Meet Your Buyers

When I see a catalog layout that I know will sell badly to marginal customers, the cataloger or catalog designer often will describe it as “clean-looking.” Unfortunately, a clean design can mean a page with a lot of white space, tiny product heads, little copy and a thin sans serif font used for everything from headlines to prices. This combination of design elements usually won’t sell well to marginal customers, because an excessively clean design makes them work too hard. There aren’t any clear headlines to orient rushing shoppers; no clear type treatment to guide hurrying eyes to the benefit line and price; no bestsellers with hero presentations to grab the attention of unmotivated customers; and no powerful copy to close the sale.