The making of Katalogus 2015

This time we want to switch the format of Katalgus from magazine to newspaper. The range of our products has expanded and we don’t want our customers to drown in it. We decide that Katalogus 2015 will be printed on A3 sized paper with unbound sheets.

Studying the previous version. This time we need more accents and less article-like text. Searching for references with contrasting layouts, unusual type techniques and interesting ideas in photography.

Of course, the entire Katalogus has to be easily read, so we can’t use this style for all the openings. First we look how these techniques work in real life.

Coming up with variants of the cover.

Some tricks actually work well, we’ll save them for later.

Getting the list of products, distributing them by pages and writing down who is responsible for what.

Creating a three-column layout grid and testing to see if it works.

Each page is typeset according to the grid but there is no single template so we need to come up with a unique feature for each page. For example, for the introduction.

Or for the Electronic Gadgets section.

We want to devote the central opening to Optimus Popularis.

Designer: We can simply use a nice large picture, so it’s like a movie poster.

Art director: No one ever will put it up on a wall. Except maybe for Optimus Popularis sales manager.

Trying to create a poster that would demonstrate the features of the keyboard and which people would want to put on the wall.

Designer: Optimus allows you to avoid learning keyboard shortcuts by heart. Let’s make a poster reminding of popular shortcuts.

Considering making cut-outs for some of the keys so that readers can try to use the keyboard themselves. Testing.

Nope, doesn’t work. Especially since we would have to come up with a way to incorporate the cut-outs on the reverse pages.

Returning to the cover. Of all the previous sketches the playing card one seems the most fitting, also since in real life Katalogus will be folded in half. Testing.

Drawing sketches, creating a composition, trying on the objects.

The art director suggests to show sweet products on refrigerator shelves.

We already have a fridge in the section on magnets. But we can take a picture of our showcase with sweets on the seventh floor of the studio and blur the background to avoid that pharmacy look.

Nope, it’s hard to understand what’s going on here. We need good pictures. Asking the photographer to make it nice.

The current sketches of Katalogus are always hanging on the wall. This makes it easier to follow the rhythm, change the narrative and estimate the overall design.

As we work, the dimensions change due to technical limitations of the chosen paper.

Dedicating four openings to books. To prevent all pages from looking the same, trying to find different layout techniques.

Deciding that the section will have a cover, two similar openings with a bookshelf and an opening with e-books. Not without Filya the cat, of course.

Searching for the best way to present adhesive tape.

Getting ready to realize the approved idea.

Asking the illustrators to give us a hand with pictures.

And the photographers—with photographs.

All that’s left is to go over it once more, make corrections suggested by the editor and send Katalogus to the press.