Most catalog templates today are designed to be big. However, in this special design tutorial, I will give you a few design tips for smaller scale catalog templates such as 8.5x5.5 catalogs. Basically 8.5x5.5 catalogs are designs that are half of a standard "letter sized" catalog template. People use these smaller catalogs for more mobile type and wide type distribution that is hard to do with larger catalogs.
Unfortunately you cannot simply translate those bigger designs to smaller templates of course. That is why you will have to adapt your designs for smaller scale templates. If you need help for your 8.5x5.5 type designs for catalogs, then the tips below should help you out. Listed down below are the basic general design practices that should make your marketing message more effective even with small scale catalog prints.
1. Use less sophisticated images – Once everything gets smaller, highly detailed or sophisticated images lose their charm. Why you ask? Well, this is because reducing the images size of course means that the fine details of the images get compressed, blurred and in some cases are just totally eliminated or removed.
So all that effort in developing a great sophisticated image is wasted if you use catalogs in smaller formats. That is why it is better to just use less detailed and sophisticated images in smaller scale catalogs.
2. Use simpler headline fonts – Another important tip when printing smaller catalogs is for you to always try to use simpler headline fonts. Headlines should always be as clear and clean as possible of course. However, for smaller type designs and catalogs, it is imperative to use very simple sans serif headline fonts for your design.
This makes the text easier to understand even in smaller scales. You will not be as effective as you want to be if you use those uber-decorative and detailed font styles since it gets harder to read as you go smaller. So make sure that you just use simpler headline fonts when you can.
3. Use lesser colors – Using too much color in a tight space is not recommended, even for 8.5x5.5 catalogs. Such a concentration of power makes the print too gaudy and loud to pick up. So it is best to use less colors when possible. Less is more as many people say, and in smaller catalogs, a theme of just 2-3 colors is a lot easier to manage and more applicable on many design settings. Son loose those extra colors and focus on variations of a few core hues.
4. Manage spacing well – Remember that you are in a limited space as you print your catalogs. This means that it is important to manage those spaces well. Make sure that you adjust the margins of your text drafts, as well as the line spacing or paragraph spacing and even the character lengths and kerning features. By knowing exactly how to format unruly text, you can have the best text and design content that can fit into your smaller scale catalogs.
5. Print tougher – Finally, remember that with smaller color catalogs, the chances of early deterioration is high. So it is best to print tougher custom catalogs that are thicker and are more water resistant. This should extend your print marketing length through catalogs even further, giving you more results in the long run.
Great! Now you can actually create great and effective smaller catalogs pretty easily. Just follow through on the tips above.
Author Resource:
Troy Duff works as a businessman and currently runs an online printing company that offers 8.5x5.5 catalogs , banners, magazines, flyers, catalog templates , custom printer and other printed ads.
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