In conjunction with Minggu Sains Negara 2021 (MSN 2021), Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair in collaboration with UTAR, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) organised a webinar titled "Creating Professional Brochures using Microsoft Publisher in Few Clicks" on 4 April 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live.

The invited speaker for the webinar was UTAR Faculty of Information and Communication Technology lecturer Ts Soong Hoong Cheng who hoped to share his knowledge and provide guides, tips and tricks in using Microsoft Publisher to create brochures.

Ts Soong began the webinar by explaining what is a brochure, “Brochure is an informative paper document for advertising, which can be folded into a template, pamphlet or leaflet. Brochures are promotional documents, primarily used to introduce a company, organisation, products or services and inform potential customers or members of the public of the benefits.”

He added, “There are many types of brochures, namely Trifold, Half-Fold, Z-Folo, Gate Fold, French Fold, Accordion Fold, Double Parallel Fold, etc.”

During the one-hour webinar, Ts Soong introduced the types of brochures, types of popular brochure contents, properties of a brochure, Microsoft Publisher, functions and tasks of Microsoft Publisher, five multimedia elements, types of font: serif font sans vs serif font, type of image: vector image vs bitmap image, elements of design, principles of design, colour formula, tips and many more.

To ensure better understanding, a practical demonstration for audiences was also held afterwards. The audiences were also given a link to downloadable hands-on practice for them to try on their own.

While introducing Microsoft Publisher, Ts Soong said, “Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application from Microsoft, different from Microsoft Word, where the emphasis is placed on page layout and design rather than text composition and proofing. With Publisher, simple tools make it easy to create visual impact by using text and photos, and make professional publications personal. Publish the way that suits your audience best — email, PDF, XPS or high-quality prints.”

“Microsoft Publisher made creating brochure a possible task for everyone. With the user-friendly functions, Microsoft Publisher allows users to create brochures with a professional look without the need to acquire professional skills and knowledge. However, basic guides and methods are ought to be learnt to ensure the capability of the software can be optimised,” he said.

The workshop ended with a Q&A session.

For those who are interested to know more, you may watch the full video here.