The SHERRILLtree Master Catalog is not only the flagship marketing piece of the company, but also a staple of the tree care industry. Unlike many catalogs that are discarded after a quick skim, the SHERRILLtree catalogs are saved for years. This is because founder Tobe Sherrill insisted that the catalogs relax on selling points, but focus heavily on instructions and knowledge, extending beyond products with helpful tips of proper techniques and how to use the products.
The challenges are the same every year for the catalog: create new engaging content, deliver high-end visuals, and continue to follow through on Tobe's vision.
I oversee this project, which has me develop the creative tone, as well as managing in-house resources, freelancers, writers, illustrators, photogrpahers, and the printer.
For the cover I enlisted the help of a Florida arborist who was very active with photos of his work on social media. He used his GoPro on stop-motion to catch some of his work. As I scrolled through, I was reminded of the multi-burst sequence photography that's been showing up alot in sports magazines, so I started playing around with that. I really liked the concept of showing how a tree worker moves through the tree with just a single photo.
The opening spread of the catalog was designated for promoting the new policies at SHERRILLtree. The policies are agreesive and the CEO challenged me to make it hard to ignore.
In addition the normal catalog elements, there are in-house ads that are done as well, such as this ad above for SHERRILLtree's Splicing Department. These ads are an interesting challenge, in that they need to stand apart from regular catalog content, but still have to adhere to the SHERRILLtree branding that governs the catalog aesthetic.
I utilize as many full page, in-use photos as I can. I'll direct a number of photoshoots through the year to add to our library as new products come out.
