HAIDA, RIVERSIDE HS Auburn, WA To make the seasonal approach completely clear, a series of full-color icons graced the concept pages. As readers worked through the book, each section showcased a lone colored icon (the others were screened back in gray). In addition, all spreads in each section featured a color bar footer in the hue of the seasonal icon. On the concept pages, that bar was charcoal. CARPE DIEM, NORTH FORSYTH HS, Cumming, GA In another spin on a chronological book, events were simply covered as they happened. Student life, academics, organizations and sports coverage was combined on spreads linked only by time. Each month was allotted several spreads of coverage (sometimes as many as 10 — and a date- and timestamp identified each separate module of coverage.
Guardian , Westfield HS, Chantilly, VA In today’s yearbooks, there is no one standard copy format. In addition to the long-form narrative, weekly timelines, quote bars, first-person profiles and more provide layers of coverage featuring both visual variety and verbal intrigue.
With more staffs striving to include as many students in the book as possible, there’s been a dramatic increase in the photographic and verbal coverage on each spread. It hasn’t been all that long since beginning designers were instructed that 5-7 photos per spread would lead to a successful design. But today’s best books are more likely to showcase 12-15 photos or more. In contrast, some staffs will set the theme/concept pages apart by using fewer photos (sometimes only one) so that when the readers reach the end of any section, there’s an obvious visual break between the layers and layers of coverage on the content pages and the simplicity of the
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Y e a r b o o k DISCOVERIES
dividers which link each new section to the theme. For many years, there was a single main story on most spreads. Then, sidebar stories were added and, in years since, layers of coverage proliferated. Most contemporary books feature three or more layers of verbal coverage, and some will include as many as eight different kinds of coverage. There are other obvious changes in yearbook copy as well. In addition to the long-form narrative stories that have been used for decades, current books feature quizzes, time lines, quote bars and more. Short snippets of copy like those found in
many magazines present the Q & A format, he said/she said, definitions, slang and top 10 lists. It’s no longer true that a “sidebar” is simply another typical yearbook story. In some books, alternative copy formats have replaced the traditional story altogether. And it used to be a given that a good yearbook included five sections, six if the book had ads. Student life typically appeared immediately after the opening since it was event-based and high in reader interest. Some books today aren’t divided into sections; others have as many as 10. In 2009, it was not uncommon for books to use a conceptual strategy other than the traditional sections (student life, academics,
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