Take a look at these two toy catalogs.
Which is more fun to look at?
Now take a look at these three ring catalogs.
Which one did you spend the most time on?
The colors and photography quality of the 2025 catalogs are pleasing to the eye.
But do you feel the monotony of those vertical and horizontal lines?
The superior image quality makes up for a lot.
But the layout? It feels dry. Stiff.
Humans think in clusters—in natural flows and shapes.
This is tied to our love of nature. (In the building world, this desire for natural shapes is part of what's called biophilia.)
The reason mail-order catalogs were able to flow, be readable, and incentivize Americans to flip through them for hours is simple: People took time to design it.
Here’s how Sears built their catalog layouts:
Merchandisers decided what the company should sell. They prepared Full Merchandising Information ("FMI cards") for each item.
These FMIs went to a copywriter, who studied them with a copy chief. Each copy chief oversaw about 15 pages.
Around 95 copywriters played with the layouts—mostly young people trying to make it at Sears, closely watched by senior staff looking for talent.
The rough layout was sent to an artist to prepare drawings. This was reviewed by the writer and sales manager for accuracy. It also went to:
the typographist, who told the writer how many words would fit
the photo ad studios, where models were selected to reflect the “American fantasy”
The final layout was a collaboration between copywriters and artists.
Each mail order catalog was a blend of art, photography, typography, marketing, and sales.
Compare this to the drag-and-drop layout of today's e-commerce catalog.
The lack of thoughtfulness is visible.
Imagine an e-commerce experience designed with the same care, creativity, and freedom as a vintage Sears catalog.
I’d have more fun shopping there.
BeagleTamer100
Back w/ the 42nd edition of Paragraph Picks, highlighting some great posts to read over the past week or so ⤵️
@keccers.eth shares a detailed guide on how artists can use AI, Replit, and no-code smart contract platforms like Highlight and Manifold to launch their own custom NFT minting experiences on Farcaster. "At the end of the day, an NFT is just a wrapper. What you wrap — art, access, memories, patronage, gameplay — is up to you." https://paragraph.com/@keccers/making-your-own-farcaster-mini-app-as-an-artist
Sandra Rhee writes that vintage catalogs like Sears’ succeeded because they embraced artistic, human-centered design, in stark contrast to today’s rigid and monotonous digital shopping layouts. "The reason mail-order catalogs were able to flow, be readable, and incentivize Americans to flip through them for hours is simple: People took time to design it." https://sandrarhee.com/what-mail-order-catalogs-did-better-than-modern-ecommerce
@kaloh argues that stablecoins, especially with Stripe’s recent adoption, are rapidly becoming mainstream payment tools and quietly onboarding millions into the crypto ecosystem by reducing entry barriers. "Stablecoins aren’t just good for payments — they’re unlocking new opportunities across the onchain economy." https://paragraph.com/@kaloh/stablecoins-are-the-trojan-horse-of-crypto