Book & Catalog Graphic Design Tips

Know your customers - What is the demographic of the person you want to buy your products? What makes your customers buy your products? Catalog design is easy if you just sell replacement parts to customers who need to fix something that is broken, but with most catalogs this is not the case. You want to sell your products, but people tend to buy on emotion. The secret to creating the desire to buy is appealing to the customer's yearning to attain a particular lifestyle. The catalog should show the customer how your merchandise will provide them with the lifestyle they desire and you will sell more of the product.

Design for the Audience - Known as “branding”, the catalog should create a look and feel consistent with the product. Design your catalog around conveying a lifestyle. Show people enjoying the benefits of your merchandise. The text and photos should not only describe the product to help the consumer to make a buying decision, but it should demonstrate to the reader the results — how the product will help them achieve the lifestyle they want and desire.

Maintain Consistent Style - Once you have established a successful “look” for your catalog, resist the temptation to change it. Keeping a consistent appearance from issue-to-issue reinforcing your corporate branding. Repetition builds brand recognition, and your customers will begin to feel more comfortable with your company. If you decide to change the theme of your catalog, do it in small increments over a long time to avoid losing the branding you have built upon.

Product Focused - Avoid grouping items together in photographs unless they are in very small, related groups. Show most products in the catalog with no background so the merchandise stands out from the clutter of the page. Subtle backgrounds add variety to the design and convey lifestyle moods.

Excellent Photos - Perhaps the single most important catalog feature is the product photo itself. Don't be frugal on the photography. A picture is "worth a thousand words," but a bad photo can say the wrong words about your product.

Top Right Corners - Put your best selling and most profitable merchandise on the outside top corners of the catalog – especially the right side. Readers typically thumb through catalogs by first looking at the top right corner first, and then glance to the rest of the page. If nothing catches their eye they'll turn the page. Give your best selling products more space than your less important merchandise.

Include an Order Form - Since much of the actual ordering is done by phone or on the website, some companies believe that an order form is unnecessary. Research has shown that shoppers like to use a printed order form to list and organize their purchases even if their actual order is placed by telephone on your website.

Need Graphic Design Help on a Booklet or Catalog?

If your company needs help designing a booklet or catalog, Summit Printing has professional graphic designers on staff that can help you!

If you have any questions about our services, need a price quote, or want to speak with an expert for some questions about printing or graphic design, please don't hesitate to contact us.
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Summit Printing also, of course, prints booklets and catalogs as well. We provide photo-quality books at a competitive price, click the link below for pricing. With 9 plants in the USA and one in Canada, we can print and ship them to you quickly at a great price!

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