Aftermath
Palm Harbor University High School, Palm Harbor, Fla.
Theme: “Same difference”
Adviser: Judy Cannaday
Editors: Felicia Ourn and Jenn Prevot
Yearbook representative: Donna and David Hutcherson
This seems to be a trend that’s almost a backlash against the over-layered, busy designs of a few years ago. Popular on covers now is a black matte background, white lettering that spells out the theme, abstract yet simple graphics extending from the back to front and minimal information. In this case, the theme in white typography is “Same difference.” The abstract art is swirling smoke-colored green, yellow and orange. The year 2011 is found only on the spine. The result is powerful and pretty in its simplicity.
Black is the backdrop to deep colors of swirling smoke. Reverse white type in all-caps like the theme word “Same” introduces the sections: Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring, People and Ads. The page numbers are seen in the font used in the theme word “difference.” No new graphic elements are previewed; again, the focus is simplicity.
The title page is exactly like the endsheets and cover. Information published is comprehensive, inclusive and direct.
Black gives way to a white background, plenty of white space and traditional design. The swirling smoke creates a softer effect on white so that the focus shifts to photography and the story.
Here’s a nice interpretation of summer events, done in the form of a Top 10 list. Students provide an eclectic mix of funny, serious, planned and spontaneous of what they did during their summer vacation. They range from “Go to Greenland” to “Eat Pizza on a Cruise at 4 a.m.”
A collection of six black-and-white portraits, cropped to feature only the right sides of their faces, gives depth and insight that regular mug shots would not provide. The quotes are engaging and show how foreign exchange students have had to adapt to American culture, with one student adding that “(At school) we weren’t required to wear shoes every day.”
This spread looks very much like the opening. With a white background, full-page dominant photo that bleeds off all sides, and orange smoke above the headline “Autumn,” this design is the flip side of the black cover with deep, rich primary colors. The story places the reader in this particular point of the school year, with a “snapshot” of what students are juggling during this season.
The closing layout’s dominant image of an empty school courtyard at sunset provides a visual that matches the tone of the copy. The staff does a good job bringing the story back around to the theme. The last sentence reads: “However we grow, we somehow manage to stay the same: the same person that we have always known ourselves to be, just a little different around the edges.”
