Site Reference Forums

What kind of software resources do you have stitch? You can do them in PowerPoint and PDF them or you can do straight PDF   This may prove helpful

If your boss is totally loco and is prepared to pay, I have access to a number of  good artists - see caricature link in sig

Hate to be a kill joy for your boss, but, ummm, doesn't he want his catalog to look professional? Even if you got an artist for free, and did all the work yourself through some program, unless you have a background (some higher education plus years of experience) in layout design and advertising for catalogs, the thing is going to end up looking wrong, and it's going to be tough to figure out why. (If you do have such a background, no need to read the rest of this. )

Now my print media design memories are decades old -- some more then half a life time ago, BUT I do remember three things vaguely -- all pictures should be pointing towards the inside of the page, there needs to be a certain amount of white space per page, including the edges, and just the right descriptions and selling words need to be included in the blurbs for each product. Those rules are just the tip of the iceberg for print media advertising and differ from online media. I only picked them up from a course way back in college, and a couple of years working at an ad agency, where I wasn't making the products.

There's a whole lot of stuff that goes into making a catalog, which is why even the cheapest of companies part with their money to get professionals to do it. (And trust me, I've worked for some really cheap companies! )

When my hubby worked for the federal government as a pipefitter for a base, his boss told his group to "just take down that insulation off of those old pipes." Now, my husband wasn't lazy, by any means, and generally did as he was told, but he knew what he was doing and what that insulation was made from -- asbesto! This was one of the few times in his working career that he had to just say, "No!" He was threatened with being fired by his boss, his bosses' boss, and the guy over that man too, but when he explained why, and it went all the way up to the General in charge of that base, the General congratulated him for using his brains and sticking to his guts.

What your boss is asking you to do isn't dangerous, however it IS a really bad judgement call by your boss. When it doesn't pull in the expected number of sales, you will be the scapegoat! Tell your boss, "NO!" Then explain to him that he needs an expert to do the work, so the catalog does what he really wants it to do -- be good for existing customers and add towards more customers. Offer to call ad agencies for him. I can even give you hints on how to find cheap ones --
- make sure they don't have a website online
- aren't  mentioned ever (or often) in Ad Age or Ad Weekly
- work for cheap companies
- specialize in your business field
and
- still do good work! (Get samples.)

(Other option is to find a recent grad with the proper degrees from a university known for their marketing department -- Wharton Business School comes to mind -- who had, at the least, a Summa Cum Laude and a year or two as an intern for a high priced, big city, advertising company, but has no experience yet to land that first job.)

Too bad I don't know what became of that old ad agency I worked in -- part of my job description was to cold call to get him more customers. When I ran down the list of well-known companies, (some were Internationally known, and one of those is forever in bankruptcy ), it was often a good hook, since everyone knew those companies were always CHEAP! LOL

Now, just to make sure you understand -- I'm not angry, upset or have any negative emotions towards you! I actually admire how much you are willing to do for this boss, Mr. Stitch. You're can-do (even if it's stupid) attitude ought to get you on head hunter lists, if the ones who look for people like you in your business visited these forums. I've had some real "winners" (dripping with sarcasm) for bosses in my working life, but, at least, I always seemed to have one boss, who could run interference for me when another one tried to make me do some pretty silly stuff.

Up 'til now, your boss always seemed to ask you to do silly things that gave you a deeper education into web development, so you end up with a series of skills that you know can help you, if you ever decide to go solo into your own business. This particular miracle he wants simply will not help you learn more for what you need to know, unless he is giving you enough time to research all that is involved in print advertising, before doing the quest! Good luck!

Looks pretty good

Sounds like your boss is way off, lol

Anyway - there may be catalogue template for content; but no one does Norman Rockwell templates!!!!!

From what i can see, his artwork is photography - not something one can template

but do they catch fish - or just fishermen??!!

Fishing Lures?! Ack! My sincere apologies! I come from a mixed marriage -- HE does lures; I do BAIT! Sadder still, neither of us can do either anymore! (Trying to talk him into buying a houseboat, if we win the lottery, but it sounds like I won't win this one -- stupid motion sickness! ) BUT I do know something about the product line, (I taught him to love fishing) although, once again, from decades old info. On the other hand, maybe your boss has redeeming qualities -- after all he does fish AND in Canada where fish grow naturally! Good taste!

I couldn't read your inside page mock-up to see if it works or not. The overall layout of the page works, if it is for a left sided page. Generally the inside cover (both ends of the catalog) are reserved for something really important -- pushing a particular product (the bread and butter product),  pushing the highest price product, or a little "about us" column with the hope-you-enjoy sales pitch from the owner on the front cover. Also, I always thought fishing catalogs tended to assume too much of their readers -- as if fishermen ("fisherperson" just sounds too dumb) all know which color lure to use in which kinds of water for which kinds of days to catch which kinds of fish just through osmosis. Then again, if I'm not mistaken, doesn't your business sell to other companies, instead of folks, who fish?

Still seems like a bunch of variables that could use the touch of an ad agency, but I do remember that my ad agency boss got lots of new clients by telling who his past clients were. Since all his clients wanted cheap and good, sooner or later, they'd venture off in search of cheaper and better. Since most of his clients made him promise to serve no competitors, once they left, the door swung wide open to attract that company's competitors. With that, I got him a new dental company that sold to dentists. The guy, who worked directly with my boss was a real sweety and, probably, gave too much insider info to me (I was also receptionist, copy typist, and occasionally wandering into copy writing, when the product just needed typical sales pitch) that I then would tell my boss to make sure we gave him exactly what he wanted and what worked! Through all that, I learned another valuable piece of info about catalog creation -- do what everyone else in the industry is doing! Afterall, chances are good, the big boys did the marketing research to figure out which works best!

Knowing a little about fishing equipment companies and related companies (BassPro and Cabrelas come to mind) not so sure your logo/name/title goes well with the rest of the front cover. The title is very modern, while the rest of the page is quaint and old fashioned - stirring that gotta-go-fishin' desire that haunts our souls forever longing to be out fishing then to be stuck doing anything else. Can't tell you which works best for your audience, but I'm sure if you get samples of your competitor's catalogs, they will.

Again, really, good luck!

Last edited by atwhatcost (2007-10-12 13:28:48)

Wrong time of year to do this, except for the colleges/universities that actually make the students take a semester "off" for experience, but any chance of getting him to think "intern?" At least you get someone who's been taught the theory behind what is needed -- a photography student interested in getting into product photos for promotions, a communications student interested in advertising, or even an art student, interested in graphic art for marketing. I remember the two graphic artists at that advertising agency, and just thinking about the one's colored pencil drawing of a photo of a variety of breads for a bakery, still makes me hungry, and even smell the freshly baked breads! (There are times when graphics work better then photos, although I couldn't tell you any kinds of rules of when to use which.) Interns are free workers, and if you can contact your local college/university and ask for interns from the right departments and with the right kind of grades, at least you get free help for a few weeks (between semesters, or a few months, during the summer. (If you work in a large city, your boss my have to give a stipend for the intern to pay for the cost of getting to work.)

My sister (Dad's second marriage, so she is young enough to be my daughter) got a coveted internship in one of the biggest PR firms in NYC. Since she lives right above Philly, the only thing she got was enough money for the train to take her there and back three days a week one summer, and she was thrilled. She also was Magna Cum Laude for Syracuse U., so she was a good catch for them, too.

Naturally, the old ad agency boss had to live cheaply to produce cheaply, so the older artist was a stay-at-home mom, who took the job, once her kids went to school, so she could be home by the time they got home. The other one was fresh out of college, and since it wasn't one of the college names that look good on resumes, she took the first job she could, to beef up her resume. (I was a very good business telemarketer, who hated the boring job, so telemarketed my way into that job by cold-calling ad agencies with the concept of letting me set up appointments for them, in exchange for doing office work to make my resume acceptable to businesses looking for office workers. ) So, if you can't get free help, at least, you know how to get cheap help.

Wish I could help further, but sounds like your boss has selective hearing, and yet, a good ability to pick employees, too.