500+ products. One carpenter looking for the right one.
PLACACENTRO made tools and imported and sold wood through stores across Mexico. Their slogan: “The carpenter’s friend.” For twelve months I renewed their website, built a digital catalogue, organized product photo shoots and designed their presence at a construction expo at the World Trade Center in Mexico City.
- Year
- 2013
- Relationship
- Independent client, annual agreement
- My role
- Account and design lead
- Duration
- 12 months
- Range
- 500+ products, including wood
- Expo
- World Trade Center, Mexico City
Wood and tools don’t sell the same way
Wood needs to show its grain. A tool needs to stand apart from the one next to it. With 500+ products, any inconsistency made the range hard to navigate.
One account, not loose jobs
I ran the website, catalogue, photography and expo as a single program with one visual direction.
Website, catalogue, photos, expo
Plus website maintenance, changes and adjustments all year long.
This is what a 500-product range looks like
Each square is a product. Hit the button to sort them.
Twelve months, one program
A promise that had to work on screen
“The carpenter’s friend” positions the brand as a practical ally. For that to feel true, a carpenter had to be able to find what they needed among 500+ products, on the website, in the catalogue and at the stand.
There were also two rhythms at once: the expo had a fixed date, while the website and catalogue had to keep taking changes for months afterwards.
What I owned
I owned the account and its design: the renewed website, the overall image and the expo materials first; then the digital catalogue, the photo shoots and ongoing site maintenance.
The approach
- Make the promise practical. Recognizable branding, clear product information and consistent navigation.
- Content as a shared resource. A product photo is worth more when it’s tied to the right name and description, and can be found again for the next piece.
- A catalogue built into the site. The wood range, presented with real visual care, inside the same browsing experience.
- Separate launch from upkeep. Keep the launch, the expo deadline and the small year-round adjustments in their own lanes.
What changed
One coordinated account instead of disconnected web, photo and print jobs. The website, the catalogue and the stand presented the same company in the same voice.
For me, it was the move from individual deliveries to running a sustained program across brand, product content, digital and events.
From the home page to the catalogue.
Is your catalogue a maze too?
Dani is waiting in the office with a form and Daniel’s card.