We often find a wide range of catalogues while we visit a store or a mall. Some really catch our attention while some are not so appealing.
So, what exactly is a catalogue and what is its purpose?
A catalogue is a detailed description of the products and services offered by a company for sale. It may be a book or a magazine containing images, infographics, a list/record of items and products, etc.
To be very precise, every catalogue is designed with two chief components:
- Product/items
- Information/details
The main goal behind designing a catalogue is to create an eye-catching layout of the company’s products that attracts more customers and sells more products.
Whether it is a catalogue for a dry-cleaning service, a new restaurant that has opened up nearby or a catalogue for a makeup & accessories brand, we find catalogues around us every day. We pick them up at a mall or when we leave a store.
Have you ever wondered where they end up, ultimately?
Some find their way to our magazine shelves, some reside as bookmarks inside the books lying on our table, and some find their way straight to the dustbin.
So what decides whether we keep a catalogue, throw it away or actually buy the products displayed on it?
The answer narrows down to one crucial aspect of all the catalogue design.
Some important things we must keep in mind while designing a catalogue are:
- Design for your target audience. Focus on the demography. Enhance your catalogue design accordingly.
- Maintain consistent fonts & themes for the catalogue design. Avoid mixing up too many different colours and stick to a few colour schemes, preferably the company colours.
- Use high-quality images that are capable of grabbing eyeballs.
Remember, ‘A picture says a thousand words.’ So it is important to use proper images while designing a catalogue. - Don’t overcrowd your catalogue with too many elements.
Pictures, logos, copy, taglines, and other elements – prioritize and decide where each element should go. - Maintain the size and format of your catalogue design. Ensure the catalogue design is large enough to fit in all the product descriptions and the page layout.
When your company designs a catalogue, it’s imperative to take a look at your competitor’s catalogue. Look at their work and make a note of which areas you think you can do better. This is because you must have an idea of your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses in order to outdo them.
Give your catalogues a one-of-a-kind spin. Hire copywriters who write amazing taglines and have power over words. Keep the content short and to the point, because most customers have an attention span of a maximum of 7-8 seconds.
After that, they will either decide to discard the catalogue or will go ahead and buy the product.
So it is extremely important to influence your customer within the first few seconds after they have your catalogue in their hands. Do your best to create an eye-catching catalogue design because your catalogue’s design also designs your company’s fate, quite literally!