Twelve columns, a baseline grid, generous margins, a type scale we had argued over for a week. Every page passed inspection. The object failed.
Where it broke
Readers opened at the middle, as everyone does with a catalogue, and found no way to work out where they were. The grid told them how things aligned. It said nothing about what mattered.
- No running head, because it spoiled the spread
- Section openers set at the same weight as the entries
- Page numbers in a grey that lost to the paper stock
Alignment is not hierarchy. We spent the week on the wrong noun.