Adobe Indesign Sales Catalogue Generator

Adobe Indesign Sales Catalogue Generator

Goal: Reduce the production timeline for the annual printed product catalogue consisting of over 900 products.

Description: I specified and worked with the internal development team to design and implement an automated, database driven, Adobe Indesign catalogue generator. The system integrated with the sales CRM and intranet to automatically script and output Adobe Indesign pages.

Product information included, product images, headline, text, SKU and barcodes – per product – based on predefined templates for each product category. Templates could be adjusted and repeated as design blocks from 1 to 4 products per page. The final Adobe Indesign page layout could then be fine-tuned by graphic designers while maintaining links to the database. Scripts included; output product category using template xyz, update text, low-resolution images, high-resolution CMYK images and update Barcodes.

Outcome: The system resulted in a 90% reduction in resources and overheads. The production of the annual catalogue was reduced from 6 months (a team of 8 designers) down to 2 months (a group of 2 designers)

Product data synced with the InDesign catalogue had a two-fold effect: the sales database was continually updated, and the catalogue always reflected the latest information.

Flow on effects, lead to the development of automated training materials and sales product information sheets. This innovative system was instrumental in positioning Crest Electronics as the market leader in its field nationwide.