Last month I decided to move my business away from marketing and focus on graphic design, specifically lookbook and press, media, sales kit design. While the word “lookbook” is common among many fashion and design bloggers and other creatives in these industries, many people aren’t quite sure what a lookbook is or how it could benefit their business. Today we’ll explore it!
A lookbook is kind of like a catalog.
My first lookbook-like experience in life was the Sears Christmas Wish Book. I looked through them over and over again, and I still remember some of the images from the 1975 issue!
When I was a teenager, I started collecting and covering my walls and bedroom door with images from Esprit catalogs and Guess advertisements ripped from the pages of Seventeen.
After high school, I was obsessed with Benetton ads and the Tweeds catalog.
I also loved getting the J. Peterman Owner’s Manual and reading the stories that went along with the beautiful illustrations. OMG. Just realized that I can still get these, so I signed up immediately!
In fashion, you often show images of the line styled in various ways and pair different items of clothing together to give buyers an idea of how they can be worn. You create different “looks” to fill your lookbook. While a lot of catalogs give you full-product descriptions, prices, and color options, most lookbooks focus on telling a story by featuring the products in an editorial way and showing potential customers or distributors how the clothing, furniture, jewelry, shoes, wallpaper, art, or dishes can fit into a person’s lifestyle. Items like color options, descriptions, and price may be omitted, and interested parties can use the contact information provided in the lookbook to find out more (if it’s a print version) or, in a PDF or online display, just click on the links to bring up the items directly in your online shop for immediate purchase. See Anthropologie or Ruche for examples.
Lookbooks use photography, design aesthetic, and style to craft a story that will appeal to your customers in a more natural, emotional, subconscious way instead of overtly selling to them.
If you’re ever looking for lookbook inspiration, or inspiration in general, check out Trendland. It’s one of my favorite sources for Awesome. Here are some of my favorites lookbooks featured on Trendland.
- Ernesto Artillo incorporated mixed media collages into their latest lookbook, Spring/Summer 2014.
- Maison Kitsuné went with a postcards with a California vibe to showcase their Spring/Summer 2013 line.
- The mix of additional photography and graphic design in the Prada Real Fantasies lookbook for Spring/Summer 2012 is amazing.
I love the muted color palette and deconstructed minimalism of the Neue Werkstatt lookbook.
I can’t share anything from the lookbook I’m working on right now, but I can tell you that it’s for a client in the fashion industry. More on that later! I hope you guys are obsessed with lookbook design as much as I am because I’m planning on sharing some of my own lookbook experiments and projects as well as some lookbook inspiration in this space.
If you’d like to hire me to create a lookbook or press kit for your business or product line, send me an email.