When it comes to making items that are seeming ‘out of the box’, inventing something that’s completely new isn’t necessarily the only way to go about it. Sometimes all it takes is a little tweak here, a subtle change there and voila – you’ve managed to refresh an everyday item and give it a completely new purpose. 

This is the kind of creativity that we see every day from our community and it’s the kind of thing that we absolutely live for. So whether it’s finding new ways to use photo books, taking prints into unexplored territory or just finding cool new ways to display your personalised items, here’s a list of 8 creative ways for you to use photo books that you can try for your next project. 

Story Book

If you’ve spent any time around kids (or remember fondly what it was like being a kid), then you should know that they have big imaginations. They’re always coming up with colourful stories – from living peacefully in a candy kingdom with talking animals to battling evil space aliens on Mars. With all that material to work with, why not turn those fanciful tales into a storybook and feature your little ones as the heroes.

Not only will this help to cultivate both their and your own creativity and imagination, but it can also boost their confidence and foster an interest in reading. 

Pro Tip: We recommend using a Softcover Photo Book to create your personalised storybook as it is lighter, more flexible and durable. 

Language Book

Credits: amarenda276 on Instagram

A personalised language book would make a great gift for friends and family members who love languages. As we all know, there are plenty of resources out there to learn a language but as they are catered to the mass market, the information can be a bit dry and hard to digest (not mention a little boring!).

By making a personalised language book, you can include phrases, slang and dialects that you wouldn’t normally find in your run of the mill language book. Things like ‘Matcha, makan sini or tapau?’ – a Malaysian phrase that utilises a mix of languages from the Malays, Indians and Chinese people that simply means; ‘Do you want to eat here or take away?’ 

In any case, it will definitely be more fun to learn a new language in this way.

Pro Tip: If you’re planning to make a simple book of words and phrases, you can try making either a mini softcover (36 or 48 pages) or a mini layflat book (16 pages).

Cookbook

Whether you’ve been helping your family prepare meals as a teen, are a budding chef or if you’re just someone who enjoys getting creative in the kitchen, then why not try your hand at making your very own cookbook? 

Just think about it. Do you have a handful of family recipes that you absolutely love and don’t want to lose? Or did you manage to invent a new dessert recipe while experimenting in the kitchen and would like to recreate it again? If the answer is yes, why not type them out and have them printed – maybe even include a few photo references for good measures. 

Besides being a wonderfully functional keepsake for yourself, this personalised cookbook would also make a great gift for family members or friends. 

Pro Tip: A softcover photo book or imagewrap hardcover photo book would be perfect for making a personalised cookbook.

Art Book

Credits: vig_starmax on Instagram

Bring your drawings, doodles and illustrations to life by printing them out in the form of a full coloured photo book. If you’re an artist (either traditional or digital), the idea of compiling all your artwork into a single book has probably crossed your mind once or twice. Not only will you have an archive of past works to draw inspiration from, but it would also make for a great portfolio to show to clients, college recruiters or potential employers.

At Pixajoy, you can choose from a wide selection of photo book types, paper materials and layouts that will best represent your artwork and style. Whether you choose to place a single image per page with some text to explain the concept or if you’d like to include multiple images in a single page, the choice is completely up to you.

Pro Tip: Softcover photo book, Imagewrap hardcover or layflat hardcover photo books in 8X6 size would make for excellent choices to print your first art book.

Grandparents Brag Book

When it comes to having a new family member in the household, you can’t help but wanting to show off a little. While some of us have the luxury and technical know-how to flood Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Twitter or even Snapchat with adorable baby photos, we shouldn’t leave out our less tech-savvy family members – such as our grandparents! 

By gifting your grandma and grandpa with a Brag Book that can fit easily into a purse, yet is beautiful enough to turn into a coffee table book, you’ve given them both something that they smile about and use to brag to their friends.

Pro Tip: If you want to create your own brag book, you can try to opt for the pocket-sized Mini Layflat photo book. If you want something slightly bigger, then you can opt for any of the 8X8 sized photo books.

OOTD Book

Sharing your photos on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat is both fun and convenient. Especially when you’ve put together a killer #OOTD that deserves to be shared with friends and family over the interweb. But in a sea of digital photos, it’s quite easy for those shots to get lost.

As of today, there are over 200 million photos on Instagram alone tagged with #OOTD. So instead of becoming a passing footnote in someone else’s timeline, why not print out all those fabulous OOTD shots into the form a trendy softcover photo book that’ll help you hold onto your memories (and fly outfit combinations!) forever.

Pro Tip: When it comes to layout, take inspiration from magazines go minimalistic. Opt to have one or two photos per page with some text describing your outfit, accessories and makeup choices.

Local Guide Book

If you have friends or family from out of town (or even out of the country) who are planning to pay you a visit, then they would definitely appreciate a personalised guide book. 

Unlike the generic guides that is filled with plenty of tourists traps, your personalised guide book can include places that only locals know about; little out of the way trails that are perfect for sightseeing but not nearly as crowded as the mainstream tourist destinations, old school coffee shops with plenty of personality, maybe even bazaars and markets that are perfect for nabbing authentic, unique and cheap souvenirs.

Pro Tip: Softcover photo book would make an excellent canvas to create your guide book. For an added touch, you can also leave a few pages blank for your friends or family to sign or leave comments and messages. 

Self-Love book

According to a report by the Global Web Index (GWI), internet users now spend on average about 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media daily. However, people aged between 16 – 24 spends about 3 hours online. When you spend such a large chunk of time browsing social media sites, it’s not uncommon to be exposed to a barrage of impossibly high beauty standards or the general lack of representation in the media in which you consume.

That being said, it’s easy to fall prey to negative thoughts like believing you’re not capable to do certain jobs or activities due to your appearance or that taking care of yourself is selfish and foolish since it won’t make a difference. 

By creating a ‘Self-Love’ Photo Book, you’ll be able to delete the limiting belief that taking good care of yourself is selfish. It will help you to embrace your individuality and give you time to reflect on all the things that you like about yourself – whether it’s based on your appearance, style, or personality. In addition, by creating a ‘Self-Love’ Photo Book, you will also have something that you can tangibly hold onto that can remind you of the feelings of confidence and self-acceptance.

Pro Tip: A ‘Self-Love’ Book should look as good as they make you feel. Opt for a hardcover photo book, like the debossed photo book or Mini-Layflat for something that you can have with you in your purse, bag or car at all times. 

Having gone through our list of 8 Creative Ways to Use our Photo Books, you’re probably more than ready to make one of your own. Not only are photo books easy to make, but they are also fun to experiment with and are so long-lasting that your grandchildren would probably have a chance to see them hence bringing your joy into their lives as well.

Besides, it’s also a great medium to show off your photography skills and express your creativity, vision and yourself in a refreshingly new way.

Visit Us at Pixajoy Malaysia | Pixajoy Singapore to create your own personalised Photo Books.