Developing a Design Style – An Introduction
When I sat down to design the latest album for photographer Andrea Murphy, I had a sense of how the design should feel when it was finished. We now have a sort of rhythm with Andrea’s designs, and have developed a style that she is excited about, so I was really delighted to get started. As I browsed through her image collection, I knew this album would be a joy to design. Why? Because the images are just right for creating a beautiful album. In this post I will share what I see when an image collection is balanced for producing a great album with a cohesive story and design theme.
First, Andrea’s “just right” collection includes a few abstract and interesting images – photographs that stop the eye and require thought to discern the subject. These kinds of images are perfect for an opening spread. Only a few are needed, maybe one or two in the entire design. They provide a good visual break from the busier spreads and allow the viewer to pause, reflecting on the artistry of the photography, or perhaps the beauty of the couple and their special event.
Next, the bride’s preparation images highlight details in both wide and tight perspective. Often, these preparation images contain only close-ups. This may be the photographer’s style or a clients preference, but wide perspectives provide context and alternative views. If you have them, include them so they can be used as a faded background or embellishment to support overlapping images and the overall design theme.
The ceremony images often stir emotion. In this particular design, the ceremony images are primarily wide field-of-view. The angles, leading lines, and well-timed captures made them perfect for telling the story from a different perspective.
The creative portraits are the most fun section of the album. Andrea did a fabulous job of capturing both classic and creative images with a bit of an edge. Too much of that edginess and the design can start to resemble a fashion shoot. While this stylization can enhance certain images, the goal is to design a timeless wedding album, so classic images are always an important addition for balance and relevance.
Andrea successfully played off of the bride’s gorgeous flowers. Choosing a striking object or important detail and then building a theme around it can provide a design “anchor” and the focus of several very different images. It’s an easy way to create a cohesive, richly dimensional design.
The importance of family portraits can be overlooked, and often added only because of the “must have” factor. However, they are usually the best selling images and Andrea, again, did very well by creating images that are fun and classic. Check out the spread of portraits for some inspiration.
Finally, the reception images. A great collection of reception images will include the important events, as well as the great fun all were having. And don’t forget the details! But these pages can be challenging! Without care the reception pages can look crazy busy and confuse the viewer. It can be difficult for the album designer, not knowing who all these people are in all those shots. If an image collection is really random, a good solution is to create one or two spreads with images in a collage. This works well for up to about 20 images per spread. In this particular design for Andrea, it was best to select the ending image for the last page, then go back and lay out the reception pics in relation to the beginning, continuing story, and final image.
Over time, DoodleDo has developed a unique style for Andrea’s albums, something of an individual theme using various layers along with images used as embellishments. We can create your designs this way, too! Just let us know your preferences and include appropriate images for the layer effects.
Hopefully, this gives you a little direction for choosing images and guiding your client in smart image selections. Think about these things when you are shooting and give your clients a balanced collection, while encouraging them to also be selective when choosing. Andrea’s beautiful photography and considerate editing is ultimately what makes this album design shine.
~Robin
Click the thumbnail to view Andrea’s latest multi-layered design.
