food Festival Flyer stand out, while the bold text over a bright photo of the Vegetable Party Flyer makes a strong statement.

03. Keep It Simple

A simple, elegant design has impact of its own. As with this flyer from Valerie Jar, text is kept to a minimum and the design elements are spaced generously. The edge-to-edge background photo and clean white-and-orange centerpiece also help give the flyer an understated sophistication.

04. Blast from the Past

The handcrafted look is big right now (whether designs really are handmade or are just created to look like it). This screen-printed flyer from The Prince Ink Co. features whimsical, hand-drawn typography, which is very appropriate for a print company that runs all its prints by hand. Using a “form equals content” approach to design like this can be very effective.

Promote your event using the Beige Vintage Yard Sale Flyer, while you can travel back in time with the Nautical Flyer.

05. Play With Patterns

Patterns make a striking visual statement, whether you use them throughout your design (like in this flyer by Joris Rigerl) or just as an accent. Because the human eye naturally notices patterns, including them in your design is a surefire way to get more people looking at your flyer.

06. Study Shapes

Like patterns, shapes are a great attention-getter, especially when applied creatively. This flyer design by Justin Krout uses shape in both the text and the graphics. Notice how the tilting shape of the text makes for a unique and eye-catching title, while the mountain below is made up of triangles of all shapes and sizes, creating a multifaceted, almost 3D effect.

Shape elements provide a point of interest on the Black and White Geometric Shapes Creative Fashion Show Flyer template, while the building’s windows on the Grayscale Photo with Blue Right Triangles Corporate Flyer create interesting contrast

07. Work the Details

Finely detailed graphics can be stunning, but how do you avoid making your design look too busy? A limited color palette helps, as does a focus on symmetry and balance, like in this flyer design by Kristie Kam. This flyer also keeps things polished by sticking to a visual theme — in this case, a heavy emphasis on geometric shapes and patterns.

08. Pick a Color Scheme

Choosing a cohesive color scheme (maybe the colors in your company’s logo) and/or staying in the same color family or temperature (warm or cool) really pulls your flyer design together. This folding flyer by Evan Travelstead sticks to cool blues and grays against bright white for a clean, polished look.

Don’t stress yourself out choosing color palettes. Try the Dark Teal and Pink Tinted Spring Promotional Flyer or the Blue and Yellow Summer Fashion Show Flyer

09. Get Seasonal

If you’re designing a flyer for a holiday or event associated with a particular time of year, capitalize on that and use imagery associated with the occasion. Viewers will immediately relate to the design because it’s familiar or nostalgic. This design from Digital Space uses reindeer and snowflakes in a sleek, retro-inspired way that’s creative rather than cliché.

10. Make Space

Paying close attention to spacing and alignment is an important step in the design process — one that can make or break a project. See how in this flyer by Pashlov Egor, all the icons in red are approximately the same distance apart? Though there’s a lot going on, everything fits together nicely, almost like puzzle pieces, without looking crowded.

Monoline illustrations placed evenly next to each other gives the Room for Rent Flyer a uniform look. The Red and White Emergency Volunteer Flyer uses the same symbol arranged in a grid

11. Go the Extra Mile

When’s the last time you saw coupons with hand-drawn illustrations? Giving your design that extra personal touch, like Mel Larsen did in this flyer, will be sure to catch the attention of your viewers and give them a good impression of your brand or organization.

12. Rough It Up

Designs that are textured or a little rough around the edges can be a nice contrast to all those more slickly produced flyers out there. As with this hand-carved block print by Jack Daniel Bagdadi, sometimes designs (much like people) are all the more appealing and dynamic for their little imperfections.

Check out these rough and tumble templates on Canva: Brown Photography Fashion Flyerand Brown Black Photo Music Concert Flyer

13. Lead In

Take a page from art class and use the concept of leading lines. A common composition trick in art and photography, leading lines are just what they sound like — they lead in to the part of the image that the artist wants viewers to focus on. In this design byMacrochromatic, the diagonal lines of the mountains intersect with the sides of the red triangles to form arrows that point right at the band’s name.

14. Point and Shoot

For designs that feature photography, choosing high-quality, visually appealing pictures is a must. In this advertising flyer, Jackie Lay makes the photos the center of attention, selecting images that draw viewers into the scene.

Photographs take center stage in these templates, Wild Tiger A4 Flyer and Formal Travel Guide A4 Flyer

15. Take Risks

Using unexpected color combinations, like the aqua and magenta pairing in this flyer by Joshua Benedikt, will be more likely to get a second look than designs that play it safe with color choices. Don’t be afraid to experiment with color — you never know what might look good until you try it!

16. Go Dark

A predominantly dark color scheme with bright splashes of color adds extra pizzazz to any design project. This noirish piece by Pretty/Ugly Design gives off a mysterious vibe with black and white elements, while the swash of red adds drama.

Dark color schemes don’t have to be gloomy. Try Dark Grey Classic Coffee Cafe Flyer or Neon Pink DJ Grayscale Photo Music Festival Flyer.

17. Make It Minimalist

Want viewers to laser in on your flyer? Try a minimalist design. There’s a reason big, successful companies like Apple embrace minimalism in their design aesthetic — it’s effective. It’s sleek. People like it. Take this series of flyers by Barthelemy Chalvet: the focus is on a single image surrounded generously by negative space; content is stripped down to only what’s necessary; the font is simple and clean.

A little goes a long way with these templates, Minimalist Gradient Flyer and White and Gray Flatlay Photo Grid Yard Sale Flyer.

18. Innovate

If you really want to go all-out with a creative presentation, paper is a pretty versatile medium. Clever folding, moving parts, or other interactive elements can make for an unforgettable advertisement, like this one from Kelli Anderson. It uses a simple form of animation known as lenticular printing.

19. Find Balance

It can be tricky to make sure ornate designs are composed well and easy to read — but it can be done, and with impressive results — for instance, this hand-illustrated flyer by Joel Felix. If you’re considering a flyer design that features lots of details, good spacing, symmetry, and a plain, single-color background will help you go from busy to balanced.

20. Layer Up

Layering different elements of your design can help you fit more information on your flyer, while creating a striking composition at the same time — a win-win. This design by Steve Wolf layers multiple design elements, including text, while keeping everything readable. The result: an unusual and eye-catching layout.

21. Go Old-School

Remember when (before we had cell phones to remember phone numbers for us) there were those flyers that had tear-off tabs — little strips of paper with contact information on them? This flyer concept from Glenn Jones revisits that idea, with amusing results. When you can infuse a sense of humor into your designs, they’ll be more memorable.

22. Get Artsy

Including design elements inspired by traditional art mediums — whether paint splatters, watercolor splashes, ink drawings, or something else (real or digital) — can give your flyer design an extra-creative look that feels custom-made. This colorful example from Dussk Design layers different textures from the same color family in a way that feels spontaneous and energetic.

23. Block It Out

Want to draw attention to a certain part of your design? Try placing it on top of a block of color, which shows that that area is important, especially when you use a loud color like red or yellow. In this example from Rich Scott, the red area highlights the key information: the brand name, the website, and that magic word: FREE.

24. Offer an Incentive

If you’re creating a flyer hoping that your audience will do something when they receive it, it’s a good idea to offer an incentive. It could be a coupon or a free gift (or both, like on this flyer by Blake Thomas) to get your audience to engage with your brand. This flyer design also has something else going for it: it pairs blue with an orangey, golden hue — and blue and orange are complementary colors (or opposites on the color wheel, which artists will tell you always make a striking contrast; think red and green, purple and yellow, etc.).

25. Think Outside the Box

One of the best things about designing a flyer is that you can let your creativity shine. Of course, different projects will have different guidelines and requirements, but if you find yourself in a situation where you have free rein, use it. The mountain of green monkeys in this flyer by Sander Legrand may not be the first illustration idea that occurs to most of us… but you know what? It works.

26. Keep It Clean

A clean, uncluttered approach to design is always a safe bet. This example from Partho P. Folia keeps things crisp with a streamlined sans-serif font and sharp, geometric shapes.

27. Experiment With Layout

Getting creative with the layout of your design produces a more interesting visual experience and will make more people take notice of your flyer. For instance, this design by Oguzcan Pelit places the main text within the borders of an illustration, like it was scribbled there by hand.

28. Stay True to Type

Typography is an essential part of almost any flyer. But the text itself can be the only design element and work well. The bold type in this classic theatre poster by Paula Schercertainly stands on its own.

29. Angle It

Diagonal or angled lines always make a layout more dynamic, especially when text is involved. It’s different than the straight lines of words we’re used to seeing, so it stands out.  This flyer from The Tenfold Collective sets everything on the diagonal to nice effect (notice the crisp alignment).

30. Evoke Familiarity

When you use imagery that is familiar or meaningful to your audience, you create an instant connection with them and tap into their emotions. This flyer by In-Vision Promotions, designed to look like a Polaroid photo, might bring back good memories of fun with friends or happy vacations to people of a certain age.

31. Be Clever

Clever imagery or wordplay makes a flyer instantly memorable; it catches the eye and engages the mind. Take this flyer by PixelGreco—what says “retro summer party” better than a melting cassette-tape-popsicle?

32. Rinse and Repeat

Using repetition in your design can help get your message or theme across more quickly. But repetition doesn’t have to be boring. Tobias Tietchen keeps things fresh in his flyer by making the details of each repeated image a little different.

33. Play Peek-A-Boo

Hiding pieces of your design behind other parts not only gives it depth and makes for an interesting layout, but also makes people want to take a closer look at your flyer. Check out how the text weaves in front of and behind the saxophones in this flyer by P. Von Haggen.

34. Get Personal

Try giving your design a personal touch, like the handwriting in this flyer by Sofia Copello. It reminds people that the flyer is coming from a human who cares, not some nameless corporation.

35. Be Materialistic

Flyers can be printed on just about anything. Want to get really creative? Try printing on an unusual material. It could be something easy to find like handmade or recycled paper or, if budget allows, something more substantial like this laser-cut wood flyer by Robert Hellmundt.

36. Map It Out

Promoting an event that’s taking place at an interesting or iconic location? Include a map as part of the design; it could be practical or more abstract, like this illustrated flyer from Parliament of Owls.

37. Start Counting

If you’re working on a flyer that emphasizes dates, times, or other numerical information, try making the numbers the center of attention like Hype & Slippers did in this series of flyers.

38. Go With the Flow

Not all designs have to be perfectly aligned and orderly. Free-flowing designs can work, too (especially when that style suits your event), like this one by Miguel Sarabua that features hand-painted typography.

39. Step Back

Sometimes a design just speaks for itself… if we let it and don’t overthink the design process. This flyer by Hilen Godoy is deceptively simple — just a few letters and a single photograph creatively arranged — but it tells the whole story. Adding any other design elements might spoil that elegant simplicity.

40. Doodle Away

Maybe you were one of those kids who always doodled in class. Why stop now? Handwritten or hand-drawn designs, like this one by Funny Fun with Guillaume, give flyers a casual, personal feel.

41. Pick One

Choosing a single image to feature prominently in your design gives a flyer focus and gives you a starting point to build the rest of the design around. This also works well in a series, as Ali Rahmoun has done here.

42. Spread the Cheer

Bright, cheerful colors and friendly graphics are an easy way to get your audience in a positive mood. This flyer by Nadia Auton certainly looks welcoming, which is appropriate for a tourism flyer.

43. Play the Cute Card

Pets and children (especially young, cute ones) never fail to attract attention. Stick one (or both!) on your flyer, and you’re sure to generate some automatic interest. Amit Das went with a golden retriever for this flyer design.

44. Get Gritty

A nice, gritty texture gives any design instant character and a certain timelessness, and it works well on both text and graphics. This event flyer from Max Ayalla has all kinds of textures going on for an authentic vintage feel.

45. Go Back to Basics

The primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) are a basic color combination that’s easy to fall back on when you can’t settle on a more complex color scheme. In this flyer design, Micaela Carella pairs the three with a bright aqua green.

46. Try a Trend

Design trends come and go, and some are better than others. One you may have noticed lately is the “hero image”—a large picture that stretches across the width of a design. It could fill up the whole screen on a webpage or form a high-impact header at the top of a flyer, like Tremis Skeete did here. Text is often overlaid on hero images.

47. Line Up

Lines can be used in all sorts of useful ways in a design — to frame, emphasize, separate, etc. This flyer design by Will Tullos features outlines and line patterns that form a whole illustration.

48. Frame It

Frame the part of your design that you want to stand out. A frame can be a simple rectangle or circle or more elaborate, like the concentric circles and sunrays that surround the title of this flyer by Henry Hu.

49. About Face

We humans naturally look for and study faces. Including a face in your design (or even the suggestion of a face, like the monocle-wearing, pipe-smoking gentleman in this flyer by Masaomi Fujita) may help your audience identify with your flyer’s message.

50. Get Back to Nature

Flowers, trees, sunsets, and nature’s other wonders are something everyone can appreciate. Placing organic or nature-inspired imagery in your design, like the illustration in this flyer by Multia, should have wide appeal.

The beauty of nature in Sage Green Succulents Plants Advertising Flyer and Float Clothing Flyer Layout make them stand out.

So what can we take away from all these examples? Let’s take a quick look at a few basics:

• Typography: There are countless font styles out there, but be sure to pick one (or more, but not too many) that suits the purpose and/or theme of your flyer design and is sufficiently readable.
• Layout: Pay close attention to things like alignment, spacing, and balance when creating your flyer design. They make the difference between a polished final product and a confusing or cluttered design.
• Color: When you’re having trouble choosing a color scheme, consult a color wheel. Complementary colors (opposites), color temperature (warm or cool), and other art-inspired concepts can help you pick a cohesive color palette. Remember, colors can influence mood and perception, so make sure yours match your flyer’s intent.