Catalogue Design - the biggest design challenge?

Within the area of printing design, there is a huge difference between designing brochures and catalogues and they require a very different focus and set of skills. With brochure design the information is very important, but just as important is the design and making sure that it is eye-catching and displays the company in the best way possible.
With catalogue design, the information becomes much more important and often the design has to work really hard to present this in the most effective and straight-forward way possible.The design, therefore, has to walk this fine line between being attractive and eye-catching, but also not overpowering the information and the products, or making the information difficult to read or illogically laid out. People have a very short patience for a catalogue design which doesn't allow them to find the information they need as quickly and simply as possible.
The answer with catalogue design, then, is to think of yourself as not creating so much of a design, but a framework in which the products and information will sit. By doing this, you put the correct emphasis on the products, but also appreciate how important the design is in 'gluing' all of this information together. Unlike a 'design' which will tend to be inflexible and force you to change the size/shape of the information, your framework should be able to bend and flex to hold the information and keep the presentation strong and consistant.

Pamphlet Design - how to create text.

When customers give us text for a pamphlet design, it is invariably too much. There is a tendancy for any information literature to load it full of text, believing that the audience is after as much information as they can get. This is not the case. What the audience is really after is to be given the keypoints in as easily digestable form as possible. So how can you cut down the text to include in a pamphlet design? Well, firstly, you need to think hard about your audience. Just because you, as the owner of the business, are interested in the details of a certain product or service, it doesn't mean that your audience are interested in the same type or depth of information. Have you ever been to a party where one of the guests simply won't shut up about the details of their boring job? - don't do this in your pamphlet design. Be very selective about which information you include and keep it brief, remembering always about what your audience might be interested in. Bullet points are a fantastic way of sumarising the important information for easy digestion and can quickly point out the key benefits. Highlighting the benefits in your pamphlet design, of course, is what it is all about so always review the information with this in mind. Try to connect all the information to a key benefit. i.e. 'Established since 1980' becomes 'With over 25 years experience'. 'Made from aluminium' becomes 'Constructed from strong and light aluminium'. Don't rely on the reader making conclusions (people read advertising literture fast and light), be blantent and unsubtle. Lastly, think about the structure of the information in the pamphlet design. Don't simply have one long narrative. Split your information into different headings so readers can easily find the information they are looking for. Title these sections with headings likely to catch people's interest. It is important to put life into your text, so try to inject some enthusiasm into the tone - even if the subject is not that thrilling. Visit the Add Design website for more information on printing design.