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- 2016 Lock & KeySouth County High School
- 2016 The Golden EagleWilkes Central High School
- 2016 Walled Lake Northern ExcaliburWalled Lake Northern High School
- 2016 Lincoln Southwest TalonLincoln Southwest High School
- 2016 LegendBrookfield Central High School
- 2016 The ArchiveRichland Northeast High School
- 2016 The Blue DevilBremen High School
- 2016 The ChancellorWinston Churchill High School
- 2016 HeritageCousino High School
- 2016 ExcaliburVillage Christian Academy
- 2016 The LegendEl Dorado High School
- 2016 LakerWindermere Preparatory School
- 2016 FlightFort Worth Country Day School
- 2016 TalismanSaratoga High School
- 2016 TalonCrescenta Valley High School
- 2016 LeavesSherwood High School
- 2016 FlashbackRock Bridge High School
- 2016 WildcatHar-Ber High School
- 2016 StampedeMillard North High School
- 2016 AerieMarjory Stoneman Douglas High School
- 2016 HoofbeatsBurges High School
- 2016 AyrieLiberty North High School
- 2016 The MarauderMarcus High School
- 2016 ChamhianChamblee Charter High School
- 2016 HorizonBlue Valley Northwest High School
- 2016 OviedianOviedo High School
Winter Break(s) – There’s so much to love in this spread on snowy weather. The high technical quality of the dominant pic is what draws the reader in first; it’s a superb photo that leads your eye into the story. If you can design so that your dominant subject is looking directly at the drop cap in your copy, you’ve created a winner. The two infographics are excellent as well, incorporating thematic graphics and connected coverage to complete the package. Both are great examples of readable and unique alternative story forms; this staff has clearly pushed past the dreaded “hey, let’s create a horrific-looking pie chart in Microsoft Excel” stage. We could all learn something from their ingenuity here!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
In 60 Minutes I can… – A great example of the type of coverage that can be generated from your theme, this spread pulls its inspiration from the “B16 Year” theme developed throughout the book. It also starts with the modular color block motif that is used on the cover and elsewhere, but here it has morphed into a starburst of school colors. A total of 13 students/staff are featured, giving The Golden Eagle staff a high level of readability. The cutouts are well done and match nicely with the design. Designing a swirling spread like this can be a chore, particularly when you don’t want to frustrate readers by forcing them to rotate your book a million times to read the quotes. But this one is unique and visually appealing at the same time.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
The day we were asked – If you’re an old person like me, you might be thrown off by the elaborate plans put into place by enterprising high school students during Homecoming-ask season. I really don’t remember anything other than saying, “umm…would you go with me?” and then turning bright red. But today, students are WAY more creative with the process, and it’s a great idea for yearbook coverage as well. The signs they used are almost captions in themselves, and this is an excellent way to add personality to your student life section.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
August Calendar – Now that so many staffs are converting to chronological coverage, that in and of itself is no longer enough to qualify as unique. But incorporating the calendar design into the theme package and creating a completely different type of calendar… well, that WOULD qualify. The Talon staff, with their “That One Time” theme, was able to design a super-cool triangle calendar that works well to get a variety of events covered. A combination of photos and cut-outs adds to the effect, allowing these dividers to look like they came straight from a trendy magazine.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Cross Country by the numbers – This is an uber-cool melding of the two components that every brilliant infographic must have: visual appeal and intriguing information. You see plenty of graphics that have one or the other, but rarely are they both so apparent. Here, a partial-cutout photo serves as the backdrop for a bar graph on runner improvement times over the course of the cross country season. The use of bold clearly indicates which runner is featured in the photo, and the deck provides an explanation in case the reader might not fully understand the concept. Using the photo in black and white helps with ease of readability and also sets it off from the rest of the spread.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Once in a thousand years – Our job is to tell the story of the year. In doing that, it’s critical to avoid shying away from the elements that make that year memorable, regardless of how positive they might be. Of course, oftentimes incredibly uplifting stories result from the most trying of times. The staff of The Archive decided that covering a devastating flood was crucial to being able to tell their story, and the resulting spread is incredibly powerful. The story’s lede draws the reader immediately into the coverage: “The waters came swiftly, suddenly, but in no way silently.” The photos show people from the Columbia community helping others and pitching in to give back. This is a package that will resonate for years.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Together Again – Whenever you have a chance to tell an emotional story, TELL it. The Blue Devil staff included a fantastic sidebar story in their coverage of the year’s first pep rally, capturing a moment that will live forever. In this case, a student is surprised during a blindfolded activity by his father, who had been serving overseas for nearly a year. These stories enable the staff to distinguish that year from any other. Including coverage of these powerful and emotional moments can elevate otherwise standard coverage.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
What Emoji are you? – Here’s a great way to get more of the student body involved in the book, and potentially a solid way to cover some students who might not otherwise be too involved in clubs and sports. This is one of those spreads that’s fun now, but will likely be REALLY enjoyable in 10 or 20 years. The story is told completely through the quotes of the students, which is absolutely acceptable for a design piece like this one. This spread definitely gave me a smiley face. Maybe even a smiley winky face. 🙂
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Generations of Patriots – Here’s an ingenious story idea that has great reader interest and could be replicated anywhere in the country: students whose parents graduated from the same school as them. The Heritage staff had each of these students pose with their parent’s yearbook, and gave them an opportunity to talk about the coolness of their experience (sample: “My dad tells me all the weird things that went on back in his day and how easy-going everything was.”). And there’s a tremendous bonus to a spread like this one: readers will realize just how important it is to capture moments in the yearbook. You might just increase your sales without intending to!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
What can you buy with $2016 – A few different purposes are served with this fun, engaging pop culture spread. Ostensibly a fun feature on how far you can stretch a dollar, it also sneakily makes the yearbook into an important time capsule by featuring items that are important to students at the time. This is a sometimes undervalued aspect of the book; don’t forget that people will be looking at your work for a LONG time!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Make your mark – The deck explains how, “In a text-crazy world,” it’s nice to see the personalized touch in handwritten notes. And the feature goes further, actually including the thoughts of three seniors in their own writing style. As techno-crazed as we can get, there’s something refreshing about good old-fashioned notes. Considering ways to incorporate low-tech graphics packages will give your book a personalized feel that’s sometimes difficult to obtain.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Fresh off the runway: This feature has strong reader appeal, both in terms of the clean design and the student-centered content. The students involved are also given a chance to answer interview questions about the runway event. Color choice mirrors that used throughout the opening section of the book, adding continuity to the coverage. A subtle graphic touch in the word “Fresh” extends the staff’s ‘Taking Shape” theme and can be seen throughout the book.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Multicultural: A striking black and white photo with spot color highlights this grade-level division page in a yearbook for a K-12 school. The use of the frame graphic accentuates what is already a beautifully composed shot; notice her eyes help lead the reader directly into the content of the page. The verbal-visual connection is strong as well, with the globe and headline colors matching nicely and contrasting the minimalistic approach of the rest of the spread. The divider also connects to the staff’s chosen theme of “Together.”
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Confessions of a Shopaholic: The Saratoga staff keys on a topic that is near-and-dear to the hearts of most of our readers: shopping. And they do so in a way that provides a ton of great information organized so it won’t hurt people’s eyes. I often tell my yearbook staffs to “stuff your pages,” that is, try to make the coverage rich enough that people will feel compelled to spend as much time on it as possible. This isn’t an easy task, of course, as many times these spreads can come out feeling very much over-stuffed. Working with mods simplifies the process, and this is a prime example. The staff has picked four different feature ideas that all revolve around the same general topic of shopping. Together, they form the perfect combination of reader interactivity, student body participation, and time-capsule relevance – all tied together with a lovely and subtle color scheme.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Soleful Diversity: A nice study is done here, combining a fun feature on shoe styles with an expression of the school’s diversity. Readers also have a chance to get interactive with the coverage, in a feature allowing them to pair shoes with their owners. It’s a strong example of the type of coverage that can be fun but also highlight important observations about the student body. And, to their credit, the staff didn’t use the phrase “WHAT ARE THOSE?!?” even once on the spread. Bravo!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Children of the Corn: Full disclosure: clowns scare me. But they also make for powerful yearbook visuals, particularly when freaking people out in corn mazes. The Leaves staff has created a memorable spread with a combination of great photos and storytelling. And of course, capturing silly Halloween costumes and the stories of students working at local terrifying attractions allows the reader a glimpse of life in your community. These types of spreads can often serve a secondary purpose of capturing the current events culture of the time. Include these in your book, even if it means more scary clowns!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Future Grey’s: Here’s exactly what many readers want: a feature that’s specific to your school but also includes elements of pop culture they’ll be able to cherish in the future. This great spread on the biomedical class opportunities at Rock Bridge also provided a chance to poll students (200 of them!) about their favorite television doctors. And rather than deal with any potentially sticky copyright issues, the staff enlisted one of their own artists to do the dirty work. This provides a powerful visual, allows your staffers to best utilize their specific talents and, at least in this case, gives us a lovely representation of Dr. McDreamy’s stubble. Be still my beating heart!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Always on the go: Rock-solid coverage highlights teachers who don’t have a classroom to call their own, including a fun feature on the different designs of specific nomadic teachers’ carts. Another mod focuses on how students themselves get around, showing that the staff has a strong awareness of secondary coverage to go with their more dominant feature ideas. A great mixture of cutouts, smaller photos and matching colors enhances this fun and unique spread.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
New Year, New Looks: The staff at Millard North does something that all books should do: include readable and fun secondary coverage in their people section. This spread has a nice mix of light-hearted questions with a more in-depth feature story. The Q&A’s are geared toward that particular grade level as well, such as this question in the sophomore section: “How has your style changed from freshman year to sophomore year?” The color and design accents are pulled from the book’s theme and allow for a nice continuity.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
The Force Awakens: OK, I admit. I’m a “Star Wars” mega-geek. So when I got to this spread, of course I had to pause. This staff does a great job covering a major cultural event, but maintains the focus on students to bring as many of them into the coverage as possible. A lovely but simple graphic of Darth Vader’s helmet serves as the backdrop for some fun facts about the series. Fun photos of students at the local theater are a must for this type of coverage. Once again, the fact that this staff was working chronologically helped them fit in an important event that might have been otherwise missed.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
It’s a family thing: This is a great way to report on historical aspects of the student body and it could probably be done in most schools where students’ parents (and grandparents) have attended as well. Getting the elder members of the family back together for fantastic photo shoots was probably educational and loads of fun, and it led to some great photos on the spread. Powerful quotes come both from the current students, including members of the class of 2019, and alumni from as far back as 1971. A definite crowd-pleaser, done in an innovative way.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Let me take a selfie: What a great example of the type of coverage that is possible with some advanced planning. Students on the Ayrie staff feature the girls of the golf team taking fun selfies with their opponents. They are quoted explaining what they chat about while walking the course, how they root for their opponents to do well, and what it’s like to build sportsmanship. This feel-good coverage is unique but at the same time taps into a cultural phenomenon (the selfie, of course!) with which readers can easily relate. It makes me happy on a lot of different levels!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
For the record: Striking a balance between “fun” and “in-depth” isn’t always easy, and many times yearbooks are only able to accomplish one or the other. Not the staff of The Marauder, however. Their coverage includes a ton of graphics and visuals that enhance the story of their year and tie into the overall look of the publication. The triangles and colors used here very much mirror the visual representation introduced on the cover, and the ancillary graphic packages satisfy the reader’s appetite for engaging school info. See? We can provide information and make it fun at the same time!
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Taste of Life: These days, it isn’t always enough to just provide interesting coverage; great staffs are also thinking of ways to make their coverage more interactive. One way to do this is to tune into the recent recipe craze that has been sweeping social media. You know the one: “Look how easy it is to make vegetable lasagna by watching this 20-second video!” Here we see a feature spread on foods from around the world. There is great secondary coverage involving some of the students’ signature dishes from their families’ cultures and, even better, a recipe for “DIY Banan Peze,” one of the dishes discussed on the page.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
We took the crown: Blue Valley Northwest’s staff does good work in covering important cultural and social events that are happening outside the school’s campus. In this case, they share the stories of students with connections to the Kansas City Royals’ World Series championship. Don’t forget, there are plenty of events that have an impact on your students but don’t happen at school! This also illustrates the value of chronological coverage; a traditional book with a traditional ladder may not have made room for something that no one knew was going to happen until it actually did.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
Summer vacation: Your folios don’t have to be spectacular, but if you have an innovative way to work them into the content of your spreads or the theme of the book, go for it. The staff of the Oviedian chose the theme “You First,” which allowed them to focus on stories about “you” and work in some number coverage. Their folios, as evidenced here, were positioned at the top of each spread and also served as mini-headlines for the sidebar coverage under them. It’s a subtle, non-overwhelming reader service that serves multiple purposes and is thematically connected.
– written by Brian Wilson, adviser, Palo Alto High School
