Trailblazer
Indian Trails Middle School, Winter Springs, Fla.
Theme: Back to Square One
Adviser: Martha Murray
Walsworth representatives: Missy Green, Jason Talley and Nicole Appel
Each year allows students to start fresh, and 2008-2009 at Indian Trails Middle School was no different. With the theme, "Back to Square One," the staff captured the changes at the school, including new teachers, new administrators and a new commitment to respect as a school-wide value. Graphic elements using squares developed the theme visually, while stories about the changes and the roots of the school and the students verbally advanced the theme. A grey background makes the theme graphic on the cover of the 2009 Trailblazer a prominent element. The graphic — four different colored squares overlapping one another — becomes key in theme development inside.
The number four is an important part of the theme development in the 2009 Trailblazer. Because squares have four equal sides, it made sense to divide the book into four sections — Student Life, Campus Life, People and Advertisements. On the endsheet, each part of the theme graphic corresponds with one section. The lines from the graphics on the cover are also repeated inside, providing graphic details on the endsheet that hint at the theme.
The staff chose to put photos of the school and students in the same configuration as the theme graphic to pull theme development onto the title page. The theme phrase, "Back to Square One," appears in the same font as on the cover. However, this time the theme phrase has been printed in the theme colors. Each photograph is numbered so that readers can easily find the corresponding captions. This technique of photo identification is used throughout the book on theme spreads. The numbers, printed in the theme colors, allow the staff to use the four overlapping photos without causing confusion about which caption goes with what photo.
"Back to Square One" in the theme colors and theme font introduce opening copy that provides specific details about the beginning of the school year. Changes in the school, including new teachers, a new principal and a new assistant principal, are highlighted, introducing readers to the school. The theme is developed further on the opening spread through design. The theme graphic is used in the theme colors – pink, orange, yellow and blue – to draw the reader's eye to the copy on the left page. The same arrangement of squares is used on the right page as a photo cluster.
The divider pages share the same basic design plan. A large dominant photo anchors the page, providing a focal point and introducing the reader to the section. A photo cluster in the shape of the theme graphic provides more theme-related content. The theme phrase appears in the theme font and theme colors, pulling the reader's eye to the theme copy and connecting divider pages to the cover. The theme copy on each divider page also receives the same treatment. Notice how the second column of the theme copy bumps into the first column. This treatment mimics the arrangement of squares in the theme graphic. Student life theme copy focuses on the changes to the school in 2009 – changes that represent a return to square one.
The staff allowed its theme, “Back to Square One,” to drive content on some spreads. Fashion was covered because the trends of the year fit so nicely with the theme; students at Indian Trails Middle School wore fashions from the 1970s and 1980s in 2009. The theme colors provide accents on sidebars and caption lead-ins, pulling the visual message of the theme onto these pages. Notice also the folios, which use the theme graphic in black and white to accent the page numbers.
A spread about best friends makes sense in any yearbook, but it is especially appropriate in the 2009 Trailblazer. This spread, which tells mini-stories of several pairs of best friends through photos and captions, fits in with the theme, "Back to Square One." The staff chose friendship pairs that had known each other most of their lives, some even since "square one."
The Campus Life Divider borrows its design from the Student Life Divider. The theme-related details remain constant throughout the book, creating a cohesive visual identity. Notice that the photos in the cluster on the left page share one caption block. The clustered photos are numbered with colored numerals that correspond to colored numerals in the caption block. The same identification technique is used whenever photo clusters are used in the book.
Mini-stories in the people section often take the form of question-and-answer sidebars. The design of these stories mimics the theme graphic and uses the theme colors to connect students' pictures and their answers. This spread shows particularly good theme development because the question relates to "square one" — "What were you most scared of when you came to ITMS?"
