When designing a personalized photobook for clients, my job is to incorporate all of their wants and needs into the book. And those wants and needs vary with each and every client. I had one client that wanted a lot of fun elements for their baby book like polka dots, stars, flowers and gold accents. She wanted the theme pages to clearly state the theme, like "sleeping beauty" or "bath time". Another client wanted their travel photobook to be clean and classy and photo-centric with only 3 different solid color backgrounds, and barely any elements of design. Another client emailed me blocks of text that outlined the photos that were on each page: where they were and who they were with.
There's really no right or wrong answer - it's all a matter of your personal choices. Having text outline the places you visited and the event you attended is a great way to help remind yourself where exactly you were when you're looking at the photobook ten years later. Some people claim that the photos are enough of a reminder - that they will trigger your memory of where you were without having to rely on text.
Recently, a new mother asked me if I could put a paragraph of text on one whole page with no photo. When I saw the text, I was reminded of why I love designing these books for people. She had written up a detailed explanation of why she and her husband had chosen their daughter's name. And the tribute they gave to grandparents on both sides of this lucky little girl was just beautiful and heartfelt. I imagined this adorable kid growing up and learning how to read and reaching for her own baby book and reading the reason why her parents chose her name. Through that photobook, she will discover not only who she was as an infant and a toddler, but understand the legacy of where she came from. And that is ultimately what these photobooks are all about.
But the whole point is that the choice is yours. And whatever you decide will be right for you.
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