That's how phone books have been designed for as long as I've been alive, and it's not the best way. Those faults would be more readily tolerated if the rest of the book weren't such a disaster. True, Bell's decision to split residential and business listings into different sections works well and makes sense. But the introductory sections, which give area codes and promote overpriced services like call waiting, are a catechism of how not to use desktop publishing. A box with a face, legs and arms lies in a bubble bathtub staring at a phone.
Same box pulls a telephone in a little wagon.
They're even more useful, I was told, for people who don't read English. Frankly, I wasn't surprised. And besides, let's not put our faith in focus groups. There are often good reasons to ignore what people say they like or want. Yes, I am indeed saying that with-it graphic designers can have a better grasp on what readers need than readers themselves.