Product data is part of the bedrock of specification.
It may not be the first stop-off for the architect, but once the solution potential of your range have passed muster as a good fit, product data will be pored over by all and sundry:
And many more besides.
Your data should be ending up in their specifications, so product data has to be right. And to be right it has to be accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive, consistent, waffle-free and vitally, accessible.
The larger your product range is, the harder is to maintain the big 3, above.
British Standards change, colours come in and out of ranges, Approved Documents are updated, innovation improves performance, fixing methodology changes, and on and on.
Whether you use a PIM (Product Information Management) system or good old human thoroughness, changes need to feed through into you product data at the earliest possible opportunity. Failure to update may mean specifications become inaccurate,. competitors gain and edge and leads or projects are lost.
That’s right: CDP has been producing product data sheets for – literally – 66 years.
They were amongst the very first pieces of old-school printed literature we produced and they are as vital now as they were then, although now are nearly all designed as PDFs.
They require all CDP’s long-established skills: structuring, editing and writing text that gives the user clear easily understood information; and focused design, formatting and branding that breaks up the information clearly and delivers it quickly.
One of the most critical (and sometimes most overlooked) factors is getting the information into a logical order.
This simply means identifying the product first, describing its colours, sizes and other physical features, then covering its performance or properties and finally installation and maintenance. This order generally reflects the informational needs of the specifier in the order in which he or she is thinking about the product.
It sounds obvious, but it’s surprising how often we see maintenance covered before, for instance, dimensions, or installation details before the product itself has been described.
Also, no waffle! Eliminate unsubstantiated, emotive sales-speak and follow CCPI guidelines- something we also have plenty of experience in, although, not quite 66 years.
Once the logic of the information order has been established, it’s vital that the design promotes the easy and quick acquisition of that information, through good typography, clear headings, bulleted benefits, tabulated data, colour coding and so on, all, of course, supporting the brand guidelines.
All this should allow the user to identify and jump to the information they need quickly and easily.
Whether its a series of 3 or 300 data sheets (which we’ve produced for British Gypsum), a user referring to multiple products from you, the manufacturer, will expect to see the same framework of information presented in the same way throughout the set. This familiarity again simplifies and speeds up their ability to acquire the right information in the fastest way.
