Catalog concept and grid
A page system that holds many products without looking crowded, and that you can reuse for next season.
Product & retail catalog design
Catalog design
A catalog has to sell the product and keep a lot of information in order at the same time. For nearly twenty years Gravitait Design has designed catalogs for a three-generation family jeweler and a mineral cosmetics company, from a signature black-and-gold keepsake to seasonal volumes full of shades, prices and tips.
Boone & Sons Jewelers
“A Family Tradition” catalog, 2006, updated through 2024
Boone & Sons is a three-generation family jeweler with stores in Chevy Chase, Washington and McLean. Their signature catalog is black and gold, with generous white space and jewelry photography given room to breathe. The catalog set the look for everything that followed: holiday trunk-show invitations, magazine spreads and event pieces over nearly twenty years.
Sweet Minerals
Seasonal catalogs, Vol. 6 to Vol. 9
Sweet Minerals sells mineral cosmetics through a network of consultants, so each catalog has to sell the lifestyle and work as a practical order guide at the same time. The volumes pair lifestyle photography with a clean typographic grid: shade swatches, prices and pro tips organised so a consultant can find anything fast. The work also introduced the Liquid Minerals line and the Glam Club subscription identity.
What’s included
Twelve pages or two hundred, printed or sent as a PDF.
Product pages and pricing
Product names, item numbers, shades, sizes and prices set so customers and sales teams can find things fast.
Photography layout
Lifestyle and product photography placed to sell, with room to breathe where the product deserves it.
New volumes and seasonal updates
Refreshing an existing catalog for a new season or product line, not starting from scratch each time.
Companion pieces
Invitations, inserts, line sheets and ads that match the catalog.
Print production
Press-ready files, paper and binding advice, proofing and the press check.
How it works
- 01
Plan
Page count, product list and deadline, mapped back from the print or mail date.
- 02
Design system
Cover direction and sample spreads that set the grid, type and photo treatment.
- 03
Build
Products, copy and prices flowed into pages, with proofs section by section.
- 04
Press
Final corrections, press-ready files, and the press check if we are managing print.
Timing depends mostly on how ready the product data, photography and copy are. We plan the schedule against your print or mail date at the start.
Questions
The things people ask before starting a project like this.
Can you update last season’s catalog instead of starting over?
Yes. That is how most catalog relationships work. Sweet Minerals ran from Vol. 6 to Vol. 9 on the same underlying system, which keeps each new volume faster and the brand consistent.
Do you design digital or PDF catalogs?
Every catalog is built as a press-ready file and can also be exported as a PDF for your website, email or sales team.
What do you need from us to start?
A product list with prices, any existing photography, your deadline and a sense of the page count. Gaps are fine; we will flag what is missing early so it doesn’t hold up the schedule.
Can you manage the printing?
Yes, if you want: quotes, paper selection, proofing and the press check. Or we prepare files for a printer you already use.
More from the studio
Start a catalog
Tell us roughly how many products and pages, and when it has to print. You will get a reply within one business day and a fixed quote after a short call.
(410) 917-8605
Gravitait Design, Hanover, Maryland 21076
Sun–Fri 9am–8:30pm, Sat 9:30am–8:30pm ET