Great Tips On Catalog Design

When you are trying to put together a catalog for your business, you want to make sure you are careful with the catalog design. Remember that in many cases, your catalog is going to be the first impression potential customers have of your business. You want that impression to be positive and appropriate. Here are some tips to help you accomplish that goal with your catalog design.

Utilize Emotions

In ancient Greece, the famous philosopher Aristotle recognized that one of the key elements of persuading people to do what you want is by calling upon their emotions. He referred to this as "pathos". Whatever you want to call it, the fact is that you should consider your customers' emotional reactions when planning your catalog design. Think about what will inspire them to make a purchase. For example, if you sell children's furniture, showing images of adorable little kids happily using your furniture could inspire loving parents to buy that furniture in order to make their own little ones happy.

Of course, happiness is only one emotion. If you sell home security systems, for example, you could include upsetting images of burglarized homes to scare customers into buying your products.

Catalog Design & White Space

A common mistake many people make when working on their catalog design is focusing on making the catalog cost-effective while ignoring the visual aspects of the design. As a result, they often try to squeeze as much as possible on each page to keep the printing costs as low as possible. The problem with this approach is that people don't respond well to squashed text and images. White space is visually appealing; that's why gourmet chefs leave plenty of blank area on their plates. The white areas accentuate the brighter colors of the meal and help the rest of the design to stand out. The same is true with your catalog design. If everything is hastily pushed together on a page, it will look like one big blur and nothing will stand out to grab the eye of your customer.

Know Your Audience

When you are working on catalog design, you have to think about your target audience and their needs. For example, each of your products should include additional information along with the picture, product number, and price. However, the type of product information you provide will vary depending on your audience and their needs. If you sell herbal supplements through your catalog, for example, that additional information will probably include the ingredients, the health benefits, and any necessary disclaimers. You might mention dosage as well. On the other hand, if you are selling designer candles, you may only want to mention colors and fragrances, meaning that less room on the page will be needed for each product.

Set the Tone of Your Catalog Design

As you probably know, different businesses have different tones. Some are fun-loving and casual, while others are more upscale. Your catalog design needs to reflect the specific tone of your business. That means the color choices, the photographic style, and even the font must all be carefully selected in order to create the appropriate image for your business.