While photos and graphics are extremely important elements within a class yearbook, typography is also up there. That is because your typeface compliments the overall tone of your yearbook.
Most typefaces or fonts are part of a larger font family meaning there are various versions of the font available as well as versions of it in bold and italic.
Once determined, your typography should be applied consistently throughout each section of the book and should not be adjusted or changed just to make the copy fit. Instead, your copy editing team should become involved in adjusting the copy.
Unlike with an invitation or other professional looking piece, a yearbook should utilize fonts that are simple. There also shouldn’t be too many utilized.
It is recommended to use one serif font throughout the entire copy of the book. This type of font involves small “feet” extensions at the base of the letters. In contrast, san-serif fonts do not have feet. Two popular serif choices that should be considered are Times and Garamond. They are easy to read and are very “clean” in nature.
There are also script fonts that look similar to script handwriting as well as decorative bubbly specialty fonts. It is highly recommended to use these fonts sparingly as you don’t want your yearbook to look like a cartoon, comic book.
Help Tip: Fonts are measured in points, from the top of the letter to the bottom. To visualize one inch is equal to 72 points.
When choosing the right font for your books always consider size and readability. You may want to utilize the three-font concept that involves a serif font as a headline, san-serif as a subhead and a specialty font as an accent font. Remember though, no matter what you choose though, body and caption fonts should always be from the same family.
Yearbook software such as Pictavo can help you in choosing the right fonts for your yearbook. Don’t get frustrated though, just do some testing and then determine which style your graduating class will enjoy the most!
Students are always going to be looking at their yearbook photo, from the time they graduate through the years they grow old. They will bring it out to show their friends, children and even grandchildren. That is why it is so important that everyone’s yearbook photo looks its best, and using the current technology that is available for digital editing will help you do just that. So here are a few tips you should keep in mind when editing photos for your school’s yearbook:
- Cropping: In general, you always want your subject to fill as much of the frame as possible, while still allowing for a sense of place. It the photographer didn’t achieve that you will want to use a tool such as Photoshop to crop it. Remember though; when you are going to crop a file always use the original. You will want all the data in the photo available so you can better determine the best crop. In addition, always do a save as and don’t save over the original. It is always good to have the original file for reference in case a future change or update is needed.
- Color Correction: If your student photos are going to be shown in color and not grey-scale, you will want to utilize color correction software. This will make the photos more vivid and make them pop. To do this you will want to adjust the contrast in various parts of the photo. Having darker blacks will make all the colors in your photo richer and deeper while adjusting the level of “lightness” in your photo will enhance highlights such as eyes, lips and teeth.
- Text Overlay: If you plan to include a text overlay on a photo make sure it doesn’t detract from it. Test various fonts and sizes of the text. Lastly make sure the text is easy to read. To confirm that try diluting the color of your background images just a bit with an opacity tool. The contrast will make the text much more readable.
Yearbook photos are meant to shine. They are what makes the yearbook a yearbook. Unfortunately though, the camera by itself doesn’t always capture that. Make sure to follow the above steps and before you know it, you will have created a modern look that will get lots of compliments and tons of hours of enjoyment!
Like with any other memorable piece, a yearbook is a very important possession for a graduating class. What you put in it isn’t something that you need to just thirty seconds to think about. You want everything to be perfect!
Creating the perfect yearbook can sometimes be frustrating and a little inspiration may be needed in order to achieve that “creative spark.” But where do you find that inspiration? How can you get inspired? Here are a few tips on how to best get inspired for creating that memorable yearbook:
- Develop A Theme. Themes should relate to the attitude of the year that your school just had or is having. Was there a milestone or special event that went during the year? By creating a theme and building around that will make the entire process that much more smoother.
- Work Off Of Popular Phrases. Besides your class photos and the photos of your teams and clubs your yearbook needs good content. One way is by feeding off popular phrases. For Example the “Keep Calm and blank” line or the “I Heart Blank” line. People always remember these. Why not get some inspiration from them and create some pages that have custom lines that feed off these popular phrases.
- Utilize Current Events. Whether it is good or bad, people always remember major news stories and current events. Why not intertwine it with your yearbook and create pages and provide quotes or mentions of where students were during a specific event that everyone will always remember.
There is no good or bad yearbook. Every yearbook should be unique and feature a theme that most closely resembles its graduating class as well as something they will want to go back and look at for years to come.
Your school yearbook is one of the best physical keepsakes you get as a graduate. As the date approaches, you think long-and-hard what you are going to say as you sign each and everyone of your classmate’s books. You want the messages to be special so they are read over and over again.
Sometimes though, you can get various brain freezes on what you should say or whom you should quote. Something that maybe hysterical or meaningful now may mean something completely different in the future. While that is part of the fun, where are some great places to get awesome yearbook quotes to share with your classmates and students? Here are a few yearbook quote ideas:
- Utilizing the movies. People always remember famous movie lines. From the The Terminator’s “I’ll Be Back” to Jerry Maguire’s “Show Me The Money”, there are many famous lines that come from movies that you can relate to with classmates. Maybe you went and saw a particular movie that you both talk about all the time. Utilizing movies can be a great way to get memorable quotes.
- Look up notable names. Whether it is Maya Angelou, Malcolm X or Steve Jobs, there are many famous and successful people that have spoken inspirationally throughout their lives. Look up some of those names and see how some of the quotes relate to a relationship you have with a specific classmate or in a teacher’s case, student.
- Children’s books. Some of the best quotes ever said come from fictional characters in children’s books. From Dr. Seuss to Winnie The Pooh, there are a tremendous amount of children’s quotes that can relate well with graduates. These quotes will surely last a lifetime and can be used again and again with future generations.
Reading back on inspirational quotes in your school yearbook from classmates, teachers and staff will surely put a smile on your face long after they are written. By putting a little thought into it, it will certainly keep you top-of-mind for years to come!
The focal point to any yearbook is the portrait photo of the student. It creates memories that graduates are able to share with family and friends for generations to come. Unfortunately, though for a variety of reasons some students aren’t able to take a yearbook photo. Maybe they aren’t available during picture or simply camera-shy.
Here are a few alternatives a yearbook committee can provide to those students that don’t have their head-shot in the yearbook:
• Have a professional artist create an avatar illustration of the student. This could give the appearance of a photo without actually having the photo there.
• Use digital software to create a digital avatar or cartoon of the student. There are many free tools out there including Bitstrips software that make very realistic looking cartoons.
• Use a candid shot from the school year. Perhaps playing a sport or participating in the band or color guard. No one says the Yearbook photo must be a professional photo with a suit on.
• If the student simply doesn’t want any photo included, in their spot on their yearbook page, perhaps include a brief description of the student’s interests or even a personal quote they want to give.
Yearbooks are all about memories and remembering the entire class. Instead of just listing them as camera shy there are a variety of other ways those students can be commemorated and remembered with his or her classmates.
