What a daunting task it must be to create a “reference catalog” for artists. Not only must you sell an exhaustive range of media, but your color reproduction must render the colors precisely. And your catalog had better look good, or you’ll never gain the trust of your visually astute audience.
The Daniel Smith catalog meets all those criteria – handily. In the words of one judge, “Daniel Smith sends a clear message of authority to its customers. It obviously produces the highest-grade materials and knows its customers well. That comes across in everything it offers, from inks to frames.”
The catalog establishes its authority from the get-go, dedicating several pages up front to a history of the company, emphasizing its high product standards and noting that “approximately 70% of the employees are working artists.”
>From there the book segues into the product section selling oil paints, >with copy blocks discussing the formulation of its Original Oil Colors >line and the differences among the four types of white available. Turn the >page, and you’re greeted with a dazzling spread of swatches of the entire >line, with each color shown straight from the tube, and also mixed with >Titanium White. “The photography provides the texture and detail needed for >a catalog of fine arts supplies,” says one of the judges, “and the >printing of the color swatches seems true to life. I can imagine very few >problems with colors not appearing as they are in the catalog.” Just in >case, though, Daniel Smith offers refunds for all mechandise (except >customized materials and, as mandated by law, flammable products) returned >within 90 days.
The friendly but informative copy and the vivid photography are consistent throughout the rest of the book. Even pages that are devoted largely to the necessary listing of the color names and SKU numbers are accented with photos of palettes and paint tubes, insets cross-selling complementary product, and paintings, prints, and doodles submitted by customers. The judges particularly appreciate the inclusion of readers’ illustrations throughout the catalog: “They bring the customer right into each page, because every artist can say, `I’ve done something like that too,'” enthuses one panelist.
Summing up the panel’s consensus on the catalog, the same judge says, “Daniel Smith revels in its customers, their creations, and the products they need.”