Image Catalog Case Study
Overview: A core creative service offered by Lantern Press is the customization of illustration and photos, internally referred to as "name-dropping." Their online catalog features both blank and name-dropped images alike. The volume of images searchable is over seventy thousand. The sales team needed a physical tool, that only featured blank images, for clients showing the images available for name-drops. What was decided on was a visual catalog displaying the image, title, and reference number of images.
Responsibilities: My focus for this project was two roles: the sorting, organizing, and importing the images used, and then coordinating with the printer for manufacture and specs.
Image Management: The biggest hurdle to overcome was the act of getting the images into the catalog. Manually placing over 2000 images into InDesign would take far too long and introduce the chance of human error. I had previous experience adding both text and images automating using data-merging, but not at the scale of this project.
The solution would come from another product with similar functions: a school yearbook. Both combined images with text in a uniform fashion and had to be accurate. From there, I was able to hit forums and find varying guides that would breakdown the steps to automate the import of text and images via excel spreadsheets. I was able to customize those steps for our purposes.
Printer Coordination: Thanks to my printing background, I was able to effectively communicate with the print-shop. From them, we gathered the details needed to make the spine the right width and the print file was built correctly for varnish ink on the cover. I was also the one to go on-site for the final press-check, ensuring the design team's vision was realized.