A catalog is often the brand's longest-standing material with the customer, so a good catalog does not rank products; it presents them in a story and logic. It promises cover, the first pages build trust, and the product pages make decisions.
Three things separate a catalog from the average: a clear visual hierarchy (where does the eye look first?), a consistent grid system, and accurately crafted visuals before printing. If details such as price, code, and technical information are not given in a readable order, even the most beautiful catalog will be defunct.
When designing a catalog, I look through the eyes of the buyer, not the product: what is he looking for, what question does he ask, what makes the decision easier? The sales catalog is the catalog that answers these questions with page layout.