March 22, 2024 / News & Notes

Learn from the Best with the Walsworth 2023 President’s Collection Video Series!

Written by Danielle Finch

Let’s continue our journey of creative inspiration by diving further into our 2023 President’s Collection Video Series, which showcases the national award-winning yearbooks who choose to print with Walsworth Yearbooks. These videos let you witness award-winning secrets firsthand and come equipped with companion classroom resources. Elevate your staff’s skills by dissecting what sets these yearbooks apart. Let’s take a look at our next six books in this series:

Turner Ashby High School, Bridgewater, Virginia 

Turner Ashby High School’s 2023 yearbook is sure to impress with its masterful theme execution. The clean black, white and yellow cover draws readers in, while inside, purposeful graphics and storytelling thoughtfully guide the eye. Spreads achieve visual variety through techniques like framing photos. Diversity and a comprehensive index also shine through. Repetition of the theme phrase, graphics and white space tie all elements into a cohesive package telling the story beautifully from start to finish. This tight, well-designed book is sure to stand out on shelves. 

Cactus Canyon Junior High School, Apache Junction, Arizona  

The Cactus Canyon Junior High School yearbook creatively incorporated the theme “Somewhere in Between” throughout its design. The cover featured playful typography and photos to emphasize the theme. Spreads like “Best in Show” and everyday life stories highlighted the diversity of students beyond traditional coverage. Creative elements like split designs and graphics brought visual interest while quotes told personal stories. The book provided a meaningful record of the school year for all students.

Drake Middle School, Arvada, Colorado 

Drake Middle School’s yearbook showcases an innovative theme inspired by video games. Designers incorporated textures, colors and graphics referencing levels and gameplay throughout opening spreads, dividers and portraits. Storytelling was emphasized through creative use of type, packaging of photos and varied layouts in spreads about Colorado and student profiles. With balanced bold and clean design elements, sophisticated graphics and strong writing, the book engaged its middle school audience while demonstrating an impressive level of visual sophistication.

Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas 

This yearbook from Woodland Junior High School showed sophisticated design skills in its theme package for the school year. The staff created visual consistency across the cover, title page and spreads while maintaining variety. Design elements like color usage, curvy text and “mod” boxes are repeated purposefully. Negative space was utilized creatively. The clean yet engaging package demonstrated how basic design does not need to mean “boring”.

Blue Valley Northwest High School, Overland Park, Kansas  

This student publication stood out through its use of fonts, colors and negative space that conveyed personality and visual appeal. Theme spreads expertly guided readers through stories using techniques like varied type, thin columns and anchored photographs. Additional highlights included divider pages with increased photo coverage and organized text-heavy spreads. Overall, the book serves as an inspiration for crafting theme sections that engage audiences with their layout, style and storytelling abilities.

 

James Bowie High School, Austin, Texas  

This yearbook stands out through its creative design and incorporation of theme. Design elements like foil, texture and type treatment were carried throughout. Unique coverage topics including comparing schedules and concert photography made the book relatable. Subtle design touches, like overlapping photos and experimental folio placement, made spreads visually interesting. The neutral color palette and magazine-style layouts produced a polished, cohesive product that was worthy of NSPA Pacemaker recognition.

Tune in next week to read out about the next group of schools to be featured, and be sure to follow along with the videos in our President’s Collection and watch with your staff.

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Danielle Finch

Danielle Finch is a former journalism adviser at Smithville High School and now works as a Digital Marketing Specialist for Walsworth. Danielle's passions lie in writing, managing web content and representing the needs of advisers.