Hauberk
Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kan.
CSPA Gold Crown, NSPA Pacemaker
Theme: Impressions
Adviser: Dow Tate
Editor: Whitaker Sherk
Walsworth representative: John Kelley
Most of the front cover of the 2010 Hauberk is a solid field of dark blue. This pulls the reader’s eye to the bar of photos along the bottom of the book. Each of these photos is broken into bars that fade progressively further back into the white at the bottom of the cover. This design device illustrates the impression these moments left on students at Shawnee Mission East. The box surrounding the word “IMPRESSION” has been embossed, or impressed, to further the physical meaning of the theme.
Beautiful photography captures the moments that left impressions on Shawnee Mission East students during the 2009-2010 school year. On this opening spread, the MORP dance, a fashion show and a day spent sledding represent the moments during high school during which memories are made. Type set in gray boxes explains the theme with these words: “A snowball fight in the senior lot, a newly constructed school, a heartbreaking sub-state loss, a pie in the face of an unforgettable teacher. Shawnee Mission East leaves its impression on you, but you, in turn, leave an impression on our school. It is our impact, our imprint and the change we leave behind us. It is our… IMPRESSION.”
On every page, multiple students were given the chance to share their “Impressions” of the 2009-2010 school year. The result is an impressive amount of information, but clean, consistent design choices and strong dominant photos help guide readers through this student-driven book.
The Hauberk staff chose to arrange its book chronologically, and to include two division spreads at the beginning of each month. The first division spread features a large dominant photo taken during that month. A large display quote accompanies the photo, expressing the impression the photo’s activity left on the photo’s subject.
The first spread of each month’s section shares the same basic design. This consistency of design for these spreads helps readers navigate this 500-page book. This ease of navigation is especially important because the staff’s way of dividing the book was unique and unexpected.
Every detail of the design serves a purpose. For example, each spread includes a “coverage bar” on the right side that asked students, “What has left an impression on you this year?” As the letter-from-the-editor at the end of the book explains, the coverage bar moves down the side of the page as the book progresses, impressing deeper as the year goes on.
The second division spread for each month acts as a table of contents, listing each of the spreads in that month’s section. These second division spreads also allowed the staff to cover students who were not involved in activities by including their “impression” of the activities covered that month. This approach contributed to the staff’s goal of including every student in the book.
Though the rest of the book is divided chronologically, clubs photos, senior ads and portraits each have their own sections. This divider for the clubs section mimics the design of the first divider pages for each month, making it clear to readers that this is a divider page. Strong candid photos from clubs and strong quotes in captions pull readers into the content on this spread.
A reverse of the opening spread design, the closing spread maintains the design standards and concepts of the 2010 Hauberk all the way to the end. Concrete details from the school year wrap up the idea that “Throughout your school year, even without knowing it, you were an influence, you made a difference, you left your… IMPRESSION.”
