The school yearbook is more than just a collection of photos. It’s the capturing of a moment in time, a memorial to a year that will soon be a distant memory. In today’s digital, social media-focused world, we sometimes forget the value of the keepsake. Something that does not belong to a tech platform that is owned by a large corporation or lives on a smartphone that can be hacked, misplaced or damaged before things make it to the “cloud.”
Why Buying a School Yearbook Matters
1.) It’s the record of the entire year.
Of course, the students will have some photos on their smartphone camera of events, parties and school gatherings. The yearbook, however, is an all-encompassing account of the entire school year. Unless photography is the student’s hobby and passion, it’s unlikely that anyone individual will be able to capture every event in so much detail. Even if there are a bevy of personal photos taken, they won’t be laid out with dates and descriptions for the time in the future when these moments have long since been forgotten.
2.) There’s nothing that will show everything as it does.
To further the point made above, there’s nothing that will show everything like a yearbook does. The events that you are unable to attend, the events that you are unable to take your own photos of (for example, the game that you played in or the play that you performed in). Not to mention, it will show what your friends and classmates were up to when you were busy doing other things.
3.) It creates a way for students to connect beyond digital.
Did you refer to someone as an “Instagram friend” or find that you haven’t actually seen some of your online connections IRL (in real life) for so long you can’t remember the last time? The school yearbook creates an avenue for students to connect over something beyond social media such as Instagram and Snapchat.
4.) It can become a family keepsake.
It may be hard for the tenth grader to see, but his or her school yearbook can become a family keepsake that is handed down to future generations. It can also facilitate lots of family fun. (Who doesn’t want to have a good laugh about their mom or dad’s crazy haircut from high school?)
5.) It can help with future planning.
Buying your yearbooks can help remind you of the connections you made during high school, as well as act as a reminder of all the things that you were up to during your high school career. You may have a photographic record of awards or find a reminder of a connection that can help you as you network as an adult.
Need Help? Have a Question? Contact Us Today!
At YearbookLife, we have mastered the art of helping you design and create your school’s yearbook by providing software that includes hundreds of design templates and design elements. The kids love the results. The yearbook staff loves how easy it is to use and how much support we provide. And the parents love our affordable pricing. We can guide you through the process from start to finish. Get a free quote today!
Creating the perfect yearbook often hinges upon getting the timing right. Arming your yearbook staff with a clear understanding of your project timeline should keep your yearbook staff moving forward throughout the design process, so everything is ready to go when it’s time to go to print. While keeping the calendar of “yearbook to dos” might seem like a daunting task, YearbookLife has you covered with the things you and your yearbook staff can be doing right now to be successful.
Now that winter break has ended and the sluggish, catch-up period has (hopefully) come to a close, it’s time to jump back into your yearbook prep. It’s always better to be ahead of the timeline so that you can accommodate last minute rushes and unexpected changes if they occur. So, let’s dive right into the five things you can work on now to help your yearbook creation go smoothly.
Attention Yearbook Staff: Don’t Miss These 5 February To-Dos:
- Start proofing now. Proof the content you have now, rather than waiting until the design is complete. Proofing takes a lot of focus, time and concentration. It’s one of those jobs that is best broken up into small sessions. “Proofing as you go” and approving the design of pages as they are completed, means you can focus on what still needs to be designed, and your yearbook to-do list will be in a good place as you move forward.
- Audit your portraits. Now is a great time to take an audit of what portraits you have and create a list of those you don’t, as well as a communication strategy to ensure you get them. Will there be a portrait retake day you can collect the missing portraits from? Or will you need to add placeholder images for those missing portraits?. These organization steps, taken proactively, can eliminate the stressful rushes at the end and also reduce the risk of mistakes later on.
- Create a “things we are missing” list. Getting an overall view of what you have and what you don’t is another worthwhile task to do now. Your yearbook has many moving parts, so creating that list of what is outstanding is extremely helpful. Pro-tip: Include a date and owner to the items on the list to demonstrate accountability and an ETA.
- Prep for the spring activities. Things are bound to get busy when Spring arrives. Here are a few tips to help you get prepared for spring:
- Create a calendar of the events that happen every spring.
- Reach out to the relevant parties (teams, clubs, etc.) to request that they keep the yearbook on their radar and let them know of relevant deadlines that you may have.
- Create a list of things you can do in advance to get ahead.
- Make a list of who on the yearbook staff will be attending key events to get photos and content needed for the yearbook.
- Start the sales push. The sales push should start now. Ideally, you’ve been selling yearbooks since the start of the school year. It takes time and effort to get the sales secured, the best time to begin is ASAP. You might explore early bird discounts to get sales secured now, when the end of the year still seems far away to most parents and students.
Need Help? Have a Question? Contact Us Today!
At YearbookLife, we have mastered the art of helping you design and create your school’s yearbook by providing software that includes hundreds of design templates and design elements. The kids love the results. The yearbook staff loves how easy it is to use and how much support we provide. And, the parents love our affordable pricing. We can guide you through the process from start to finish. Get a free quote today!
Your yearbook cover sets the tone for the look and feel of your entire yearbook. It can be overwhelming to start from a blank page and design a cover that is creative, enticing and, most importantly, memorable. Whether you are an experienced yearbook designer or this is your first time, following these tips can help you design a fantastic yearbook cover.
Keep these 3 tips in mind when designing your yearbook cover:
1.) Catch their eye!
Your yearbook cover should be unique and eye-catching. It should excite and entice the reader to check out what’s inside. It’s the gateway to what’s inside! Your design should represent your yearbook theme, if you have one, or represent your school’s colors, mascot or spirit theme for the year.
The yearbook cover is also a perfect place to invest a little bit extra in upgrades that can enhance the design and help it really stand out, such as:
- Foil enhancements
- Unique lamination styles
- Embossing & Debossing
- Different binding types
- And more
2.) Draw readers in.
The words on the cover are essential, too. They complement the design with the goal of drawing in the readers. The content should motivate students and parents to buy their copy.
Be sure to include the following copy on the front of your yearbook cover:
- The Basics – school name & year. Some schools also include their city, state & volume number. Don’t forget to include this content on the spine as well.
- Highlights – some themes that correspond with the year can be included, related to current events, sports accomplishments and/or academic achievements.
- Font Styles – Keep fonts consistent and ensure that they work with the design, rather than compete with it.
3.) Avoid common mistakes.
No yearbook cover checklist would be complete without a list of don’ts. Keep in mind these common missteps:
- Fonts – A flashy, fun font might be hard to read. Don’t sell out readability for creativity; it’s important to find the balance.
- Clutter – A little open space won’t hurt; it will only enhance. If the cover is overly busy, the focus can get lost. Be sure to let the strong messages you want viewers to see come through in the strongest way.
- Complete Cover – Your yearbook design will pop it wraps around the cover, spine and back. Don’t focus so much on the front cover that you forget about those valuable areas of real estate.
- Continuity – It’s also important that the design, elements, font and style that you choose for your cover flow into your pages as well.
Need Help? Have a Question? Contact Us Today!
At YearbookLife, we have mastered the art of making designing and creating your school’s yearbook easy. Our software provides colorful backgrounds that you can use as a starting point to enhance the design of your cover. Students love the results. The yearbook staff loves how easy our software is to use and how much support we provide. And the parents love our affordable pricing. We can guide you through the process from start to finish. Get a free quote today!
Your yearbook comes to life through pictures, and candid photos capture the moments that make each year different and memorable. Capturing candid photos that include more students in the yearbook, however, can seem like a daunting task without a plan.
Yearbook editors make a few common missteps when it comes to candid photos. One common misperception is that candid photos are captured through stealth activities (like hiding behind bushes). Another mistake is not thinking about candid photos throughout the school year. A thorough understanding of how to capture those candid moments, along with a strategy to keep the candid photos flowing in on an ongoing basis, can help you include more students in this year’s yearbook. The result will be a more robust representation of the student body and a more colorful depiction of the year as it unfolded.
Your Guide To Getting More (And Better) Candid Photos For Your School’s Yearbook
- Enlist some help. Do you know of a student that is always capturing photographs at events? Or, a teacher or principal that is present for all the major and minor happenings at your school? Recruiting someone like this to help capture candid photos will create a pipeline of photos ranging from students working hard on a competition for the robotics club to a group of friends out supporting the football team and beyond. Be sure to give some guidance as to the types of candid photos you’d like and how to submit them seamlessly to the yearbook team. At YearbookLife, our software offers a photo upload site that allows students and staff to contribute photos for your consideration for use in the yearbook.
- Be discreet. The idea of a candid photo is there are no poses, no cheesy smiles and no real awareness of the camera. This does not mean that the photographer has to be completely incognito. You can tell your subjects to carry on doing what they’re doing and capture photos as they act naturally. Some of these semi-candid photos will not make the cut, but eventually, the students will forget that you are there and truly act natural. Then, the magic happens. You capture them laughing, working, clapping or making funny faces – all while they know, on some level, that you are there taking photos.
- Attend events. When events occur, it is important that you (or someone you’ve recruited) attend. It’s an obvious statement, but of course, life gets busy and key candid opportunities can be missed. It’s also a good idea to check out the smaller, less publicized events. Of course, Homecoming is definitely a great event to get candid photos, but what about the baseball team’s Halloween game or the environmental club’s annual gardening event? Those smaller events can create amazing candid photo ops that show the true personality of your school and the year in pictures. Be sure to share an events’ calendar with your yearbook team and assign photographers to attend those events.
- Be okay with imperfection. Candid photos often are not perfectly centered or at the perfect angle with the best lighting. Students walking toward the volleyball court before a big game or friends with arms around each other on the last day may not fit perfectly into the frame, but it adds character to the story your yearbook tells. Being okay with the imperfection of candid photos for your yearbook helps you not overthink it and take more pictures!
- Don’t forget to ask for permission. While candid photos are a key way to include more students in your yearbook, it is important that you have permission to include those represented. Be sure to include a process to double-check that all students represented in the yearbook have provided the appropriate forms for consent.
Need Help? Have a Question? Contact Us Today!
At YearbookLife, we have mastered the art of making designing and creating your school’s yearbook easy. Our software provides templates that will simplify the design process of your profile pages. The kids love the results, The yearbook staff loves how easy it is to use and how much support we provide. And, the parents love our affordable pricing. We can guide you through the process from start to finish. Get a free quote today!
Every year we hope to create a yearbook that is a masterpiece, something that stands out as a unique representation of the year we’ve shared, a true keepsake for students and their families to take with them into their futures. Keeping things original and interesting year after year can, however, be a challenge.
One of the best ways to make this year’s yearbook memorable is to master the art of the student profile page. These stories and personal touches add a creative flair and an authentic storyline to the yearbook that will bring memories to life for years to come. Don’t be intimidated by the task of creating this authentic look and feel to this year’s yearbook, the team at YearbookLife has compiled an easy-to-master list of tips to get you there – quickly, because we know you are busy!
6 Steps to Mastering the Student profile Page
- Optimize your page space. Profile pages will take up a chunk of the space in your book, so planning it out spatially is an important preliminary step. Identifying how many profiles you will have per page will help you gain clarity on how much content you will be able to fit into each profile. Depending on your needs, you may choose between two and four profiles per page. This is where the savvy yearbook editor finds the balance between keeping costs in budget and giving student profiles enough space to truly shine.
- Determine a theme. A theme is a great way to tie everything together. Some photo themes that might make your yearbook pop are:
- Black and white – This monochromatic approach can create a memorable, dramatic and unique theme to your student profile pages.
- Formal dress – Grab pictures from the prom or an event where students are wearing their best dress and add a formal theme to your student profile pages.
- Students holding signs – Tap into the latest trend of having pictures taken with fun signs that have relevant sayings on them, similar to the ones done at weddings.
- Master the art of the mod. Your yearbook student profile page should include strategically-placed mods, aka sidebars and/or callouts. These fun design elements not only add flair, but make the content fun and easy to read. With the right color scheme, mods will add a layer of sophistication to the overall theme of your yearbook.
- Survey a few of their favorite things. Favorite class, favorite teacher, favorite after school activity…all these stats can add a fun and personal touch to the student profile page. Some of the students might even choose an actual class (not just lunch)!
- Don’t forget to include the family (furry friends too). A personal touch to the student profile page might include details about the family. From younger siblings to furry, four-legged family members, there’s nothing more personal than a nod to your student’s family.
- Call out inspirational words for the win. Amp up the fun and inspiration with poignant quotes, relevant song lyrics or memes that fit the time and place. These words are an easy way to add more depth and personality to your yearbook’s student profile pages.
Need Help? Have a Question? Contact Us Today!
At YearbookLife, we have mastered the art of making designing and creating your school’s yearbook easy. Our software provides templates that will simplify the design process of your profile pages. The kids love the results, The yearbook staff loves how easy it is to use and how much support we provide. And, the parents love our affordable pricing. We can guide you through the process from start to finish. Get a free quote today!
Your yearbook theme sets the tone for the entire yearbook. The theme should be appealing to a wide audience, the cover should be eye-catching, and the content should be relatable. In years to come, a yearbook theme can elicit fond memories. In some cases, it can even be a sort of time-capsule.
It’s fair to say, choosing the right theme is important. We’ve put together this checklist to help you choose your school’s yearbook theme.
School Yearbook Theme Checklist
Albert Einstein famously said: “Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.” Could there be a better description for the process of creating a yearbook? Creativity is a key element to a successful theme, but it’s not the only thing to consider.
Work your way through this checklist to help you choose your school yearbook theme.
Ask: Is Your Yearbook Theme Unique?
We’ve all been there. A great idea comes to you out of the blue. You’re convinced that nobody else has ever had the same idea, only to find out that isn’t the case.
Check your old school yearbooks, go back at least 10 years. See what themes they have used, and make sure yours is unique.
Ask: Is It Clear and Relatable?
Interpretation matters. What you think a theme represents may differ from what someone else thinks. While you may believe your theme idea to be witty and clever, it may not relate in the same way to everyone.
Ask your yearbook class if they understand the concept for the yearbook theme. If it takes people more than a couple of seconds to get it, your theme may not be clear or relatable enough.
Ask: Is It Sustainable?
It can be tempting to pick your theme around an awesome cover. But you want to make sure your idea has legs. That is, you can carry it all the way through your yearbook. Can it be integrated into your headlines? Your articles? Your photo spreads? Make sure that your yearbook theme is one that can carry all the way through the book.
Ask: Is It Approved?
When you have a few potential ideas, make sure to run your proposed yearbook theme past your school’s administration. They can offer great feedback, and help highlight if there are elements of the theme that they may not wish to promote.
It’s important to remember – the administration may not be picking the theme, but getting their approval early on makes the yearbook creation process much easier.
At YearbookLife, We’re Here to Help!
Looking for more ideas and inspiration? Our Exclusive Yearbook Theme Guide is available to download for free! Download your copy by clicking here.
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