I’m always looking at newspapers, magazines, advertisements and catalogs. I love to study the photos, layout and general design for inspiration. It’s a good way to keep moving forward, stylistically.
I recently picked up a Beretta catalog and thumbed through it. The Italian company makes hunting and sporting apparel, firearms and accessories. Most of their products are very pricey. They have good product photography, a nice, manly, retro design and simple, solid layout. However, the lifestyle photography seems to be a bit stiff and cold. Maybe it’s just an Italian esthetic that I don’t quite get, or maybe they just didn’t get the right photographer for the people shots. Either way, I expected more.
I think they are on the right track with their catalog, but I believe the company can do better on the photography next time.