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| THE ROLE OF PAPER IN CATALOG MARKETING |
 Catalog designers should be held partially responsible for bottom-line sales, just as the buyers are responsible for their selections. A knowledgeable art director knows how much influence the depiction has over the customer. Therefore, catalog sales results should be shared by management with the creative team... More
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| COMPREHENSIVE LAYOUTS |
 Eddie Bauer’s Winter ‘84 Catalog was selected to show interesting design solutions to multiple products. At a glance you can see how the catalog’s personality comes through... More
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| COMPREHENSIVE LAYOUTS |
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The Banana Republic makes another appearance, here to demonstrate the overall flow and distinctive personality of the book... More |
| CATALOG FORMATS |
Gump's achieves a distinctive look for their catalog by insetting photos onto photos ...More
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| CATALOG FORMATS |
 The examples shown on these two spreads show  how format can work effectively. You can also visualize how the formats...More
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| DETERMINING FORMAT |
Test the flexibility of your format by turning the tissue tracing over. This will allow you to see if the layout will work well when flopped...More
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| A Comparison of Design Techniques |
The use of stylish, oversized cap lead ins work well for Lew Magram in directing attention to the descriptive copy...More |
| A Comparison of Design Techniques |
 The Lew Magram Catalog illustrates classic design with maximum simplicity A digest-sized book, the LM approach is one of presenting the fashion products in a straightforward way on appealing, sassy-looking models. Backgrounds are primarily no-seams. Thinly ruled black borders...More
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| A Comparison of Design Techniques |
 The art director for My Child’s Destiny achieved great rapport with the children who were modeling. Nothing is more charming or persuasive in a catalog than a graphic rendition of children...More
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| A Comparison of Design Techniques |
 My Child's Destiny is a newcomer to the industry, offering  children's fashion and educational toys. Borders in complimentary colors are used to hold the toy pages together, while the fashion spreads are light and open, offering visual relief from the crowded toy spreads...More |
| A Comparison of Design Techniques |
 
Although there are endless interpretations of catalog design techniques, there are basically two major categories: free flowing design and grid system design. These two techniques may even be used in combination...More |
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| Eye Movement Direction |
Many times the merchandise itself may be directional in shape, as in the  case of shoes. Because of their shape, shoes can function almost like a visual arrow. Other products are equally  directional in shape; bottles are distinctly vertical, leading the eye straight up or down...More |
| Eye Movement Direction |
 Models should be used to help contain the reader’s attention within the spread. If they are located on the far outside edges of the spread, they should be facing into the center of the book...More |
| Eye Movement Direction |
| In design, this is accomplished by the composition of the photographs and copy. One depiction is usually larger than the others on the page, and could be called a feature or a mini-feature. This provides a starting point for the reader’s perusal of the spread...More |
| Eye Movement Direction |
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A design technique used successfully in catalog marketing to guide the reader’s eyes around the spread is called “eye movement direction". It can be accomplished by the arrangement of the graphic elements on the pages, as well as by using both the merchandise and models directionally...More |
| Eye Movement Direction |
The direction can be circular in shape, or it can curve around the spread in a sweep. The important thing is for each piece of merchandise to have a chance to be seen. The white space of the paper can also play a role in eye movement direction. If the frame of the paper is strong and directional, it will aid in helping to direct the customer’s attention...More |
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| USE OF BORDERS, TYPE TREATMENTS, SPECIAL GRAPHICS |
The Horchow Collection, that now-famous innovator in upscale catalog marketing, presents several types of special graphics in their Summer Book...More |
| USE OF BORDERS, TYPE TREATMENTS, SPECIAL GRAPHICS |
Special graphics can enhance a catalog presentation, but if overused, or used unnecessarily, can divert too much attention from the merchandise.
Some simple guidelines can help you determine whether or not the use of special graphics should be considered...More |
| The Product is Star |
In order to insure that the product will always be the star, art  directors and designers must be careful never to let the background overpower the merchandise. Photographic backdrops that are busy in content may pull attention away from the items shown for sale. Backgrounds are there to enhance, not to compete...More |
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| The Product is Star |
 A rule of thumb to guide all catalog designers... Allow the merchandise to be the star of the entire production! The product depiction should get the most attention of anything shown on the spread. The design, any special graphic treatments, the copy and the headlines should all be secondary to the depiction of the merchandise. The reason for this is that catalogs are primarily a photographic medium of selling...More |
| White Space |
 It is a challenge to the catalog designer to be able to  free up space, as opposed to filling the available space. Generally, the less constrained the elements are on the page or spread, the more dramatic the merchandise depictions can be. The white space of the paper can provide the simplest, yet most effective, unifying element of presentation...More |
| White Space |
 Catalog designers should consider the paper pages as a positive element of the available graphics. The blank white paper of a catalog spread is like the untouched canvas of a painter. The potential for design impact lies within the physical confinements of the dimensions of the paper pages...More
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| Conception |
 And you need not be an accomplished artist to make use of thumbnails for concept  development. Their main contribution is in helping you transfer thoughts to a more visual form...More |
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| ESTABLISHING IMAGE THROUGH DESIGN |
Recent consumer research has proven that the design of a catalog plays an important role in overall perception and positioning. Prospective customers will receive a message and a statement of philosophy based, to a large degree, on the way in which a catalog is visually presented for consideration...More |
| THE ROLE OF PAPER IN CATALOG MARKETING |
Paper serves two vital functions in catalogs: first, it provides the surface on which we depict our products; and second, it is the tactile element that customers perceive as the “touch and feel” of the catalog...More
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 A wide range of choices of paper is available to meet the diverse needs of the catalog industry. From free sheets to ground wood, from blue-whites to creamy tones, and from gloss to matte, papers are specifically and carefully produced to offer differences in opacity, bulking and surface reproduction. The selection of paper for a catalog is as reflective of image and personality as is the design of the book. |
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