Updated by Delaney Pierce April 2025 Brainstorming is an important step of the theme development process, but at times it can feel like the trickiest step. Where do we start? How do we make it productive? How long should our brains be storming? Before any good brainstorming session, it is important to lay a few ground rules so everyone is …
Family is at the heart of everything we do. With Tripp Walsworth joining his father, Don Walsworth, and grandfather, Don O. Walsworth, at the company in August of 2023, our family-owned business is now four generations strong. Tripp spent the last year getting to know the inner workings of our organization and visited over 95 schools. We sat down with …
With schools beginning in a distance-learning format, we’re forced to reexamine yearbooks. If our yearbooks are going to be memory books, reference books, public relations books and – perhaps most importantly this year – history books, then journalistic, interview-based copy is a crucial component of our 2021 yearbooks. For those who have relied on pictures to tell the story of …
With your theme decided, it’s time to think about options that will make your book shine. From laser cut covers or endsheets to adding a gatefold inside, your options are virtually endless. Here are a few ways schools added a fab factor to their 2019 yearbooks. Now it’s your turn; let your imagination run wild! Split Covers Want to give …
Trying to come up with an interesting idea for a yearbook feature story? Sometimes it can be difficult coming up with a unique angle, but the fact that you’re trying means you’re on the right track! “A yearbook shouldn’t be full of topics,” according to Brady Smekens, former adviser of the Deka yearbook staff at Huntington North High School, Huntington, Indiana. “Rather, it should tell the story of students. In the process, the topics get covered.” The list of story ideas on this page will help editors start brainstorming for coverage unique to their school and the current year.
With many schools just past that first big yearbook deadline, now is the perfect time to refocus on storytelling. In this week’s episode of Ask Mike, host Mike Taylor, CJE, speaks to two advisers who lead their students to tell great stories. Tiffany Kopcak Tiffany Kopcak teaches her students to eavesdrop. Really. That’s how the yearbook staff at Colonial Forge …
Whether your yearbook is organized in traditional format, chronologically or a combination of the two, an effective beat system ensures complete coverage throughout the year. Spice up beat selection by hosting a draft day to motivate your staff to get off the sidelines. Collaboration tools such as Trello can take beat management and communication on your team to the next …
It’s the middle of winter and your students are working hard, but they may be slowing down a bit. Days of limited daylight and less time outdoors may be taking its toll. So, get your staff moving to keep the doldrums and stress at bay.
Brain teasers and small bursts of exercise will help them clear their brain and keep them inspired as they continue to work on their yearbook.
It is that time of year when one yearbook staff is wrapping up and another is beginning its work. An awards ceremony, with a fancy or casual banquet, is a great way to cap the year. Whether this is held at a small banquet room at a nearby hotel or at a park shelter, invite next year’s staff to give them something to look forward to.
If you have a summer or fall delivery book, you may have a staff that is still producing their book. Your staff for next year should have plans to sell ads this summer and go to workshop. Consider some of these ideas for relieving stress or bonding, depending on your staff’s needs.
A little music in the yearbook room can pick up the spirits during these busy days.
Some people work better to music and others do not. Poll your staff to see how they like to work.
