Catalog Doctor: Break Out of the Catalog Mold
Visit an Art Museum
One of the definitions of "great art" is that it's timeless. That is, enough people agreed that it was great art, century after century, that we still call it great art today. That must mean great art speaks to something deep down inside people that many share in common.
So take a look at that great art. Go to your local museum and look at art — both old and new. What color palettes do you see? What about proportion? Perspective? Simplicity or complexity of design? What's the focal point? The eye flow? Try laying a grid over a favorite great painting: Could you put your headline here, your hero product there and line up your subsidiary products over yonder? You may be able to turn inspiration from great art into ideas for refreshing your layouts.
Susan J. McIntyre is Founder and Chief Strategist of McIntyre Direct, a catalog agency and consultancy in Portland, Oregon offering complete creative, strategic, circulation and production services since 1991. Susan's broad experience with cataloging in multi-channel environments, plus her common-sense, bottom-line approach, have won clients from Vermont Country Store to Nautilus to C.C. Filson. A three-time ECHO award winner, McIntyre has addressed marketers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, has written and been quoted in publications worldwide, and is a regular columnist for Retail Online Integration magazine and ACMA. She can be reached at 503-286-1400 or susan@mcintyredirect.com.
