Catalogs are a great way to showcase your products and build customer relationships. However, creating a beautiful catalog is more complex than it sounds.
A good catalog design can make or break a sale. A great catalog will include all the information needed to take action, like a URL, phone number, and mail-in order form. A good catalog will also have excellent photos.
Navigate
Know Your Audience
Know your audience so that you can design a catalog that caters to their preferences. For example, if you sell fancy winter clothes, your catalog should be sleek and elegant, whereas selling power tools must be more rugged and utilitarian. You can also map out your audience’s journey from awareness to purchase to gain valuable insight into their needs and expectations, which can help guide the direction of your catalog printing designs.
Organizing your products is another way to maximize the impact of your catalog. Think about how your readers go through it – will they start on the left-hand page or the right-hand one? Will they sort by color, size, or use? Remember that most people read from left to right, so placing important information on the top-left and bottom-right of each page is essential.
Aside from displaying products, your catalog can also be a powerful marketing tool for storytelling and messaging. Incorporating elements like a personal story, highlighting a brand ambassador with a full-page photo and caption, or giving readers an inside look into your production process can add a human element to your catalogs that will help build trust and loyalty with your audience.
In addition, if you incorporate code capture and match-back programs into your catalogs, you can easily measure the success of your efforts. This is especially important given the increased pressure on marketers to prove ROI on their investments.
Utilize Visual Elements
When creating your catalog, you must think of ways to use visual elements to keep your audience interested. For example, using a bold color or highlighting an interesting photo on the cover can draw customers in. You can also use storytelling in your design, such as featuring a brand ambassador on the cover or revealing behind-the-scenes production processes in your company.
Using the right fonts in your design is another way to add interest. Try to stick with one or two families and add accents to make certain words stand out. This will help readers navigate the catalog easily and keep their attention.
Since readers usually read a catalog from left to right, it’s essential to consider how the layout of your product pages will flow. For example, if you have an introductory offer on page three, consider placing it at the top. This way, it will be the first thing your reader sees when they flip to that page.
A good catalog will be informative and visually appealing, but most importantly, it must be easy to read. To ensure this, use a clear and consistent formatting style throughout your catalog, such as setting a uniform layout for your master pages and paragraph styles. This will streamline your design process and eliminate confusion when editing.
Keep It Simple
Whether designing for business-to-business or business-to-consumer, your catalog must communicate the right message to your audience. This can be done through color, typography, images, and layout. It’s essential to have consistency throughout the entire piece so that it looks as though each page flows seamlessly into the next.
This can be accomplished by having one main photographer take all photos and having a single designer lay out the pages to ensure they have the same feel. This consistency level will make it easier for readers to find what they want.
You’ll also want to keep the copy on your product and informational pages short and bold to make it easy for readers to digest. This will help your audience know what to expect from your content and encourage them to continue reading.
Another way to keep your content brief is by adding a table of contents. This will allow readers to quickly find what they’re looking for and is a helpful tool for your catalog. Additionally, you can use this to include your website, email address, and other contact information, which is essential for converting prospects into customers. Lastly, remember that your catalog should focus on the products you’re selling and how they will improve your audience’s lives. This can be done by highlighting your brand ambassadors with full-page photographs and captions or providing an inside look at your production process to create a sense of connection for your audience.
Use White Space
Keeping your pages manageable with text and images when designing a catalog. This can make it difficult for readers to navigate the information and find what they need. Instead, use white space in your design to add visual hierarchy and allow the reader to focus on specific elements. White space is the area of a visual design that is not occupied by any text or graphics. This can be a simple white or patterned background that creates a sense of intricacy and space.
You can also incorporate white space into your catalogs by using borders around your images and text or by creating graphics that flow from one page to the next and guide the eye toward some aspects on each page. This allows you to create a unique, stand-out catalog to attract your audience and set your business apart.
A good catalog is more than a list of products; it’s an effective marketing tool that markets your product, encourages sales, and communicates the quality your customers can expect from your business. Following these simple tips, you can create a catalog that will stand out on your customers’ bookshelves or mailboxes.
