Catalogs
Zapf Creation
Zapf Creation 2001
Colette
Baby Cakes
CRMEF
Royal Case
Titus Cycles
Riverside
Iowa Outlook

Zapf Creation, a German doll manufacturer, required fast turn-around for this American version catalog. The 76-page catalog featured the latest dolls and accessories, and would be handed out at the annual Toy Fair in New York. The project was intense, but successful - Zapf continued with us for another three years, until a new CEO changed the direction of their marketing materials, and began using European materials for U.S. marketing.

While this catalog was more of a Project Management and Production project than a design project, design and quality were paramount, especially in regard to photo retouching and the color of the dolls' skin, er - plastic. Some products were not available for photographing, which meant in several cases we had to literally create the product in PhotoShop.

Challenges:

• We received an unordered product list with no corresponding product photos for the American product line. Yikes.
• The client had no idea how large the catalog would be.
• All German layouts were in Macromedia Freehand, as this is commonly used in Europe.
• We had a month to complete the project - from start to printing.
• We had 2 additional Zapf Catalogs at this time, in addition to ads and trade show exhibit graphics.
• It was Christmas time.

Solution:

• Created a strategy for the team to pair product numbers with photos/images and brand
• Assigned sections to designers by brand
• PhotoShop work was defined and sourced to designers
• Photography was art directed and outsourced
• Translations were ordered
• Proofing system and QC inhouse, as well as sending proofs to client was altered for this project due to the tight deadline. All QC was done at the end of each shift, and updated proof pages were replaced before shipping out via FedEx.

No PDF is posted online for this project at this time. Check again soon!