Start Designing
Getting Started

Your First Album

The real create-album flow from title to print-safe specs.

Your first album starts on /dashboard/albums/new.

This is not a one-click toy flow. It is a real setup sequence that shapes everything downstream.

Create Album Flow Demo

Switch between the lab-catalog path and the custom-dimensions path. Then lock the title to see how the rest of the flow waits for it.

01

Album Details

Done

Name the album and optionally add the event date.

02

Select Lab

Ready

Choose the lab catalog you want to design against.

03

Product

Ready

Pick the album product so binding and spread rules are known.

04

Format

Ready

Choose orientation when the product offers more than one path.

05

Size

Now

Pick the production-safe size that the editor and export stages will respect later.

What changes with each path

Album Details always comes first and unlocks the rest.

Lab mode walks through lab, product, and size with real production constraints.

Custom mode skips the lab catalog and defines print truth directly.

Format appears only when the chosen product supports more than one orientation.

The live page adds autosave, plan-aware restrictions, and the full lab catalog. This demo stays focused on the step logic that matters when you are explaining the first album path.

What The Flow Actually Does

The page asks for two categories of truth:

  • Album identity like title and optional event date
  • Production truth like lab, product, format, or custom dimensions

The Big Rules

  • The album title unlocks the rest of the flow
  • Lab catalog and Custom dimensions are separate paths
  • In lab mode, Format only appears when the selected product supports more than one orientation
  • In custom mode, the flow collapses into a shorter path because the size logic is defined directly

Why This Step Matters

These choices are not decoration. They decide how the album behaves later:

  • which sizes are valid
  • how guides and spine rules work
  • what spread constraints exist
  • what the editor and export stages need to respect

If you want the full workflow after this step, keep going to:

Photos Workspace

Upload, sort, tag, and organize the story before design begins

Album Overview

See how the album command center reflects the work that now exists

Starting Your Trial

When trial access begins and where trial pressure shows up inside the product.

Dashboard

Start here when you want the big picture before jumping into an album.

On this page

What The Flow Actually DoesThe Big RulesWhy This Step Matters