The Do’s and Don’ts of Wedding Album Design

The real beauty of any professional wedding album lies in the album design. It is so important that the album layout shows off the best images and tells a story. The design can really make or break the impact of a wedding album. Before you get started with a project,  learn the do’s and don’ts of wedding album design.

These helpful tips make album design an easier process whether you are using a service, or doing designs yourself. Those images aren’t going to put themselves on the pages, so let’s get started with the “Do’s”.

The Do’s 

• Do be sure to select quality images for the album. Printed images are not as forgiving as what we see on the screen. Images that are slightly out of focus, or ones that are pushing the limits on proper exposure, should be eliminated from the selection gallery. Remember this keepsake will also be a marketing piece for future clients. Having images looking less than spectacular is not going to impress.
• Do you provide the correct file type, size, and color space when submitting spreads or images to the design team? Zoobinders requires images to be sRGB jpegs at a minimum of 240 ppi. Knowing what is required will save you the frustration of getting error messages when placing an order or having to go back and export adjusted mages. 
• Do make sure that you understand the safety margins and trim area on spreads that you design yourself. Safety margins are those areas near the edges of your designs that should be free of heads, feet, elbows, or critical design elements. The trim is the area that will be cut off. For more information on the Zookbinders trim and safety margins, check out the Design Guide. 
• Do restrict the number of images per spread so that the design isn’t crowded. Zookbinders recommends an average of 4.5 images per spread. The spread is the left and right side of an open album (some spreads may be one panoramic image and other spreads have eight images). Calculating this average controls the number of spreads you are offering and your album cost. If a client wants to add more images to their wedding album, they’ll need to add, and pay for, more spreads. 
• Do help the newlyweds pick out the images for their album. This doesn’t mean a 4-hour hand holding consultation in front of a laptop, but do cull the images to a manageable number. Better yet, suggest the best images for the album design. If making decisions about your favorite images feels like Sophie’s Choice, try using Zookbinders’ Selection Service. Giving your couples a headstart when it comes to picking out album images alleviates a huge pain point. Check out this Selection Service Test Dive to learn more!

The cover is part of the album design. A cameo cover is a great place to showcase a favorite image!