Project Overview:

Fingerhut has been a household name in catalog retail since 1948. At the height of its mail program, Fingerhut sent out more than 30 catalogs annually, each ranging from 180 to 400+ pages, with print quantities between 500,000 and 1.5 million per mailing.

This project was a full-scale evolution of the catalog experience, transforming a high-volume, high-impact sales tool into a more modern, shoppable, and emotionally engaging format. The goal was to create a flexible, brand-aligned design system that not only improved the customer experience but streamlined production.

Role: Senior Art Director

Scope: End-to-end redesign of catalog layout and visual system, including templates, typographic hierarchy, photography integration, copy alignment, merchandising strategy, and scalable design tools

Tools: Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, Google Slides, Airtable

Process: Cross-functional discovery and testing, design system and grid creation, copy and visual refinement, template rollout and production workflow integration

The Opportunity:

Fingerut catalogs were overcrowded, visually inconsistent, and difficult to shop; the catalogs lacked the emotional appeal and clarity needed to inspire purchases.

The core opportunity was to concept and execute a new design system that made the catalog more engaging and commercially effective.

Key goals:

Introduce a clear visual hierarchy to guide the customer through the pages
Integrate lifestyle photography to build an emotional connection
Simplify copy and reduce visual clutter for easier scanning
Develop scalable templates to improve layout consistency and production

The Approach:

Catalog Audit

Gathered cross-functional input from sales, marketing, and merchandising teams to align product mix and assortment
Competitive catalog audit and moodboarding to assess layout density, copy usage, imagery, and merchandising flow

Design Strategy

Introduced lifestyle imagery and a clearer hierarchy driving emotional engagement and improving shoppability
Refined copy to reduce redundancy improve product headlines and remove nonessential captions

Design Systems

Built modular grid systems and layout templates
for scalable production
Developed a balanced visual approach with a mix of clean hero moments and multi-product layouts for variety and impact
Created asset libraries and documentation to support faster handoffs and consistent execution across internal teams and external vendors

The Execution:

The Results:

Fingerut catalogs were changed forever through the use of a robust design system, elevating brands, visual storytelling, aligning copy, layout, and optimizing production. It was the blueprint to the future of catalog and content layout for Fingerhut.

The refreshed brand:

Visual elevation supporting aspirational, focused, and on-brand shopping
Efficiency gains using new templates and collaborative asset libraries
Product optimization by slotting key products that drive customer engagement to the website for additional choices