Catalog Design

Most freelancers offering catalog design can also work on your magazine, brochure, sell sheet, flyer, leaflet or any other type of print material. The services usually include cover design and a pre-agreed number of pages within the catalog to get it print-ready. Photo and other graphic editing, layouts and sourcing premium quality photo images might also be part of the order but make sure you check the gig package or request a custom offer.

Most sellers clearly specify in their gig packages what’s included. However, more complex design work such as product re-draws, image enhancing and manipulation will be charged separately as they’re more time consuming and will require a custom offer from the seller. Same goes for sourcing images in case you don’t have your own or designing a logo or other brand artwork. Most designers don’t do copywriting but might work with writers or editors, so check in advance if they can combine effort.

Most sellers will have a list of requirements when you order, which usually include the texts, product names, id’s, descriptions, your custom images and logo, preferred color scheme, style and any additional guidelines that are essential to the project. You can send your text as a word or other text file or include it in the message inbox. When sending photos make sure they are high resolution, same goes for the logo (a vector or PNG file).

This is a file usually in Adobe Illustrator (extension AI) or Adobe InDesign (extension INDD) that contains the original project. If you have your source file you’ll be able to make future edits to your catalog and brochure which unfortunately is not the case if you only receive the print-ready files. Always ask for the source file if you plan to make amends in the future and most freelancers will be happy to provide it as part of the gig.

Your final delivery will include the finished catalog, brochure, guidebook etc. containing the agreed number of pages and a cover design. Most designers will include custom images and graphics if you have ordered the right package or as a custom offer. If you want to have the source file to make future edits, be sure to ask for it and always look for the word ‘print-ready’ (with bleed or trim mark) in the gig as this will be a PDF or other file that you can take directly to any printer for ordering the final product.