Basics
Designing your yearbook is often the most fun part of the creation process. When working on your design, remember these principles to ensure a great looking-book that is fun for everyone page through.
Alignment
Aligning elements visually connects them to one another to create a sharper, more ordered design. It tightens the layout and eliminates the haphazard, messy effect, which can happen when items are placed randomly. Aligning elements that are not in close proximity with one another helps provide an invisible connection between them.
Repetition
Repetition ties together individual elements to strengthen a design. It helps create association and consistency by using elements such as color, textures, shapes, fonts and art.
Contrast
Contrast emphasizes or highlights key elements within your design using two elements that are total opposites. This can be achieved a variety of ways including color, fonts (classic/contemporary), lines (thick/thin) and shapes (big/small). Contrast plays a critical role in the organization of information on a page. It guides the viewer to the most important element – where he or she should look first. For contrast to work successfully, make this design element strong and obvious. It should make an impact.
HELPFUL TIP:
Make sure photos you want to include are a high enough resolution to print clearly. It is recommended that photos be 300 dpi or higher to ensure clarity.
Proximity
Grouping similar elements together or in close proximity, creates an organized relationship between those components. You also provide a focal point to give
the reader an idea of where their eyes should start and finish. Elements don’t
necessarily have to always be placed together, however. But they should be
visually connected in some way, whether it be font, color, point size, etc.
Balance
Balance is the weight distribution of a design through the placement of elements. It provides stability and structure to a design. Balance can be achieved in two ways: Symmetrical or Asymmetrical.
Symmetrical balance is achieved when the weight of elements on both halves of the
design is even, given a center line. Slice the design in half and you’ll see the same
elements in equal weight on both sides.
Asymmetrical balance is achieved when odd or a mismatched number of different elements are evenly distributed without a center line and don’t mirror. Asymmetrical layouts are often dynamic as they can create tension, express movement, or
convey a mood.
The key to developing a theme is making sure your motif addresses it in every section of your yearbook—from the front cover to the back cover. Consider creating titles that play off words of the theme, or work on conceptual themes that play off an idea or image. Maintain the same graphical elements, colors and fonts for your motif to keep the theme uniform and consistent.
Cover: Introduces the theme
Endsheets: Promotes unifying idea through color and/or
headlines, copy, photos, art, captions or graphics
Title Page: Reflects theme idea through content and design
Fonts
Fonts are a powerful design element that can add or detract from the overall look of your yearbook. They can express an emotion or evoke a feeling, similar to the way color can. Pictavo offers a huge variety of more than 200+ fonts, to choose from. To keep a consistent look throughout your book, select a “family” of 3-5 fonts to use. You can then vary the size, weight (bold/light line), leading, kerning, etc. of the font to create interest without detracting from your design.
Helpful Tip:
Most publishers provide schools fonts due to ownership legalities and to prevent mistakes in production. Pictavo offers more than 200+ of the latest fonts, with new fonts added every year to ensure a variety to suit your school.
Types of fonts
Serif: Semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. These small lines that decorate the main strokes of a letter are widely used in
traditional printed material such as books and newspapers. Studies have shown that serif fonts are often easier to read than sans-serif fonts at smaller font sizes.
Sans Serif: Doesn’t contain any serifs at the ends of strokes. The term comes from
the French word sans, meaning “without”. Sans serif fonts have become the de facto standard for body text on-screen. Although they typically appear less formal than serif fonts, they can be used for striking effect in headlines, chapter names, and advertisements. In addition, sans serif fonts are typically used when large print is called for, where serifs become a distraction.
Handwritten: Based on the fluid strokes of natural handwriting. Handwritten
fonts are a great way to add a personal touch to a design or layout.
Decorative: More artistic and eye-catching. Decorative fonts can be a useful design
tool when trying to add a certain ‘look’ or ‘feel’ to a design project or layout. These fonts should be used in moderation and only in headers or subheads for decorative or ornamental purposes, not as body text. They tend to have a very distinct look and feel and using them for body copy will make text difficult to read or make the layout look cluttered and messy.
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.
