Decamhian
Del Campo High School, Fair Oaks, Calif.
CSPA Silver Crown, NSPA Pacemaker Finalist
Theme: Into play
Adviser: Jim Jordan
Editor: Delaney Rakestraw
Walsworth representative: Reese Ericson
The new gym Del Campo High School had been expecting became a reality in 2009-2010. The Decamhian staff was discussing the gym’s impact on the school year when the theme “Into play” was first considered. “In an early conversation, I said, ‘When the new gym comes into play, it will change everything,” adviser Jim Jordan said. “And that phrase just kind of stuck.”
Readers are introduced to the 2010 Decamhian’s strong color palette before even opening the book. Stripes in each of the book’s theme colors — orange, blue, green, purple, pink and yellow — provide a backdrop for lists of prepositional phrases. The theme phrase “into play” is slightly embossed, drawing attention to itself only as readers hold the book in their hands. This approach draws attention to the other prepositional phrases on the cover, any one of which you might hear in the hallways of a high school.
The 2010 Decamhian sticks to the six traditional yearbook sections: student life, people, sports, clubs, academics and ads. Lists of prepositional phrases relating to each section, reversed out of colored bars, span the width of the front endsheet. The final phrase in each of these lists is the spin-off title for each section and appears on the divider pages. The colors that correspond to each section on the endsheet are also repeated inside, corresponding to the same sections within the book. This consistency makes the 2010 Decamhian a user-friendly record of the year at Del Campo High School.
Student voices are an important part of the 2010 Decamhian. The copy on this opening spread introduces each quote with a short sentence, but the bulk of the information is in student quotes. “Whether you took it in stride or it made you stumble, everything that came into play helped shape the year and make you who you are,” the copy concludes.
Stripes of color continue the visual development of the theme onto these pages. Color has also been used to indicate that the quotes on this spread correspond with the sections inside the book. This color-coding is done subtly, without underestimating readers’ ability to figure it out.
The staff allows students to tell the story of the year in their own voices through division copy that is composed solely of quotes. This spread, with the spin-off title “at the heart,” presents six students’ quotes about things that are important to them. These mini-stories introduce the student life section’s focus on the things that drive students at Del Campo.
This division spread clearly links the color orange to the student life section through a strong orange stripe across the bottom of the spread and the use of orange as an accent color in the text. The stripe graphic at the top of the spread matches that found on the opening spread and other dividers. Each stripe in the graphic relates to a section, and the colors assigned to each section go in the same order on the graphic as the sections appear in the book.
Off-kilter boxes in the theme colors appear throughout the Decamhian. These graphic elements provide interest and add a touch of fun to otherwise traditional spreads.
This spread highlights the fashions that were popular at Del Campo in 2009-2010. This collection of fashion profiles helped the staff cover a variety of students and include important information that dates this yearbook.
The color purple is emphasized in the clubs section, which is headed by the prepositional phrase “for a cause.” Each quote used in the division copy on this spread expressed a reason a student joined a particular club. “Being a part of a club meant you were a cause that improved your school, your life, or the lives of others,” the introduction to these quotes reads. This upbeat tone is typical of the 2010 Decamhian, which beautifully captures the school year in a positive light without becoming too sentimental. Readers get the feel from this book that 2009-2010 really was a great year to be a student at Del Campo High School.
The last spread repeats the design of the opening spread. The colors, fonts and design elements used throughout the book remain consistent all the way to this final spread. The structure of the copy also remains consistent, with four student quotes that reveal how decisions made by students came “into play” as their futures unfolded. These consistencies help tell the story of 2009-2010 at Del Campo High School in a cohesive package.
