Tabletop Displays and Flyers
Explore the OER California Tabletop Displays and Flyers Series templates, and choose the design that best fits your event, outreach, library desk, or conference setup. (Flip through the templates by selecting the arrows above, or select the four arrows at top right to see the full screen. Scroll down to access the templates.)
Introduction
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, we each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange ideas, we each have two ideas.” — often attributed to George Bernard Shaw
Small, printed pieces can do a lot of communication work. A tabletop display can help an OER stand out in a shared space, while a flyer can travel beyond the table and continue the conversation. Together, they can introduce an OER, highlight the people behind it, explain why it matters, and give others an easy way to learn more. These templates are designed to help faculty, librarians, staff, students, and other open education advocates make OER more visible on their campus and beyond.
Below you will find ideas for how to use the tabletop displays and flyers, real examples of similar materials being used in open education outreach, and guidance for customizing the templates for your own campus or project.
Ideas for Use
These materials can be used in different ways depending on the audience, setting, and goal. Here are a few simple ideas:
For Faculty
- Introduce your OER in person. Use a tabletop display at a conference session, showcase, or campus event to present your OER with a clear title, short description, and QR code that helps people explore it right away.
- Share your OER with colleagues and prospective students. Use a flyer within your department, at a teaching and learning event, during Open Education Week, or at recruitment events to highlight your OER and show that your course or program uses affordable, openly available materials.
- Extend the conversation after the session. Share a flyer digitally before or after a presentation so participants can return to and continue to share the OER once the event is over.
For Librarians and Staff
- Create a visible point of entry. Place a tabletop display at a library desk, student center, advising area, or department office so people who are new to OER have a clear and welcoming place to begin.
- Support outreach and events. Use flyers at workshops, tabling events, orientations, and resource fairs to explain OER in simple language and guide people toward local support or next steps.
- Tailor the message to the moment. Create flyers for different purposes, such as introducing OER, promoting zero-textbook-cost pathways, highlighting faculty-created OER, or helping students find no-cost materials.
For Students
- Raise awareness among peers. Use a flyer at a student government event, affordability campaign, or club table to help other students learn about textbook costs and open alternatives.
- Help students recognize OER early. Distribute flyers during Open Education Week or at the start of the term so students can identify OER courses and better understand why they matter.
- Celebrate people and impact. Use either format to thank faculty champions publicly or to highlight student experiences with affordable and open course materials in a visible, approachable way.
Why Use Both Formats Together
Tabletop displays and flyers work well as a set because they do different jobs.
- A tabletop display helps catch attention in a physical space. It creates a focal point and gives people something quick to scan while they are standing nearby.
- A flyer is easier to share, post, email, print, or hand out. It gives people something they can keep, revisit, or pass along.
Used together, they can help you create a more complete outreach: one piece invites attention, and the other extends the message.
Inspirations
Here are some real examples of tabletop displays and flyers being used in open education work.
Staff Example: North Idaho College
Who did it: North Idaho College
What they did: North Idaho College created a student-facing OER flyer that explains the benefits of OER in simple language, connects OER to its Z-Degree initiative, and gives students clear next steps through QR codes. The flyer quickly defines OER and highlights benefits such as low or no cost, immediate access to materials, and permanent access. It also directs students to find Z-Degree courses and view an example OER textbook. The flyers were distributed during the welcome back week directly to students and as tabletop displays in the library.
Why it worked: The flyer stays focused on what matters most to students. It uses plain language, visible headings, and action-oriented sections instead of trying to explain everything about OER at once. The QR codes also make it easy for students to move from awareness to action right away.
How to adapt it with these tabletop display and flyer templates:
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- Focus the message on a few student-centered benefits, such as cost savings, first-day access, or ease of use.
- Use headings that answer practical questions, such as how to find OER courses or where to access materials.
- Include a QR code that leads directly to a campus OER page, ZTC list, or featured textbook.
- Keep the design clear and readable so students can understand it quickly in a hallway, office, event space, or online post.
Staff Example: Lemoore College
Who did it: Lemoore College
What they did: Lemoore College shares a public Zero Textbook Cost digital flyer on its OER webpage to help students identify ZTC course sections and understand the benefits of no-cost materials. The flyer explains what ZTC means, shows students how to find qualifying sections, and highlights benefits such as free course readings and first-day access.
Why it worked: Rather than trying to explain everything about open education, the flyer gives students a simple, actionable guide tied to a real campus need: finding affordable courses.
How to adapt it with these tabletop display and flyer templates:
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- Use the flyer template for one clear purpose, such as explaining OER, promoting ZTC sections, or introducing a campus initiative.
- Keep the content focused on what viewers need to know right away.
- Use the tabletop display version if you want to reinforce the message at a physical help desk or event table.
- Include campus-specific language, links, and visuals so the piece feels local and immediately useful.
Quick Tips for Using Tabletop Displays Well
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Keep the message focused. These materials usually work best when they highlight one OER, one initiative, or one clear call to action at a time.
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Design for quick reading. Use short headings, brief blocks of text, and clear visual hierarchy so someone can understand the message in just a few seconds.
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Use the QR code purposefully. Make sure it links directly to the OER or another clearly relevant destination.
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Think about viewing distance. A tabletop display should be readable from a standing position across a table. A flyer should still be easy to scan when posted on a wall or viewed on a phone.
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Avoid overcrowding. White space helps the message feel more approachable and makes important information easier to notice.
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Make it accessible. Use the Accessibility Guidance in the Appendix to ensure your marketing materials are as accessible as possible.
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Pair materials when possible. Bookmarks, stickers, postcards, and handouts can help draw people to the table and extend the interaction.
Guidance and Templates
View the video or select the arrows to read the steps for customizing your tabletop display.
Get the template
Tabletop/Flyer Display in Canva
Select the flyer/tabletop template Canva link below to open the editable templates. The templates are free to use and adapt, but you’ll need to create and sign in to a free Canva account to customize and download your tabletop display or flyer. To begin using the template, select View template. Once you sign in to your account, you may then be prompted to Open in Editor.
Need more options for adapting your asset template?
Once you’ve created your free Canva account and signed in, you can open the Growing Your OER Starter Kit alongside any asset template to copy and paste colors, graphics, icons, photos, and design elements to help your version stay within the OER-California branding theme.
Customize your tabletop display or flyer
Step 1. Open the template in Canva and begin adapting.
Use the Canva link above to open your tabletop display/flyer template and easily customize it for your own OER or event. You can update the text, swap images, change colors if needed using the Growing Your OER Starter Kit , and add your own title, description, QR code, quote, and contact or faculty information.
Step 2. Choose how you want to format and use the template.
Use a tabletop display when you want a piece that stands upright on a table, desk, or welcome station and helps draw attention in a shared space. To make that work well, keep the text brief, enlarge the title, make the QR code easy to scan from a short distance, and let the image or main visual do more of the work.
Use a flyer when you want something that can be posted, handed out, emailed, or shared digitally before, during, or after an event. A flyer can usually hold a little more detail, so you might add a longer description, a few short bullet points, event details, or a call to action.
Use both together so the design feels connected across print and digital spaces. For example, you might use the tabletop version at an event check-in table and a flyer version as a handout or follow-up PDF.
Step 3. Adapt it to your purpose.
These templates can support several different goals. Start by deciding which purpose best fits what you want the piece to do.
Introduce a specific OER or highlight a faculty creator
Use the template to feature one textbook, course resource, or faculty-created OER and help people understand what it is and who created it. If that is your goal, you might add:
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- The title of the OER
- A short subtitle or course name
- A brief description of the resource
- A QR code and URL
- The creator’s name, department, and institution
- A short student quote or testimonial
- A simple invitation such as “Check out our OER textbook!”
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Build awareness of OER
Use the template to explain what OER is, why it matters, or how it supports affordability, first-day access, and student success. If that is your goal, you might add a:
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- Short definition of OER
- Brief explanation of why OER matters
- Message about affordability or first-day access
- QR code linking to your campus OER page, LibGuide, or support resources
- Short student, faculty, or campus impact quote or testimonial
- Clear call to action such as “Ask me about OER,” “Learn more about open education,” or “See courses using OER”
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Promote an OER workshop or event
Use the template to invite people to attend a workshop, presentation, showcase, or other event related to open education. If that is your goal, you might add:
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- The event title
- The date and time
- The location or online meeting link
- The intended audience
- A short description of what participants will learn or do
- A QR code for registration or event details
- A call to action such as “Join us,” “Register now,” or “Learn more”
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Keep the wording short enough that someone can read it quickly while standing at a table or walking by.
Need a QR code? You can create one with H5P KewAr Code if you want a free, open-source option, or with Canva’s QR Code tool if you are already editing the sticker in Canva.
Step 4. Review it for accessibility
Use the Accessibility Guidance in the Appendix to ensure your marketing materials are as accessible as possible.
Step 5. Download your Tabletop Display or Flyer
Once your tabletop display or flyer is ready, you are ready to download it.
To download, select the Share button at the top right of the screen [1] and then select Download [2].
From the File type drop-down menu, select PDF Print if you are printing the tabletop display or flyer [3]. Select PNG if you want to use it as a digital image or place it in another design.
From the Select pages drop-down menu [4], select the page or pages of the tabletop display or flyer you wish to download.
Then, select Download [5], and your file will be downloaded to your device.
Step 6. Print your Tabletop Display or Flyer
If you plan to print your tabletop display or flyer rather for digital use, choose whether you want to print it yourself or send it to a campus or commercial printer.
Option A. Print it on a personal printer
If you want to print the tabletop display or flyer yourself, first check what paper sizes your printer supports. Most home and office printers can print on 8.5″ x 11″ Letter paper, but if you want to print on heavier paper, you’ll need to check to ensure your printer can handle that.
Before printing:
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- Print one test page first to check the layout, colors, and readability.
- If you are reducing the size, make sure the title, QR code, and key text are still easy to read.
- If you are printing the design as a tabletop display, check that it will still look clear from a short distance.
- If you are printing it as a flyer, check that the details are still easy to read up close.
When you are ready to print:
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- Open the file and choose Print.
- Set the paper size to match the paper you are using.
- Choose Color printing.
- Choose Best or High Quality print settings.
- In the paper settings, choose the closest match to your paper.
Note: If you are printing a tabletop display or a flyer on a personal printer, a heavier paper or presentation paper will usually give a better result than standard copy paper.
Option B. Send it to a campus or commercial printer
If you want a larger batch or a more polished result, sending the file to a campus print shop or commercial printer is a good option. When you send the file, include these details:
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- Finished size: 8.5″ × 11″
- Orientation: vertical
- Print in full color
- Paper preference: heavy paper, presentation paper, or cardstock
- Finish: matte or satin if you want a less reflective surface, or glossy if you want brighter color
- Quantity: how many copies you want
- File type: PDF Print if available, or PNG if that is the file you downloaded
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Step 6. Display it.
Think about where your audience already waits, gathers, or looks for information.
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- For tabletop displays, use a tabletop sign holder, acrylic frame, or easel-style stand.
- For flyers, post them in approved campus locations, place them on event tables, include them in workshop packets, share them in slides or newsletters, or send them digitally after a session.
