Crate & Barrel, A Story of Unrequited Love I absolutely love Crate and Barrel. I love the way design meets function, in each and every one of their products. I love walking through their stores, being inspired by what could be. I love that their product designers take inspiration from around the world and bring… Continue reading Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better
Tag: catalog design
Knowledge-Based Creative
Part 4: The Physics of Creative What if I told you it’s possible to increase response by 5% or more? Sometimes returning to the proven foundations of effective catalog design can make that happen. Yes, the role of the catalog has changed over the last 10 years – dramatically. But what hasn’t changed is the… Continue reading Knowledge-Based Creative
The Amazon Catalog – The Good, Bad & Ugly
Receiving the Amazon catalog in the mail seemed like an industry event. The biggest online retailer in the world mailing a catalog? For many of us that grew up in the catalog world, we felt vindicated; print is powerful. But with all the muscle in the world, how do you think their catalog stacked… Continue reading The Amazon Catalog – The Good, Bad & Ugly
BREAKTHROUGH CREATIVE
PART 2: THE PHYSICS OF CREATIVE What if I told you it’s possible to increase response by 5% or more? Sometimes returning to the proven foundations of effective catalog design can make that happen. Yes, the role of the catalog has changed over the last 10 years – dramatically. But what hasn’t changed is the… Continue reading BREAKTHROUGH CREATIVE
Catalog Critique For Dummies (actually, just anyone that isn’t a Creative Director)
Critiquing a catalog can be overwhelming. Maybe you’re so close to your brand that it’s hard to maintain objectivity. Maybe your focus is merchandise, so product presentation is most important to you. Maybe you’re not a Creative Director, so reviewing work is intimidating. (We can’t all be Creative Directors.) (I’m not a Creative Director.) There… Continue reading Catalog Critique For Dummies (actually, just anyone that isn’t a Creative Director)
Enough with the “Templates” already!
Once upon a time, in the land of Catalog Design, there lived a monster named “Templates.” This beast sucked the creativity out of the village of designers and wiped out an entire generation of innovative spreads. Its goal was to make all catalog pages look the same and remove any sign of brand uniqueness or… Continue reading Enough with the “Templates” already!
DOES YOUR BRAND CARE?
Does your brand stand for something? Is it more than just products and services? Does your brand have a cause greater than commerce? More and more, brands are aligning themselves with charitable causes. And customers are taking notice. Last year, Ad Age published a study by the research firm Toluna about the impact of brands… Continue reading DOES YOUR BRAND CARE?
Aliens, Content and Conversion
There’s a conspiracy underway in the catalog business. It’s happening right under our noses. You know what I’m talking about, copy kidnappers! Someone has been rounding up copywriters and turning them into CONTENT EDITORS! “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” comes to mind. You know, the “snatched people” attend to their daily tasks, but they really… Continue reading Aliens, Content and Conversion
He said YES!
Who said “yes” to what? I’ll get to that in a minute. First, let me share a story. Decades ago, we heard the following from almost every food retailer we worked with: “We want our catalog to look like Harry & David’s.” Why Harry & David? Because at one time, they set the standard for… Continue reading He said YES!