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home > Graphic Design Articles > Catalog Design >Beyond Creativity - Catalog Design Tips : Creativity Graphic Design Layout for Catalogs
by Kristine Llabres
Catalog Design skills are essential for a graphic designer to have and although breaking the design rules are advisable at times to let your creativity shine through, knowing the design rules are essential before doing so. This article will guide you through the rules of design and the rules of catalog design specifically, so you can design at your best the next time you are asked to design a catalog for one of your graphic design clients.
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Breaking the rules and following your own are advisable at times to create and innovate your own style and discover things. But before doing so, it is necessary however to know what kind of rules you are trying to break and be familiar with the alternatives that you can substitute from the original ones.
Whew! It is just so fun and exciting to explore and try new stuffs that completely according to your own style. Fulfillment and achievement are just two of the rewards that you can get from having things innovated and discovered.
In catalog design, it has to come a long way from the industry’s downscale origins and jam-packed books. With the latest technology that we have plus the aggressive minds unusual use of typography and color make catalogs really look different and trendy.
Catalogs are important to stand out in today’s ever-crowded and critical mailboxes, bear in mind that being different does not necessarily translate into greater sales and profit. Catalog designers have lone been followed many principles in designing simply to sell products.
What you should know to go beyond your limits.
Catalog Design Tips #1: in the catalog's design always place a best seller in the upper right corner of each spread.
Whenever readers glance at a catalog from cover to cover their eyes fall to the upper right corner of a spread, so it is better to put strong product there. So placement of items on the catalog matters a lot.
Catalog Design Tips #2: keep the catalog's typography simple and limit the number of typefaces you use.
Take note that the catalog must be legible, that means no reducing the type to 6 points to help you cram in all the text. Sometimes some elements of the copy need to be represented in type that is bolder or bigger to emphasize and exaggerate to win a sale.
Catalog Design Tips #3: a catalog must always have an order form.
It is essential to include a well-designed order form that was easy to fill out and mail, usually with an attached envelope. It is also advisable to use the form as a worksheet to organize their orders before calling or ordering via the Internet.
Catalog Design Tips #4: be consistent in catalog layouts for it is a mark of excellence.
Developing attractive and unique spreads, icons and typographical elements is important in creating an image. You can use colors, backgrounds, or layout format to break up the overall design and style of the catalog. Your aim is to grab the reader’s attention and encourage them to stop and read its content.
Catalog Design Tips #5: standard catalog formats are more profitable.
Commonly, unique formats attract more the attention or better enhance your brand than a standard full-size, conventional and slim-Jim catalog. It attracts less people with few or no response at all.
Catalog Design Tips #6: a full color catalog performs better than one or two color catalog.
Four color presentation looks more attractive, grabs more attention and generates more sales that a dull catalog. The choice lies always on the hand of the seller if he wants to improve his business by breaking and bending the creativity of catalog making and see the difference of your own innovations.
For Comments and Questions about the Article you may Log - on to http://www.printingshoppers.com
Kristine Llabres is a fresh graduate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts major in English. Being a writer, she is also fond of joining organizations that would give her additional information about things that she’s interested with. Adventure, traveling and extreme experiences are some of her inspirations in writing.
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