Tactile, often marvelously crafted with stunning images, a brand identifier – the catalog has too long been ignored as a medium of graphic design. No longer. In her recently published book, Dianna Edwards examined the art of creating desire with the catalog. The book itself testifies to the heights design can touch; Edwards collaborated with Designer Robert Valentine on “Catalog Design: The Art of Creating Desire,” an impeccable coffee table addition.

Published by Rockport, Edwards sifts through the whys and hows of catalog design. In her acknowledgements, Edwards writes, “Catalogs are a curious anachronism. They remain stubbornly tactile in a paperless society. They insist on concentration from a generation weaned on sound bites. They demand engagement – even to dismiss a catalog and throw it away, we must first hold it in our hands. All of which makes a catalog an almost irresistible challenge to anyone who loves good graphic design. And that’s what this book is really about, good design.” And here, all our design firms are vying for those annual reports…

With images, these little books sold over $90 billion dollars worth of merchandise in 1999. We’ve all fingered them, leafed through them – some with ethereal images of women and cotton sheets lifted by breeze, others with men lifting sail, laughing at some joke we don’t hear. The book pays homage to all of the images, and the strategies that have made us pick up our phones and dial those 1-800 numbers.

Local credits for the book include: Author Dianna Edwards; Editor/proofreader Tania Rochelle, The Portfolio Center; Mimi Bean, Two Bean Ink, Editorial assistant: Hadley Higginson, The Portfolio Center; Book Project Management Jenifer Cooper, CooperWorks.