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 is a lot to consider. In this omnichannel, one-click world, great catalogs are no longer just about selling. They must be transactional and a brand handshake. They must disrupt, delight and drive. We are selling to people, and we must give customers complete control over when, how and where they shop. Printed catalogs are digital champions. They need to be the anchor to a much broader marketing mix within an even greater landscape of retail, online and social. There are many points on the spectrum between engaging and transacting, and the catalog needs to drive to all those points. Getting to the sale is not a linear prospect anymore. It’s circuitous.
When you’re reviewing your next catalog, don’t be overwhelmed. Put facts over opinion. Break it down into manageable bites. All you need is a toolkit, a cheat sheet, not for reviewing the magic of creative impact, (that’s for the creative directors) but to guide you through a critique of everything else the book needs to do for your business.
Below are three principles of great catalogs that should be considered when reviewing the work, together with examples of devices and solutions that serve them.
Create Brand Tangibility.
Brand Tangibility is the idea that when your customer is holding your catalog, they are holding your brand in their hands. It’s physical. Done well, a catalog should allow your brand to grow more than any other marketing vehicle because it has the real estate to do so. And remember that in everything you do (or mail), you’re either supporting or eroding your brand. There’s no in-between. What if you couldn’t use your logo? What if you covered it up for a moment? Would your brand still be at home? Here are some elements to double-check that your book is brand-centric. Questions on this one? Ask your designer.
• Format, paper choice & production techniques
• Brand guidelines & integration
• Signature photography
• Design language
• Voice
• Typography
• Content
• Why us? Expression of your brand differentiation
Specialize in UX (User Experience).
UX is typically a term affiliated with websites. But catalogs have been specializing in user experience for 150 years. Just as you have a retail floor plan or a wireframe strategy for your website, you need to think about how people process this two-dimensional catalog medium.
At the book level, we need to keep them turning the page. Where do we place our products and our storytelling, how do we balance the hard-working, high-density spreads with dramatic, hero spreads? At the spread level, how are we using best practices to serve the customer’s experience? To engage them and help them navigate? Use the below to put your catalog to the test.
At the book level
• Pagination
• Pacing & rhythm
• Catalog hot spots:
FC/BC, 2/3, center spread
• Storytelling
• Wayfinding: Table of contents, index, spread ‘eyebrows’
At the spread level
• Eye flow principles
• Heroes, drama
• Hierarchy
• Navigation
• Density
• What, why, how, when?
Cause Engagement, Browsing & Activation.
Great catalogs—at every page turn—tell the customers what to do, why they should do it, how they can choose to do it, and when. What points on the spectrum between engagement and purchase do you want your catalog to push to? Here are some devices to ensure your catalog is working to do just that.
• WIIFM? (“What’s in It for Me?”); benefit expression
• Strong, multichannel call-to-action
• Promotion, urgency
• Cross-sell/upsell
• Risk relief; lowering the barrier to purchase
• Personalization
• Information access/”learn more, see more” options
• Drive to social
• Reader invitations
This does not address the je ne sais quoi. The show-stopping design. The emotional response or that certain something that creative genius can achieve in a catalog. That is for the Creative Director. But for the rest of us, it’s a good checklist when you’re looking at a lot of pages, and you need a little back up. You’re welcome.
Need help critiquing your catalog? Or… need to connect with a Creative Director? (I know a few great ones.) Reach out at micheled@jschmid.com
Tags: catalog creative, catalog design, creative, Creative Director, Customer Experience, Michele Drohan