Designing for both print and digital

I’ve found myself designing for fewer and fewer print projects. Maybe that’s just coincidence but as more and more things are going digital it’s definitely a trend that is going to continue.

Most of the time as a designer, you either design a digital material or a print material. There are occasions however that designing for both does crop up. I’d always recommend having separate documents for each application but sometimes out of budget or time restraints this isn’t always an option. The below explores how a single document can be set up for use as both print and digital applications.

Keep it landscape and A-friendly.

This one’s simple – screens are landscape or if viewing on mobile can be made landscape. Designing at an A size, typically A4, will suit both viewing on screen and being printed.

Stick to cmyk

Don’t be tempted to introduce an extra bright rgb outside of the traditional gamut. It’s likely working in RGB will be fine as it will probably only ever be printed on a standard office printer. Using extra bright RGB colours though will cause an issue because they cannot be reproduced in print and there will be an obvious colour difference between the digital and physical printed document. Working in cmyk will regulate the colour output and can be exported easily for printing professionally if required.

Layout and graphic considerations

There are elements within a page design that gives a tell tale sign that it was designed for a different output and converted. For example if you’re designing a brochure that is intended for print, the page numbers may appear in opposite corners and then when used digitally as single pages the page numbers will swap between corners creating inconsistency within the document. In short, consider the layout and graphic choices that will work well for both – perhaps centre the page numbers on a page, treat hyperlinks as plain text and avoid overly thin fonts that may lose clarity.

Interactive elements

A digital document may need to include interactive elements like hyperlinks and buttons that encourage navigation or link to external resources. For example, hyperlinks should be styled so that the link text remains meaningful on paper (e.g. including the full URL or a clear call to action).

Designing for both print and digital is about balance and adapting a design to suit both. While there may be slight inconsistencies between formats, thoughtful design decisions can minimise these and create a seamless experience across both. It’s the small, considered touches that often go unnoticed but leave a lasting, professional impression.