Design services
Product catalog design services
A catalogue design service plans, designs and builds your product catalogue in a way that can be updated. It reviews your range and how products are grouped, designs a grid and a standard product entry, works with your product data to fill pages accurately, coordinates photography or image clean-up, checks every page against your data and delivers print-ready files and a searchable, linked PDF. For larger ranges it sets up pages to be rebuilt from your spreadsheet in future editions.
Inside: the stages, the range review, working with product data, proofreading, warning signs and what you receive.
Illustrative diagram
- Review
- Layout
- Data
- Build
- Proof
How the service runs
Range review
Sections, product count, data and image sources.
Output: Section plan
Layout
Grid patterns and product entry.
Output: Approved layout
Data
Spreadsheet structured and checked.
Output: Clean data
Build
Pages filled; images placed.
Output: Draft catalogue
Proof and output
Checked against data; print and PDF.
Output: Final files
The range review
The service should look at how many products you have, how customers look for them and where product data and images are kept. This sets the section plan, the number of pages and whether pages should be built from data. It may also reveal products with missing images or details, which need sorting before design.
Product data the service needs
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Section | Hand tools |
| Code | HT-0142 |
| Name | Stainless border spade |
| Details | Blade 18cm, ash handle |
| Image file name | HT-0142.jpg |
Working with your product data
Product details should come from one source, ideally the spreadsheet or system behind your website or stock. The service should ask for it in a consistent format, flag gaps and inconsistencies, and use it to fill pages. Where the design tool supports it, pages are built automatically from the data, so later editions can be regenerated rather than retyped. You remain responsible for the accuracy of the data.
Images
The service should check that every product has an image of suitable quality, name image files to match product codes and apply a consistent treatment, such as cropping and background. Products without usable images are listed so you can arrange photography.
Warning signs in a catalogue service
Details retyped by hand
Errors creep in across hundreds of entries.
No proof against data
Codes and details not checked.
PDF as flat images
Not searchable.
Nothing set up for next year
Every edition starts again.
Example: a catalogue for a lighting supplier
Illustrative example — not a client case study
Situation: A lighting supplier has six hundred products and a catalogue that takes months to update.
- The range review sets twelve sections and a four-per-page grid.
- Product data from the stock system is cleaned and used to build pages automatically.
- Each page is checked against the data before print and PDF files are produced.
What this shows: The next edition could be rebuilt from updated data. This example is illustrative.
What you should receive
Planning
- Section plan
- Approved grid and entry
Files
- Print-ready file
- Searchable linked PDF
- Data-driven template
Records
- List of data gaps found
- Image licence notes
Proofreading against data
Catalogue errors cost money: wrong codes lead to wrong orders. The service should check pages against the source data, and you should check a sample yourself, especially prices and codes. Keep a record of corrections so the data source is updated too.
Briefing the service
Share your product data, image folder, previous catalogue if any, brand files and printer details if printing. Say who checks data accuracy. Include a list of discontinued items to remove.
Accessible PDF
The PDF should be built with real text, tagged headings, a sensible reading order and alt text for product images where practical. This lets buyers search for codes, use screen readers and zoom on phones.
Designing the grid and entry
The service should design one or two grid patterns and a standard product entry, show them with real products from different sections and test how they cope with long product names, missing images and items with many variants. Section openers, contents and index pages are designed once and reused. Getting these right before building saves rework across hundreds of entries.
Prices on a separate list
The service may recommend moving prices to a separate price list or online page, so the catalogue does not date when prices change. The catalogue then carries codes that match the price list.
Ownership
The design files, data-driven template and final files should be yours, so a future edition can be produced by any designer if needed.
Questions about product catalog design services
What does a catalogue design service include?
Range review, layout, data work, build, proofreading and files.
Where should product details come from?
One source, such as the spreadsheet behind your website.
Can pages be built automatically?
Where the design tool supports it, from your data.
Who checks accuracy?
The service checks against data; you check a sample.
What if products lack images?
They are listed so you can arrange photography.
Will next year's edition be easier?
It should be, if pages are built from data.
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