How to Design a Catalog or Brochure

An alternative is to publish the PDF version of the brochure on the company website—this way you can avoid compromises between size and quality altogether. You can also create a flipbook: an interactive publication that simulates a traditional paper magazine. To build a flipbook, you need a complete PDF document ready to be converted into an interactive format, which can be done using specialized software.

The main advantage of digital solutions is significant savings compared to the costs of printing and distributing physical catalogs. The speed of distribution is also much higher. While a printed booklet needs to be mailed or delivered, an electronic version can be uploaded to a website or shared via a link, cloud storage, or email — in seconds.

Still, when it comes to brand image, few things compare to a premium printed catalog with a hard cover.

When creating a business catalog, it’s helpful to group elements by categories or by product attributes (function, size, or color). How the publication is used determines its structure. For example, medical and pharmaceutical catalogs are often used like an encyclopedia, so the entries are arranged alphabetically. If a brand’s assortment is not very broad, it can be useful to organize products in a more intuitive way or using less strict criteria—possibly combining different rules.

For instance, a furniture and home goods catalog can be structured around functional areas where the products are used: kitchen, living room, bedroom, children’s room, and so on. This way, customers are more likely to browse every page, and the chance of an impulse purchase increases.

You will also need product data. This includes both textual descriptions of products — their features and specifications — and codes, SKUs, categories/subcategories, product names, attributes, prices, barcodes, etc. This information can be stored and delivered as an Excel or CSV file or extracted from SQL databases and the company’s ERP systems (for example, 1C, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and others). A client may also ask you, as a designer, to pull all information from the company’s current website or from a previous version of the catalog. They may also request edits to the existing edition.

Always make sure that the information you provide or receive is current and up to date.

If you are creating a printed, image-driven catalog, you will need high-quality product images. The recommended resolution is 200–300 dpi. Strong imagery turns the document into a professional tool.

A client may not have high-resolution images for certain products and may suggest using images from their website. However, such images are typically up to 72 dpi and are not suitable for print. In this case, it’s better to agree on an additional product photoshoot. The same applies to informational pictograms, specialized graphics, infographics, and icons. Make sure you have received everything required for production.

The final stage is creating the catalog layout. This is handled by a graphic designer. Before starting layout development, it’s worth confirming that all necessary content elements — texts and photos — have been collected.

If the company has an established visual identity and a brand book, the catalog layout should follow its guidelines. This applies both to in-house designers and to external specialists involved specifically for this project.

From the brand book, you can obtain both general guidance on the visual identity and examples/standards for printed layout — such as a leaflet, brochure, or flyer. It’s important that the brand’s identity remains consistent, visible, and recognizable across all communication materials. Therefore, before designing a new brochure or booklet, review what the brand already uses.

In addition, the brand book may include layout templates — for example, two typical catalog pages: a product card and a page (or spread) with company information. Standards and requirements for other, non-standard pages — such as the cover, table of contents, an infographic page, chapter dividers, or section indexes—are usually not described. In that case, you will need to design them yourself, relying on the existing identity system and the materials you already have.

The following factors have the greatest impact on the cost of catalog development:

1. Photography and photo editing. An essential — and one of the most labor-intensive — parts of the process. If the photoshoot has not been done in advance and is included in the catalog design package, the price will increase.

2. Publication volume. The more pages, the more design work is required. Whether you pay hourly, per page or for the full project, workload is one of the key drivers. It affects both timelines and budget.

3. Choice of contractor. Whether the catalog is designed by a freelancer or an agency also influences the cost. As a rule, agency services are more expensive, but the end result is typically stronger.

4. Copy preparation. The client may provide the text content; however, if there are no texts, the agency can write them. In this case, the service is added to the overall estimate.

In addition to the content work, printing costs are also affected by technical parameters — page count, print run, paper type and weight and any non-standard design elements.

In our portfolio, you’ll find dozens of examples of brand/image and product catalogs, promotional booklets, and brochures. You can use them as a clear reference or as inspiration when developing the design of your project.