The Eyes Have It: The Science of Eyeflow

Catalog design is akin to putting a massive, multi-page jigsaw puzzle together. There always seems to be too many pieces for the puzzle. The pages, and the pagination itself, must be formulated in a way that will show products to their best advantage, and give them a chance to sell.

Plus, the designer is challenged to make room for headlines that shout unique selling propositions. To top it off, there are pieces that belong in consistent, easy-to-find locations, such as toll-free phone numbers and URLs. It all needs a particular hierarchy that will help the viewer to find what they want, instantly.
It’s no wonder that one of the most consistent struggles I see in my catalog reviews is in page and spread design. This is why an understanding of eyeflow is an essential tool for both the catalog designer and the people reviewing the book as it is being developed.
How does eyeflow work?
While reading books, the average Joe will start in the upper left corner, and follow the text to its conclusion on that spread, at the lower right. But with a catalog, the eyeflow is quite different.
The first place the catalog reader looks is in the upper right corner. From there, they’re most inclined to stay on that right-hand page, and then head down toward the lower right corner. There, they turn the page and off they go to another spread.
The challenge for the designer is to enroll the reader, through design and use of powerful headlines, to not only stay on the spread, but to regard the entire spread, moving their eyes to the left page, and paying off that trip across the spread with interesting images and a benefit-driven headline on the way.
From that spot you brought them to in the upper left of the spread, you then need to carry them back across with plenty of interesting things to look at, before they continue off the lower right corner.
No matter what you do, they will always hit the upper right, and leave at the lower right. It’s just human nature.
But you really want the reader to see your entire spread—that’s one of the most likely ways you’ll sell multiple products on that spread. The longer they stay on a well-thought, well-merchandised spread with like items and cross-sell opportunities, the more likely you’ll come out of their viewing with a larger order.
Here’s what you need to do to create a spread with strong eyeflow:

1. Develop a concept for the spread. Choose the products thoughtfully so you have great chemistry from one item to the next. This is most likely to happen if you have a concept for that group of products.
2. Write a strong headline for the spread, something that reveals the concept in a way that it speaks benefit to the consumer.
3. Decide what product is the MOST important—most likely to sell well, best seller in the past, or a very strong bet in a new product. Make that the HERO of the spread. This hero will be at least 50% bigger than every other product on the spread. The hero product will go in the upper left or upper right. Set the headline for this product a little larger than your other product headlines, to announce its importance.
4. Decide the next best product and make that the secondary hero—smaller than the first, but still bigger than the other items on the spread. This headline can be the same size as the rest of your standard headlines.

You’ll put one of these heroes in the upper left, and one in the upper right. I recommend you choose the more ‘active’ looking photo for the upper left, to help draw attention. It may be more colorful, or a silhouetted photo with an active shape …or it may be a number of smaller photos that work together in strong colors or with a lot of contrast. But keep in mind that this is what you’ll need to draw the eyes to the left.
5. Choose the product that is least likely to be a good seller, and make it smallest. Place that in the lower left corner, since that’s the least likely place someone will look.

Right now I’m sure some of you are saying, “What? Doesn’t that as good as kill off a weak product?” The point is this: you don’t want any strong product to be placed in the ‘dead zone.’ Strong product, placed well, will become even bigger sellers. Take advantage of that opportunity. If by chance you find that the lower left product performs really well even in that position, you’ll know it’s earned its way to better real estate for the next time.
6. Choose strong and easy to read fonts, and put the toll-free number and URL at the lower right of the spread. Use the lower left for other things, like customer service number or a fax number if you are accustomed to getting orders by fax. You can also put reminders of your guarantee or other good support information. Just keep the type very readable.
7. Choose another strong product and place it in the lower right, above the toll-free number.
8. Now, review what’s left and determine which images will help draw the eye to the left, and what works well with other products in the placement you’ve started with.

While designing the spread, be sure to consider issues such as human images, which always draw the eye, and images of dogs and cats, also a grabber.

If a breakdown occurs…
If you find yourself slipping back into the ‘socialist’ layout—all the same, so nothing’s important—step away and decide why this is happening. If you have too many products on a spread, take a deep breath and run through the catalog to remove anything that did not earn its space when you did your square inch analysis.

While this may seem drastic, remember, you have a Web site, and that space is cheap compared to your catalog pages. You need your catalog to create desire.

Also, keep in mind that dull or uninteresting product (maybe it’s not to you, but if it’s a bad seller, then it must be less than interesting to your customers) will actually drag your catalog response down, since more people see product that is not appealing to them, the less likely they are to stay and find the good stuff.

This paring out of the ‘dead wood’ will give you room to do a proper job of laying the catalog out so that it will actually sell the stuff that’s earned its place in the book.
And with setting up the layout in this dynamic and interesting way, you’re sure to sell more product and get larger orders.

One more little tip: Don’t forget to have a good copywriter compose your headlines so they’re benefit-oriented and actually cause the reader to stop and see there’s something in it for them on that spread. Your designer is unlikely to be capable of writing the same quality of headlines. Besides, they already have plenty of puzzle-pieces to deal with.

With a kickoff like this, you’re on your way to a spread that’s got strong eyeflow—and more selling power.

Carol Worthington-Levy is creative partner at San Rafael, CA-based catalog consultancy Lenser.