Gladiator
Troy High School, Troy, Mich.
CSPA Silver Crown, NSPA Pacemaker Finalist
Theme: This is
Adviser: Christina Vettraino
Editor: Lauren Ridenour
Walsworth representative: Nora Guiney
Thin strips of four horizontal photos span the cover of the 2010 Gladiator. Each photo represents one section of the book: student life and academics; people; sports and organizations; and community pages. These photos are shown in full on the front endsheet, acting as a table of contents. This photo collection visually sums up Troy High School, tying in with the theme “This is.”
The book’s theme, “This is” is printed in black with a red swirl taking the place of the dot on the “I” in “This.” The swirl is repeated in the folios inside.
Details provided in the opening and closing copy and in stories throughout the book provide a definition for Troy High that fits the students of 2009-2010.
A strong horizontal photo of the freshman class participating in a spirit activity at an assembly begins the 2010 Gladiator. This photo represents the spirit that was a part of Troy High School. The copy on this spread describes what it is to be a student at Troy during 2009-2010 as the school and its families faced financial hardships, the school district switched to digital communication and changes occurred in the teaching staff.
The headline of this spread is a fill-in-the-blank style, beginning with “This is.” This headline style is repeated on each division spread as an important part of theme development.
The student life and academics section repeats the fill-in-the-blank headline style of the opening copy. Here, though, the blank is filled with the words “my life.” Instead of traditional division copy, dividers provide a table of contents for each section. Each spread’s topic is presented. This approach makes sense with the straightforward, no-nonsense theme.
Photo selection is important because each division spread features just two photos — one full-page photo and one smaller photo. The full-page photo on each of these spreads uses a selective color technique, adding a stripe of color to an otherwise black and white photo. This technique guides the reader’s eye to the color portion of each photograph.
Quick-read copy allows the Gladiator staff to cover many different points of view on each spread. This spread is typical of story spreads and includes two quick-read pieces: a Q&A and a pull quote. Planned white space separates these quick-read pieces from the rest of the spread and helps readers understand relationships between elements on the spread. Blue spot color used throughout this spread also helps lead readers around the spread. The same color is used throughout this entire section.
The sports and organizations section, titled “This is my passion.,” features a full-page football photo with selective color; a stripe in the middle of the photo is in color while the rest is in black and white. The accent photo is of a student in choir, expanding the subject of this divider to include organizations as well. A full list of sports and organizations spreads is included on this page, making the section easy to navigate.
The closing spread, “This is where it ends.," explains that the community at Troy High School made it through the year by adapting to the changes that just kept coming. The copy on this spread includes three paragraphs that all begin with the words “This is the year that.” The details chosen to finish these sentences wrap up the year by reminding students about the school’s efforts to provide relief after earthquakes in Haiti, health care reform and the school’s four presidential scholar nominees. These details are followed by these words: “So here it is: everything that makes up who we were, for now. Who knows what this next year will bring? This is us. This is Troy High. This is."
