A theme is the central idea, or unifying “attitude” of the year captured by the yearbook itself. It should tell a story about what makes this school year different and unique from other years—something that everyone can relate to and identify with.
A motif is the visual cues or recurring symbols that reinforce the theme and remind readers about the central idea. Motifs create mood and sentiment by using images, shapes, colors, patterns, etc. repeatedly throughout the yearbook.
Your theme should be woven throughout your yearbook in every section using your motif—the sports section, student life section, clubs and organizations section, portrait section, academic section, advertisement section, endsheets, etc.
Choosing Your Theme
Developing a theme for your yearbook should be fun and creative. Your theme should reflect the attitude of your school that year. Is your school going through a growth phase? Celebrating an anniversary? Initiating new changes? Welcoming new administration? Your yearbook is the perfect medium to tell this story so it is remembered by all. It should document the events and celebrate the milestones of the year in a story format that ties into a main idea.
Planning Tip: Many schools choose mascot- or spirit-related themes that tie in with school colors or anniversaries. Whatever you decide, make sure you keep it consistent throughout the book and add art and text that support it.
Brainstorming Tips
Listed below are a few theme ideas to brainstorm around. Take a moment to review some of these ideas when developing your school’s theme. Make sure to use it throughout your yearbook – on the cover, endsheets, title pages, division pages, and sections of the yearbook. There is no “wrong” theme; however a theme may be underdeveloped and difficult to understand. To avoid this, make sure to brainstorm ideas with everyone on your yearbook staff or ask faculty to weigh-in.
A Cut Above
A Day in the Life
A Flash from the Past
A New Awakening
A New Point of View
A Season of Change
A Step Above the Rest
A Touch of Class
Any Way You Slice It
Attention to Detail
Between the Lines
Breaking Thru
Built to Last
Capture the Magic
Catch the Moments
Caught in the Act
Check Us Out
Check It Out
Color me ___________
Come Learn With Us
Days of Our Lives
Deep in the Heart of…
Destined to Be…
Distinct Impressions
Every Step of the Way
Eye On…
Face The Facts
Find Your Place
First Class
For Members Only
Forever Young
From This Moment On
From Start to Finish
Get the Picture
Going In Style
Going Places
Gotta Have It
Great Moments in…
Had to Be There
In Quest Of__________
In the Making
Inside And Out
Into Something New
It All Adds Up
It All Begins With You
It Goes Without Saying
It’s A Small World
It’s About Time
It’s All in Your Mind
It’s Anyone’s Guess
It’s Our Time
It’s Your Choice
Just Passing Through
Just for the Fun Of It
Just Had to Be There
Laying It on the Line
Let’s Face It
Lights, Camera, Action
Listen Up
Living the Dream
Look at The Best
Make Your Mark
Making the Pieces Fit
Moving On Out
Never Had It So Good
Never Say Never
New Beginnings
Nobody Does It Better
On Our Own
On the Edge
One and Only
One Size Fits All
Once in a Lifetime
One Last Look
Only The Finest
Our Time to Shine
Pardon Our Dust
Picture This
Piece By Piece
Pieces of the Puzzle
Reach for the Stars
Remember This
Right On Target
Road to Success
Say It With Style
Seeing is Believing
Seize the Day
Signs of the Times
Simply the Best
Still the One
Sum It Up
Take Another Look
Take a Closer Look
Take It from the Top
The Best of Times
The Show Must Go On
The Spirit Of…
The Times of Our Lives
The Year to Remember
This Is Our Time
Too Hot to Handle
Turning the Page
Unbelievable
Under Construction
Unforgettable
Unleashed
We’ve Got It All
What’s Next?
Year of the __________
You Had to Be There
Managing Deadlines
As the yearbook adviser you are in total control of your book submission. Submit your book on schedule and your book will ship on schedule. It is critical that you know your deadline and plan your submission accordingly.
Your desired delivery date is given to your yearbook representative when you sign up for your yearbook. Based on your yearbook specs, you will be given an approximate date in which your yearbook must be submitted at that time. You will also get written confirmation that states the date your yearbooks will arrive with a coinciding date that your yearbook MUST be submitted to ensure your order arrives on that date. Many schools choose a Spring Delivery and ask for the yearbook to arrive in April, May or June, before school dismisses for the year. Other schools choose to have their yearbooks arrive in August or September so activities like prom, graduation and final spring sports results can be included in the yearbook. Whichever delivery date you choose, it’s important to meet your submission deadline. This will ensure that the production schedule can be kept and your yearbooks can be printed, shipped and delivered to your school by the date you need. If you submit your pages after your deadline, your yearbooks may need to be rescheduled and ship later than you planned.
General Calendar
Plan your yearbook progress to meet your submission deadline. As you develop your ladder, include the expected dates when events will occur. This will allow you to set milestones for specific individual page completion. Allow time to proofread and review each page, so there is enough time to make edits. Planning milestones will ensure you submit your yearbook on time without feeling last-minute pressure.
You will want to develop a page ladder that shows what is to go onto every page of your yearbook. The ladder will help determine how many pages to allocated to each specific activity (portraits, sports, organizations, academics, advertisements, student life, etc.). The ladder will also help you organize the sequencing of sections to give a nice flow to your yearbook. Your ladder can also be used as a checklist during the year to help track progress.
To get started, determine the approximate number of pages you will need in the book. Base this information on the number of students and staff members, number of grades, extracurricular activities and other activities you might want included in the book. Remember to work in increments of 4 pages unless you are ordering a Smyth sewn book where you’ll work in increments of 16 pages.
Determining what will be on every page of your yearbook can be challenging at first. Use the desk-size ladder worksheet to brainstorm what you think should be included and in what order. Share this with other relevant faculty and students to ensure every event and group has appropriate coverage. Once you have a good idea, put your pagination onto the large wall ladder to track progress.
Keep in mind, what you can include is often determined by when you want your yearbook to arrive. If you want to receive your yearbook before graduation, choose Spring Delivery. This will require your book to be completed and submitted earlier in the year. To include events that happen after you have submitted your book for publishing, a supplement is a great way to provide additional coverage. (Just check with your yearbook representative for details on supplements.) If you want the entire school year included in the yearbook, choose Fall Delivery. This allows your submission deadline to be in the summer and your yearbooks will arrive after school reopens in the fall.
To begin your planning process, outline the specifications for your yearbook. This will provide you with an accurate quote of the estimated cost and allow your yearbook publisher to communicate timeframes for any customization or special
order requests.
Specifications to consider:
• Number of copies: You can increase or decrease your final quantity when you submit your production form with your book. (Note: quantity changes may change the price of your yearbook. To be conservative, plan for 50% of the student body population.)
• Number of pages: You must work in increments of 4 pages (final count divisible by 4), unless you are ordering a Smyth sewn book. Smyth sewn books must be ordered in increments of 16 pages. If graphics/text do not fill all pages or count is short, blank pages will be added to the back of the book.
• Type of yearbook cover: Soft or hard cover; stock (pre-designed) or a custom design; special treatments; etc.
• Type of yearbook pages: Full color or black and white (full color is your BEST BUY!); paper weight; special uncoated autograph pages; etc.
• Yearbook Delivery Date: When you want your yearbook to arrive at your school (make sure to note holidays and school breaks.
• Proofs: If you desire a printed proof, it may increase cost and add delivery time.
• Options: Additional customization and personalization options are available upon request.
As you decide your yearbook specs, reference what has been done in the past. If you can get a copy of last year’s yearbook and the invoice, you can review specs and decide what you liked or would like to change. If it’s your first year, contact your publisher to be walked through what other schools are doing or to get advice on what might work best for your school.
Tip: Use a copy of last year’s yearbook to determine if the number of pages were adequate in capturing your school year and representing the student population.
Finance managers typically have to do or assign someone to the following tasks, along
a completion deadline for each item:
• Balance the yearbook budget
• Develop and implement a plan for yearbook sales
• Develop and implement a plan for advertisement sales (if applicable)
• Develop and implement, if necessary, a plan for fundraising
• Track all sources of income
• Manage and track production and operation expenses
• Promote and sell yearbooks to the school population and parents
• Fund-raise if necessary and more!
Choosing Your Team
Creating a yearbook can be a monumental process. An organized team can help you manage deadlines and milestones so it doesn’t feel so overwhelming. There are about six basic responsibilities in most staffs, but how you organize your staff to best meet
your style of management is up to you.
Depending on how large or small a team you have available for your yearbook staff, there may be one or two people with the same responsibility, or one person responsible for many areas. Below is a breakdown of some of the most common responsibilities:
• Overall Yearbook Production
• Finance, Marketing & Sales
• Design
• Pagination
• Reporting
• Photographing
Training
Most students have not had experience running a business, marketing, selling or
creating a product within a specified deadline. Returning yearbook staff members
could be used in key leadership positions to assist in the management and training
of new members.
To train new students, identify senior-level students or teachers with skill sets
that translate into yearbook creation and sales. Set up times where tutorials and
teaching sessions can be run for things like desktop publishing, yearbook software,
photography, writing, sales and marketing.
Of all the positions in the yearbook staff, the most important one to fill is the
business manager role. Learning sales and marketing, as well as the tracking and
reporting of both advertisement and book sales revenue, will probably require the
most amount of work. If you are going to put a student in charge, ask your fellow
colleagues to recommend a student who might do well in this role or look for a
student who may have taken accounting, business or marketing classes.
It’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s yearbook. That’s because events you may want to include happen all year long. When you start planning in advance you have a greater chance of creating a book that everyone is a part of. So take advantage of the great resources we offer as you design, create, manage and sell your yearbook—starting with this planning guide!
In here you’ll find tips, suggestions, examples and snapshots that will help you start brainstorming, organizing and designing the ultimate yearbook for your school!
Every school is different…some schools have a yearbook class that includes the creation and sale of the yearbook, while others have a group of students that meet outside of class or before and after school. Some even have just one faculty or parent volunteer handling it all. Whatever the case may be, our guide will help you organize your team so you know exactly what (and who) you’ll need to create a great yearbook – even if that team is just you!
Roles Defined
As the yearbook adviser, you have been chosen to be the project manager of the publication. As project manager, your primary responsibilities lie in two areas:
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT (the creation of the yearbook) and
FINANCE MANAGEMENT (the sales and finances of the yearbook).
Production managers (sometimes called “Editor in Chiefs”) usually have
to do or assign someone to the following tasks, along with a completion
deadline for each item:
• Decide what will go onto each page
• Photograph key school events
• Write headlines, stories, and captions
• Choose a cover design
• Choose page designs
• Choose type/text/font specifications
• Troubleshoot production issues
• Establish design custom page design
• Review/proofread page designs and stories
• Complete pages in a timely manner (if applicable)
• Complete advertisement pages
• Work with your yearbook representative
• Work with your school photographer
• Work with club sponsors and coaches for photos and more!
YEARBOOK PLANNING TIP:
Student Editor in Chiefs are often your natural leaders who motivate and empower their peers. A student editor who has the most design experience might not necessarily be the best fit for “Editor in Chief”, but would be a great “Creative Team” leader. This would allow him or her to focus his or her strength in design vs. project management.
YEARBOOK PLANNING TIP:
Don’t overlook possible professional assistance from your portrait photography studio and the customer service and technical support teams of your yearbook publisher. They
can be great resources to share examples of what has worked for other schools.
Develop a small focus group of students that represents everyone on campus. Pass
ideas by them if you do not have a student staff to rely on for input. What adults find
appealing versus what students
find appealing can be different.
