Creative Cut: Classic Designs Keeps it Classy

When I picked up this catalog, I was immediately impressed by the clean and consistent design. It has structure without seeming stuffy, and features tons of information that’s easy to read and understand. Oh, and did I mention the gorgeous, rich products?

Yes, this is a good catalog — handsome and well put together. It’s instructional without being cold. It’s full of information and products, without real clutter. I concluded rather quickly that this fine catalog could be used in design schools as an example of a hard-working catalog that doesn’t lose its beauty.

Positives, Improvements

Of course, there’s always room for improvement. Starting with the cover: The layout is elegant, structured and architectural — fitting the products it features. And there’s a happy-at-his-work Matthew Burak, an image that immediately establishes a personal touch. Although the dot whack’s font choice is a bit clumsy for the shape, the dot establishes what’s new in the catalog for loyal customers. A featured item with page number gets you to open the catalog.

Inside Front Cover

The inside cover has a prominent money-back guarantee, table of contents, and time- and money-saving custom services box, all of which are supported by a strong money-saving discounts box. These are all good uses of the page, and a fine way to get readers organized and excited about the catalog’s content.

The inside front cover (and other pages throughout the catalog) contains the all-important “social proof” pull quotes from happy and knowledgeable customers. Don’t discount the power of the strongly felt opinion from your customers’ peers. Pull quotes are proven motivators.

What’s not to like on the inside front cover? For starters, the placement of the product offerings here is confusing. Is this instructional? Are these for sale? The designer should have begun the “offer” on the facing page.