Walsworth Yearbooks

Inside, 77 high-quality mugs greet the reader and incorporate the theme, as it’s clear that four to five different photo filters have turned the images into black-and-white and brown-and-white variations. The effect is stunning. Whimsical theme copy begins on the spread’s lower right, directing readers to “Set this book down and take a 360-degree spin…” (The closing endsheets also contain 77 additional mugs and words that compliment the closing theme copy.)

The first of three opening spreads sets the tone for the book. Great mug shots that were introduced on the front endsheets continue above the headline “what filters our universe.” Additional voices (and quotes) run inside pica-wide tool lines in an understated way. What is most compelling is the theme copy, written with a news-slant that pierces descriptive typical high school imagery. “We walk through the same hallways / White and green tiles / We drink the same lithium-tainted water…”

What’s interesting about the three opening spreads is that each contains copy written by three different authors, through three different “filters.” This second interpretation is more poetic: “To the song of the bells, five days a week, 3,000 students find their place…” But the design stays consistent, with a strong dominant image.

The third take on “filter” is written from a second-person point of view: “This is your filter. These are your memories. This is your year.” All three perspectives are edgier than you might expect from theme copy, but they ring as authentic rather than trite. By setting this tone, individual perspectives seem natural and honest.

What is interesting about this book’s divider spreads is that they are not copy-heavy, while much of the regular spreads have full stories and detailed captions. This is effective because it provides a nice contrast, which gives the copy more impact. Dominant images run across both pages and caption blocks are longer than the main stories, but it works. A mini-index of spreads within each section also aids the reader.

If a lack of compelling visuals leads to frustration when covering academics, you’d never know it when looking at this staff’s spread on calculus. Great camera angles and design work together with clever copy: “Calculus: a sine of the times.” Photographers on this staff have a knack for making mug shots that are interesting to look at; and on spreads such as this one, those shots combined with filters makes a big difference.

This spread makes wonderful use of photo filter effects (like the ones found on the endsheets) and integrates them into album pages. Instead of ignoring the strong contrast between color and black-and-white mug shots, the staff uses mug photo filters on two other photos on the right and runs a student quote vertically on a red background on the left. Note the color blocks of black and gray alongside red color variations. Typography, using the “n” and “t” in the headline “connection,” adds to the overall design sophistication. This spread uses several competing design elements and integrates them beautifully.

It’s clear the closing was not an afterthought for this staff. Visuals dominate the last three pages of the book, using a dominant image of two students “spelling out” 2011 using hand signs. It has an almost ethereal quality, which matches the softened tone of the closing theme copy. Still edgy and impactful, the prose gives way to a bit of well-versed sentimentality: “So go ahead, say goodbye; / it won’t be for forever / as long as you remember / the building with the blue roof / that asked you to filter / and released you to live.”