The star of the catalog show

Printing catalogs is not just about putting on everything designers learned in design school. Or choosing the proper layout and fonts. There are many factors that should be considered first. There are also some sure fire tips to make the factors work for the best.

The merchandise should be the star of the show. Of the entire publication, for that matter. And why not? It is what you are trying to present or sell in the first place. Therefore they should be first and foremost in every board. The graphic design, along with the treatments and headlines, should just be the second priority. Filling the catalog with designs can make the presentation of the product disappear among the complications in the page. We know for a fact that these designs adds some excitement but it is certainly not there to cover the product altogether. Use them merely to enhance the product more.

Connection using photos. Photos add credibility to what is being stated. They show the actual example or the depiction of the product and services. Although it is already a known fact that pictures are sometimes not what they seem in person, still people get attracted by them. It would be an obvious lie if people say that they look at texts first before the pictures. It is always the other way around.

Make use of borders. Special effects in catalog design cannot be avoided. Center, inverts, overlapping are just some rules that should be followed in the application of special effects. Sometimes though the rules can be bended to make way for brand new ones that is effective too. What is needed to know now is when to use the technique. It takes a good eye for details to figure out when and where to use to put the technique in designs.

The background should not overwhelm the foreground. To make certain that the product is clearly seen in the lead, background designs should be kept to the minimum or be perfectly done to not suffuse what is in the lead. It is important to know that backgrounds are made to offset and not to upset. As with any other kind of designs, their use is just to give information, to add amusement and to explain what the merchandise is about and not to affect how the product is presented. The essence is still the main thing that should be inherent in catalogs. It is not advisable to exchange them for designs that can overpower them.


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Florie Lyn Masarate got the flair for reading and writing when she got her first subscription of the school newsletter in kindergarten. She had her first article published on that same newsletter in the third grade.