# Lookbook design: product stories page by page [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/lookbook-design) A lookbook is not a catalogue. It sells a feeling first and the products second, through the order of its pages. Plan it page by page, keep it consistent, and send it as a file people actually open. ## The short version - A lookbook presents a collection as a story, with mood and styling first and product details second. - A typical lookbook runs from a cover and a mood opener through hero looks and detail pages to a final page that explains how to order. - Full bleed images alternating with quieter text pages give a lookbook its rhythm. - One background treatment, one type pairing and one photo grade make every page feel like the same collection. - A lookbook sent by email should be a compressed PDF with images at around 150 dpi, while a printed one needs 300 dpi and bleed. **Lookbook design** is mostly pacing. A good lookbook opens with a cover and a page of pure mood, moves through a handful of hero looks shown large, slows down for close detail, and ends with one clear page on how to order or stock the collection. Buyers, press and customers flick through it in a minute or two, so every page should either set the feeling or answer a question, never both at once. ## What a lookbook is for Fashion labels, jewellers, furniture makers, ceramicists and candle brands all make lookbooks. The audience varies: a stockist deciding what to order, a journalist looking for a story, a customer deciding whether the brand is for them. What they share is that they meet the collection through the lookbook before they touch it. So it carries the whole impression of the season. ### Catalogue - Every product, every colourway - Grid layouts, small images - Codes, sizes and prices on every item - Read to find something specific ### Lookbook - A curated selection, styled together - Full page images, generous space - Details gathered on a few pages - Read to feel what the collection is ## How to plan a lookbook page by page Before you design anything, write the page list. Twelve to twenty pages suits most small collections; more than that and people stop paying attention. Lay the plan out like this and you will see at once where the rhythm sags. | Page | Job | What goes on it | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Cover | Collection name, season, brand. One image or the brand's background alone. | | 2 | Mood | A single atmospheric photo or texture, almost no words. | | 3 | Story | Two or three short paragraphs: where the collection came from. | | 4 to 11 | Hero looks | One look per page, full bleed, with a small name or number. | | 12 to 14 | Details | Close crops of fabric, stitching, hardware, glaze. | | 15 | Line sheet | Product names and codes in a calm grid, for buyers. | | 16 | Order and contact | How to stock or buy, website, email, social handle. | A sixteen page plan for a small seasonal collection. Move pages around, but keep the shape: feeling first, facts last. Alternate loud and quiet. After two or three full bleed photographs, give the eye a page with more space: a quote from the designer, a single detail crop, or the brand's background with one line of text. That pause is what makes the next image land. An A4 lookbook cover titled Salt and Linen over a soft gradient background with small text naming the season The cover: name, season and nothing else, so the background sets the tone of the season. An A4 lookbook text page with a single line about the collection set on the same gradient background A quiet page between looks: one sentence, the same background, room to breathe. ## Choosing a lookbook size Decide where the lookbook will mostly be seen, then choose the page shape for that. A buyer opening a PDF on a laptop, a customer swiping on a phone and a stockist leafing through a printed copy all want different proportions. - A4 portrait 2480×3508: 2480 × 3508 - Square 1080×1080: 1080 × 1080 - Portrait post 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350 - Landscape 1920×1080: 1920 × 1080 Four lookbook shapes to scale. A4 for print and buyers, 4:5 for a phone, 16:9 for a deck shown on screen. - **A4 or Letter portrait** suits print and a PDF for wholesale buyers. Fashion photography is usually portrait, so the image fills the page. - **4:5 portrait at 1080×1350** turns the lookbook into an [Instagram carousel](https://gradiently.design/guide/instagram-carousel-size) as well as a phone friendly PDF. - **16:9 landscape** works when the lookbook will be presented on a screen in a showroom or a call. ## Keeping every page consistent A lookbook shot over several days, by different photographers or in different light, can end up feeling like three collections. Three decisions hold it together: one photo grade, one type pairing, and one background that appears on every text page and behind any cut out product. 1. **Grade the photos together** Match white balance and contrast across the shoot before layout. If some images refuse to match, tint them in the brand colours as a duotone or a wash so they sit with the rest. [Duotone photos](https://gradiently.design/guide/photo-duotone-in-mark-colours) shows how. 2. **Pick two typefaces** An elegant display face for collection and look names, and a quiet text face for the story and details. [Elegant fonts](https://gradiently.design/guide/elegant-fonts) has options. 3. **Reuse one background** Every quiet page and every product cut out sits on the same background family. It becomes the collection's colour, as recognisable as the clothes. 4. **Fix the margins and captions** Look names in the same corner, the same size, on every page. Readers stop noticing them, which is the point. Gradiently fits naturally here. A Mark is a living background with its own colours and type voice, rendered fresh at every page size, so the cover, the quiet pages and the matching posts all share one look. Photos can be tinted in the Mark's colours or cropped into arches and circles for detail pages. And because each Mark has exactly one owner at a time, a claimed Mark is a look only you can export with. ## Exporting the lookbook as a PDF Most lookbooks travel by email, and a 200 MB attachment does not get opened. For a digital PDF, export photos at about 150 dpi at the page size and compress them; most readers will never see the difference on a laptop or phone. For print, keep 300 dpi, add bleed and send a print PDF. [Print ready PDF](https://gradiently.design/guide/pdf-for-print) lists what a printer checks, and [product photo backgrounds](https://gradiently.design/guide/product-photo-backgrounds) helps with cut out shots. > **Send a link, not just a file** Host the PDF and send a link alongside a cover image. Buyers can open it on a phone between appointments, and you can replace the file if a detail changes. ## FAQ ### How many pages should a lookbook have? Twelve to twenty pages suits most small collections. Enough for a cover, a story, the hero looks, a few details and an order page. ### What size should a lookbook be? A4 or US Letter portrait for print and wholesale PDFs, 1080×1350 portrait for phones and Instagram, or 1920×1080 for a deck shown on screen. ### What is the difference between a lookbook and a catalogue? A catalogue lists every product to help people find one. A lookbook shows a curated, styled selection to communicate the feeling of a collection. ### Should a lookbook include prices? Usually not on the look pages. Put product names, codes and, if needed, wholesale prices on a separate line sheet page near the end. ### How do I make a lookbook PDF smaller? Export images at around 150 dpi at their page size and compress them. Keep a separate 300 dpi version for print.