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Game On: The pitch! The swing! The catch! The Loch Raven high school baseball teams actually look like they are playing a game on the spread simply through the proper selection and placement of photos on the pages. This spread is a perfect illustration of why photos are positioned toward the middle of the page. For every action in the photo there is a reaction from another. The specific assortment of photos shows us all aspects of the game: pitching, hitting from the left and right, catching, fielding and base running. The text-to-image connection between the headline and the dominant photo does a wonderful job capturing the reader’s attention.
Reaction: One of the various strengths sought in yearbook photos is emotion, especially candid group reactions. In this dominant divider photo, a pack of students follow the trajectory of an object apparently launched in a science experiment. Many of their mouths agape and eyes in wonder, you can almost hear the collective “Oo’s” and “Ah’s” of the class. In the divider design, the overlapping and bisecting black and gray boxes frame the page, allowing legible space for the section description and contrasting spot color spin-off title for the Academics section. In choosing “spin-offs” each divider photo has a term to live up to, and this group of students matches the term “Revitalize.”
Keep in Mind: It is worth noting that the yearbook is for the whole student body. The Aegis staff handles each undergraduate section in thorough and compelling ways, filling each section with entertaining topical mods, polls and full-bleed photo profiles of unique student accomplishments. On this page the colorful action photo of a ninth grader who stars on the varsity basketball team closes the Class of 2017 section. The brief profile story text wraps the figure and complements the contrasting headline font combination of the all-caps Helvetica sans serif with the decorative handwritten font – a must-have with a theme of “*note to self.”
Strong Finish: Often a visually neglected section in the book, how an index is handled can be an indicator of “who you are” as a staff. The 2014 Echo staff used a version of spin-offs to begin each alphabetical listing on this spread to show that they are Courageous, Determined, Enthusiastic, respectful of Family, and Generous. Using the bold capital of each word as a photo frame, each letter is illustrated with a corresponding image that makes the index more interactive. Also framing the text columns throughout the index is a photo essay documenting a student performance called “Mock Rock,” probably a student favorite giving the index more spice and adding a coverage opportunity.
New Beginning: The Spectator staff realized the impact the addition of a class of students would have on their school community. So they cleverly based their theme on this dramatic change in the high school as it moved from a three- to four-year building with the inclusion of a new freshmen class. The copy on this theme page is extremely engaging as it demonstrates keen observations about the power that changing school systems have on the life of a student and presents connective, newsworthy issues that as a reader you may be excited to go along and investigate.
It all adds up: A fun, workable theme, an interesting and repeatable graphic idea, a flexible spread design, well-written copy, and a collection of dynamic action and candid photos. This is a recipe for great yearbooking and it’s all here. Following the “Strength in Numbers” theme concept, the Spinnaker staff litters their book with mod coverage based on numerical facts, polls, ratios and percentages. Add in the stacked font headline, and this compressed-construction look is the basis for the general spread template. In this particular spread the dominant photo shows extraordinary action as the Laney player drives towards the center of the page. Using a spread design with a massive bleeding photo requires strong photography, as seen here.
Times are a-changing: The movement in this spread dedicated to the school’s annual rivalry football game is a testament to the theme “in flux.” The translucent circle graphics layer in and out of one another, artfully maneuvering through each overlapped photo. Each photo leads the viewer into the center of the spread. This is such a powerful tool of design. Notice the cheerleader with the megaphone, the pointing emcee, and the line of chest painted fans with flags – all visually leading us back toward the center of the page. As a final signature of the changing times is the changing technology. It’s easy to get caught in the Spider Web staff’s resourceful use of the Aurasma app to link the page to a video commemorating this year’s “K-Town” game festivities.
Neat Seat: This is a fun idea. Who sat here last? Who’s next ? Who will be here later? Often students gravitate to the same seat in a class despite the fact that there may or may not be any seat assignments. This spread in Loganville High’s Pyromania yearbook attempts to chronicle the life of four specific seats in the school over the course of the day, even comically documenting the period when one of the seats is absent. Finding ideas and concepts to cover that have a journalistic appeal, are connected to your theme and are, most importantly, interesting to your high school readership is no easy task. The Pyromania staff goes out on a limb here to make sure that you are paying attention.
Signature Moment: Different schools have different traditions for how seniors can leave their mark in the yearbook. Keeping with the very personal theme “I am,” the seniors were given a space next to their senior portrait to put their signature or a small drawing. Ranging from the extensive doodle, cartoon nicknames, autographs or fully rendered compositions, these handmade inclusions make for an intimate picture of each graduate.
Conceptual Conquerors: Mount Si High School created a separate campus for the freshmen class that opened in September 2013. The Tenas Coma staff took this uniquely historic moment and explored it to perfection in their handling of the theme “Divide and Conquer.” The book is divided into two opposing books that are upside down against one another (a.k.a. flip book), meeting in the middle. The Divide book includes sections in which the school is separated and individualized as in the underclass mug shots and senior portraits. The Conquer section is loaded with inspirational spreads of overcoming adversity and conquering fears like this one, which addresses how students maintained unity despite the separation.