Falcon
Glendale High School, Springfield, Mo.
CSPA Silver Crown, NSPA Pacemaker Finalist
Theme: emerge
Adviser: Lisa Wingo
Editors: Kinsey Cook and Hannah Goforth
Walsworth representative: Jared Kelly
The clean graphic font treatment on this cover presents a beautiful introduction to the 2010 Falcon’s theme, “emerge.” A gradient technique applied to the word “emerge” adds interest and symbolism to the choices made by the staff.
A short introduction to the 2010 Falcon’s theme, “emerge,” is presented on page one of the book. “It was the end of a decade, but for us, the start of new things,” it begins. This first sentence, filled with hope and excitement for the 2009-2010 year, sets the tone for a book that celebrates Glendale High School. The required title page information is printed unobtrusively on the opposite page.
The graphic and font treatment from the cover is repeated on this opening page, visually capturing the theme “emerge.” Selective color and graphically torn edges on a black and white photo further the visual development of the theme.
A visual table of contents with miniature copies of spreads found throughout the book takes the place of a traditional opening spread. This spread teases stories about students who came into their own during the 2009-2010 school year and captures the theme without a single word.
Every spread of this book is designed individually, with graphic details and photo treatments specifically chosen for that spread’s content. However, consistent font treatments keep this book looking cohesive. In addition, the voice used in the copy throughout the book is consistently hopeful and showcases the pride that students at Glendale feel for their school.
Carefully chosen photos are an important part of the theme development of the 2010 Falcon. These photos tell the story of Glendale High School alongside a short copy block. On this student life spread, a photo of students at a faith-based gathering is presented alongside photos of students who worked to provide relief kits to Haiti after devastating earthquakes, dance team members before a performance and basketball fans who went all out to support their team. These photos capture school spirit, a commitment to personal beliefs and community service. This collection leads readers into a student life section that presents Glendale High School students as fun, upbeat and involved.
The Falcon staff looked for stories that captured its school community. This spread tells the stories of school custodians from the point of view of a student who tried to get to know each of the custodians.
This spread shows how the staff allowed content to drive design. Instead of using a traditional dominant photo to draw readers into the spread, black and white portraits of the custodians featured in the story are presented in a grid with color blocks. Though this spread has a design that is unique to its content, it fits in beautifully with the rest of the book. This is achieved through the use of font treatments that are repeated elsewhere.
The people pages of the 2010 Falcon are outstanding. Black backgrounds give these spreads an artistic feel that works well with the photo treatments used throughout the book. Profiles of students are woven throughout the people section, giving readers an inside look at how their classmates “emerged” while in high school.
