DoodleDo will soon be switching to an all new, easier, online ordering system, and part of this change will be a re-classification of the design styles we offer. Along with our Basic and Graphic Design styles will be the new Enhanced Design. In conjunction with these changes, we thought it would be very helpful to take a look at each of these so that you will better understand what each offers, the various options and possibilities, and be well equipped to make your selections when placing your orders.
In this post we are featuring the Basic Design theme. It is very important to keep in mind that what we call a theme is not a template. Every design we create is custom. However, some of our clients want their albums to have a consistent theme, so we will reuse elements from their previous designs in new ones. While not containing graphic enhancements or embellishments, there is still a great deal of variety possible in a Basic Design, as shown in the three examples below.
This first design is a style often requested – single color pages, an ample amount of negative space, and fine strokes and borders to complement the image collection. It allows the beautiful photographs by Lisa Richmond to really stand out. When ordering a Basic Design you have the option of choosing any page color or colors, stroke and border colors, text treatments, and a number of other design preferences. You may also leave it completely up to us to create what we think best compliments your images.
In this next example, perhaps our second most popular style, you will notice that the primary difference from the above design is placement of elements and page color. It is less symmetrical and includes large, bold images contrasted with smaller images, resulting in less negative space. The gorgeous photographs, again by Lisa Richmond, dominate the spreads in an arrangement that is flowing and pleasing to the eye. Images with lower opacity allow other images to stand out and help spreads appear less busy.
This final example, created for photographer Tim Park, is a slight variation of the themes shown in both designs above. In this we are back to symmetry, simple borders and strokes, but with a more consistent placement of images from spread to spread. This design is accented with opening and closing full-spread panos, and one near the middle to break up the pattern. Note the font and text treatments used in all three of these designs. You are welcome to choose any font for your design. When we choose, we always select a font we believe matches the overall aesthetic of the image collection and design theme, along with any treatments that will blend the text into the design. Again, there should be no conflict between the images, the design, and the text.
We hope this article helps you to better understand the DoodleDo Basic Design theme. We will soon have our design galleries reorganized to better show the three options: Basic, Enhanced, and Graphic. In our next post we will take a look at the Graphic Design theme and describe what sets it apart. If you have an account with us, you will soon receive an email about the new ordering process.
Known primarily for our album and book designs, we also create other graphic design works. Most are single pieces ranging from covers to cards to advertisements. When producing multiple items, having a clear, cohesive theme will boost your identity, viewer recall, and customer confidence. A simple yet good example is a recent studio sample album that developed from a print ad DoodleDo created for photographer Summer Hopkins of Summer Dawn Photography.
Summer first approached us requesting we design a new print ad for magazine placement in her local market. The result is shown below on the right. Summer then placed a new album design order and we recommended she allow us to use the same design theme from the ad to emphasize her studio branding in a new studio sample album. This particular wedding was a good choice – unique, stylish, and fun. The color, swirls and dots, used by Summer in past ads and marketing pieces, work well with the wedding images. Summer’s client receives a beautiful wedding album, and Summer gets a lovely studio sample that showcases her design tastes and branding while matching the magazine ad. It’s a very good strategy, especially this time of year when many newly engaged couples are searching for their wedding vendors.
DoodleDo specializes in design work for photographers. If you already have a well-defined brand and marketing campaign, we can create new studio sample designs that incorporate your style while showcasing your photography. If you feel your branding is lacking, needs a freshening up, or is non-existent, we would be happy to produce a unique theme for your 2010 strategy.
Click on the album spread below to view Summer’s sample design.
Color is such a fascinating subject, so I will spend a couple of posts discussing this important element in our Style series.
First I think we should take a look at color theory just a little. At its core, color theory relates to choosing a palette of aesthetically pleasing tonal relationships. In short, it is deciding which colors work well together. When developing an album style you will probably be drawn to a certain background color. I think there are three basic directions you can go – black, white or chromatic. I define chromatic as a color found in the images themselves that will be used for the background.
Understanding color theory will help you choose your palette by knowing what colors go well together. It also allows you to be more creative without making a color mess. There are three color harmonies that, I believe, lend themselves well to album design and creating a style: complimentary, analogous and monochromatic. You’re certainly not limited to these three relationships, but based on our experience, they’re the most effective for developing your style because they are clearly defined.
Even if you switch up your album background colors, your color harmony can really give you a distinct album style. Let’s look at each of the harmonies.
Complimentary – Color pairs that are opposite one another on the color wheel as shown here.
For example, red and green are complimentary colors, as are yellow and violet. Using complimentary colors makes for a bolder design.
Analogous – Colors that are adjacent to one another on the color wheel. These tones have similar light ray wavelengths, so they are easiest on the eye.
Monochromatic – Color schemes made up of shades and tints of the same color. By changing opacities, you can use the same color to layer tones and create depth and complexity.
Your background color choice is important for obvious reasons. I find that summer weddings tend to be complimented by light tones and shades, or white backgrounds that allow the images, strokes and graphics to really dominate the design. Fall and winter weddings tend to look great on darker colors. Black seems to always work and is very popular, but try to stretch your creativity a little if your photography style allows.
Multicolored backgrounds in an album can be tough since this can overwhelm the images. The image collection must be considered first and foremost when choosing your background so, again, your image style will be important in setting the stage. I tend to choose one or two colors to work with, and then add a stroke color for accent.
Always take a close look at your images and determine which of the three color harmonies would best compliment the collection and your style. If you have preferences, be sure to indicate them on the DoodleDo Design Order & Preferences Form so that we create a design using the colors you really love. If you leave it to us, we will certainly choose colors that will compliment and enhance your image collection in a beautiful design.
In our next Style post, we’ll take a look at actually choosing the color for your next design and discover if it works for emphasizing the style you want to portray in your albums.
Our last post encouraged you to think more carefully about the number of images to include in a design that reflects your style. After deciding how many images, the next logical questions are which images and who decides? There are generally three options: the client, the photographer, or both. I’d like to share a little on my experience with these different options to help you decide what your policy will be.
Client’s choice
The obvious advantage is that you know your client will like the images in their album! In my opinion, this is the only advantage, and there’s a lot you may want to consider if this is how you work – you may be missing out on some value for your client. When the client chooses, the collection is usually their favorite images. There is nothing wrong with this, but typically many of your favorite images are left out, and their selection tends to be repetitive. This can break up the story-telling element of the album. I once had a wedding client choose eight images of the ring exchange and no images of the cake cutting or the garter toss. I wondered if they liked anything that I showed them. After speaking to the bride, I learned that she didn’t even realize it! If your clients will be choosing the images, at least add in a few of your favorites as a surprise. These will add a dimension to the design that your client will most likely appreciate.
Photographer’s choice
Many photographers using a pre-design method choose the images for the initial design. The primary disadvantage to choosing alone is that you may not select your client’s favorite images. The biggest mistake I see photographers make is minimizing or even neglecting the family photographs. These are usually pretty important to the client, so make sure they get plenty of coverage. An advantage to selecting yourself is that you can show your clients something they may have never considered. You will also have greater artistic control – an important consideration. You might be opening yourself up to more changes, but if you include a good balance of classic and creative images, changes should be minimal.
Both client and photographer choose
When you and your client choose the images together, you will achieve a good balance between their favorites and yours, while still allowing you almost complete artistic freedom in the design. It’s a good idea to give them a maximum number to select, often called the “must have” images. This should expedite the selection process so you can get to work on their design, while freeing them from the laborious (and time-consuming) process of wading through hundreds of images to come up with a large enough collection to fill a full design. I’ve learned that if you limit their selection to the “must haves”, they determine their favorites pretty quick. The advantages to this method are obvious: you and the client include your favorites, the story and artistry is managed by the photographer or designer, and changes will be minimal if any at all.
Let DoodleDo do it!
Most DoodleDo clients leave the selection to us. We occasionally receive entire wedding collections, but usually the photographer has made a first edit and we then choose those that best represent the event and produce a beautiful, complementary design. We still strongly recommend that you or your client pick those important “must have” images, and there is sometimes a collection of these from both client and photographer. When editing prior to submission to DoodleDo, we suggest narrowing to about five times the number of pages you are ordering. Photographers who follow our recommendations and have turned over the selections to us have been very happy, and in many cases their album process has become much more efficient.
One such photographer is Andrea Murphy, whom we’ve been featuring in this series on album style. In another recent design, DoodleDo chose the album images from Andrea’s edited collection, a process that works very well for her workflow. To see this gorgeous new design, click on the thumbnail below.
Next, we will consider the impact of color on design. Choosing wisely is critical!
As photographers we are constantly striving to refine our style. We know what we like and dislike. We compose, light, and expose our subjects in a manner that we feel is most pleasing, and when we reach the point in our career where we actually have defined a style, we have set ourselves apart!
In this new series, we will be offering our ideas, concepts, tips, and suggestions on developing your own style and, particularly, a design style. We started off in our last post with a simple introduction, focusing on the image selections. We now consider the number of images in a design.
Setting ourselves apart. Isn’t that really the definition of style? When you see three photographs taken by three different photographers, do you recognize their work? Why? Because they have set themselves apart. You would never confuse the work of Yervant with an image by Denis Reggie, would you? They have set themselves apart.
It’s also important to have a design style. It might constantly evolve as you refine your style, but you still need to start somewhere. Leaving it up to your client is what many do, to varying degrees, but this does’nt set you apart nor allow you to stand out. If you can show a client a design that is similar to the one they will receive, one that defines your style, you will not only set yourself apart, you will set yourself above. Of course this takes a little work on your part.
What is your style? How do you begin?
Start with the number of images. One of the questions I get from almost every potential client is, “how many pictures will be in my album?” I always answer, “I have no idea! We haven’t photographed your wedding yet.” But I can show them a sample design and tell them, “You can expect something similar to this.” I love to see their eyes light up, and I enjoy explaining the style so they can imagine their own wedding album. The most basic decision the photographer needs to make is how many images to include in the albums. If your style allows one image per page, then you can easily tell your clients how many images to expect. If your style allows for about four images per page, you can give your client an expectation based on that number, and this simple decision will lead you to certain design themes that will accommodate the image selection. It is, however, the responsibility of the photographer to give the client direction, just like the photographer gives the client direction when they are being photographed.
So, how many images? How do you know? Count them! Look through designs that you like and count the images, then divide that total by the number of pages, and you have how many images per page – simple! But you need to keep this number in your mind. Offer your client a general image count or a short range to stay within instead of a specific number, which can create an expectation that may be tough to meet in the design. You want to focus on the final album, not the exact number of images.
As designers, we suggest that you edit to 2-3 images per page. So in a 40 page album you can expect to use about 80-120 images depending on the layout and style. That’s quite a range! We also suggest that you choose all or most of the images. But that is another topic, so be on the lookout for an upcoming post about whose album is it anyway, and who chooses the images.
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.
