The Herff Jones scholastic catalogs are an annual project, and in 2022 I ran it for the fifth consecutive year. We again produced 6 variants with different mixes of product. Some sales partners have offerings that vary by school or district, and prefer to use catalogs that exclude certain items to avoid customer confusion. In practice, this meant developing the Senior All-Inclusive Catalog first (since it contained everything), getting most everything approved and finalized, and then splitting its content out into other catalogs that contained various product lines.
As was typical, the process took about three months from start to finish, beginning in February 2022 and going to press in early May. Early concepts began in January, but full production didn't begin until a month later.
2023 Senior All-Inclusive Catalog
2023 Jewelry Catalog
In 2023, we evolved our usage of Benton Sans to incorporate heavy contrast between light and heavy weights. While it does look good, particularly on white, in retrospect it may have been a bit of a misstep—not for the catalog, but because it limited our options for other collateral produced throughout the year. The thin type is prone to getting lost on busier backgrounds, which was a limitation that was probably unnecessary.
We continued from the previous year our inclusion of dozens of photos taken by high schoolers and used in their Herff Jones yearbooks. We wanted both to showcase their talents (all credited with a byline) and to emphasize the authentic experiences of students across the US.
We once again made us of gatefold covers for 2023.
This necessitated outputting them as separate files for press and accounting for minor changes in page size, but the effect was well worth the effort.
This necessitated outputting them as separate files for press and accounting for minor changes in page size, but the effect was well worth the effort.
The basic concept of the cover style for this year's catalogs was developed by a colleague (Kyle Lewis), but it was left to me to execute it across the six different catalogs.
Only one of these catalogs is currently available to view online, which is on Issuu here:
Jewelry Catalog
Jewelry Catalog
Note: The catalogs were for the Class of 2023, but in order to market to that class throughout the school year, they were designed and printed in the first half of 2022.
2023 Senior Catalog (With Apparel)
2023 Regional Jewelry Catalog
2023 Letter Jacket Catalog
2023 Senior Catalog (Without Apparel)
