Here’s a quick design tip on catalog design from issue 44 of Before&After Magazine.
Catalog pages must go together fast and withstand countless last-minute (or last-second!) changes. Crate & Barrel has used this excellent format that makes it possible to do this and retain your sanity. Its digest-size pages are divided into six square modules; each contains a photo or text but never both. Text is one size; photos have no embellishments.
Superclean type fills each module with a low-key field of texture. By limiting it to one size and one style (Helvetica Light, heads bold, prices bold red), the type imparts its information clearly without competing with the images. Twelve modules per spread make layout easy: Images can fill from one to nine modules in assorted proportions (square, tall, wide). Varied combinations (big-small, many-few) keep each spread fresh. Note that text units do not “wrap” but form straight edges along image areas. Header and page numbers go in the narrow strip on top.
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© John McWade/Before&After Magazine, courtesy of Gaye Anne McWade.
This article was last modified on January 4, 2026
This article was first published on July 26, 2024
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