​Purpose of a Yearbook
There are five primary reasons that schools publish yearbooks.

1. Education: yearbook production is great preparation for careers in the fields of journalism, photography, design, and marketing. You will learn how to write a good journalistic story, take interesting photos that convey a story, design a page to impact a reader, and sell yearbooks and ads to increase yearbook revenue.

2. Reference: the yearbook records the students, staff, events, and statistics of the year. It provides names and photos for anyone who might be researching the school or people, including police officers, employers, community members, and reporters. As a published work, the yearbook is an official record of this information.

3. Memories: on a purely personal level, the yearbook records memories for students. It covers the events and activities of students’ lives, both personal and school, and, if done well, the emotions, too. Of course, not all memories are good–the yearbook covers all memories of the year, including the tough moments.

4. History: you can also think of the yearbook like a history textbook; it records trends, community issues, and world issues in relation to students and becomes a reflection of the culture of the times.
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5. Public Relations: a good yearbook captures the personality of the school and can be a great tool to pull in new students and staff. It shows all the different activities in which a student can participate and shows what classes are like.

Source: https://mrsbraman.wordpress.com/learn-publications/unit-1-purpose/1-yearbook-functions/


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​Theme, Voice, and Coverage
What is a yearbook THEME?
Yearbook Academy Theme Videos
Dream Your Theme Workbook

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS TO JUMP-START THE CREATIVE PROCESS 
Describe your school using one adjective.
Describe the people who attend your school in one word.
List catch phrases and expressions used by the students at school.
What’s the first thing people notice when they come to campus?
What do you enjoy most about school?
What event will be most important to your school in the coming year?
What physical changes will be noticeable?
Will the school be smaller, larger or the same?
Can you predict the mood of the students next year?
What will it be like?
What changes have occurred since the previous year?
What outside influences have affected the students or school?

TYPES OF THEMES
• Anniversary themes can be tricky. Make sure you don’t abuse the “party/ celebration” concept and remember that the anniversary of the school is probably not as important to the average student as it is to a staff that has been assigned to come up with a theme that fits the school and defines the year.
• School initials might be a possibility for a fun concept if you are lucky enough to be able to make a play on words.
• School colors are a favorite with many readers, but that does not mean you have to be boring or traditional.
• Mascot themes give the students a fresh look at a familiar figure on campus.
• Wordplay with the name of the school can be fun and these themes are often listed among reader favorites, but it only works if the play is obvious.
• Location themes are limited to schools with obvious ties to street names or major geographic landmarks.
• Event themes are based on a specific happening that truly affected the school.
• “Fun” themes make use of contemporary graphics and/or fun phrases.
• Pride themes focus on spirit and student or school accomplishment.
• Reaction themes provide the students with a chance to be heard, and typically make use of lots of quotes and first person stories. • Unity/diversity themes examine the school’s population and explain affects on the various aspects of school life.
• Change themes need to be tied to the year with specific major changes in the school or its programs.
• Double-edged themes provide a compare and contrast format with a serious side and a lighter approach.
• Contemplative themes ask the reader to think about school or life.
​• Concept themes use a mix of catch phrases or ideas based around one central idea. The sections may not be named with direct spin-offs from the main idea. In fact, there may be fewer or more sections than normal if the concept suggests that the book be divided some way other than into the traditional sections of student life, academics, sports, organizations and people.

WHERE IS THEME VISIBLE
• Cover & endsheets
• Title page
• Opening spread(s)
• Divider spreads
• Closing spread
• Last page of the book
• Theme magazine
• Folio/page numbers

HOW IS THEME FURTHER DEVELOPED
• Photographs that tell the story
• Design that is distinctive
• Easily identifiable type
• Copy and captions that tie the theme to your school and the specific year
​• Colors and textures

SECTIONS
• Student Life:
• Academics:
• Sports:
• Clubs & Organizations:
• People:
• Ads & Index:

COVERAGE
  • Sections titles and supporting visuals
  • Coverage strategies
  • Concept-related layers of coverage
  • Headline packages


TYPES OF COVERAGE

TRADITIONAL: Sections include the following:  student life, academics, sports, organizations, people, reference, ads and index. The reference section is optional and can include clubs and sports group photos.   Some books organize the people, reference, ads and index pages all under the banner of reference.
 
CHRONOLOGICAL: Organizes the book in the order in which events occur.  The book may begin in the summer or with the first day of school and progress to the last few days of the final deadline.  Spring activities can be covered but without a final accounting of events.  The people, groups, ads and index are often covered in a section titled reference.  Sections of the book can be summer, fall, winter, spring and reference.  Books can also be organized by months, weeks or partial chronological.  
UMBRELLA: A topic or overlying concept is used in organizing the book.  With this type of coverage, each spread includes multiple packages relating to the same broad topic.  The staff has a theme and then a list of broad spread topics that work with the theme are generated.  These become the spreads in the book.  Sports, clubs and academics fall under those broad topics.  This books needs a detailed table of contents and reader points to help navigate the coverage. *Some books combine traditional and umbrella coverage.  Your student life section could be organized under umbrella coverage.
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THEME DEVELOPMENT PLANNING ACTIVITY:
Print and cut photos, colors, textures, shapes, fonts, and titles from any available physical and digital media.  For example, you can work on a google doc and then print your design inspiration, or screen shot your Pinterest page.  Glue all of your images and text down onto each of the 3 poster boards poster board and use sharpies to draw, write, and add details.  Each staff member should spend 12 minutes and contribute 3-6 ideas and examples per board.  Spend the next few minutes using color coded sticky notes (shown above) to identify your likes and dislikes.  Review your results and discuss as a class.

What are your thoughts on....
  • Designing the Cover: Visuals + Text
  • Setting Design Rules: Colors, Fonts, Shapes, Patterns, Textures, Layouts​
  • ​
Yearbook Theme Packet
File Size: 51 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File





Photography
5 LEVELS OF PHOTOGRAPHY TO INCLUDE ON A SINGLE SPREAD:
1.  The Big Picture (Zoom out to include the entire scene)
  • Pair with infographics with broader research to provide a more expansive view
2.  Large Group (Get a shot of just the crowd or just the players on the field)
  • Pair with polls from the larger student body or Q&A with teams
3.  Small Group (Capture the action and emotions while zooming in on a few individuals)
  • Pair with a round table discussion or multiple viewpoints expressed on social media
4.  One Person (Get the individual's expression and movement)
  • Pair with an interview to grasp a single perspective
5.  Detail (Get incredibly close to a specific person or object that tells a unique part of the story)
  • Pair with an in-depth description of very specific moments 

PHOTOGRAPHY CRITERIA:
  • Sharply focused on center of interest
  • Proper tonal range, including consistent lighting, color and contrast throughout
  • Image fills the frame, eliminating distracting elements and empty space
  • Photographs creatively tell the story, with a variety of angles and perspectives
  • Emotion and action are compelling within each image
  • Edges are perfectly aligned within each page and across the entire spread
  • Student photographers represented
  • No dpi warnings (low resolution)

ORGANIZATION: On Google Drive, you have a My Photos folder inside of the main Photojournalism folder.  You will create a new folder here for each event you photograph using the naming system below.  Drag and drop all of your images from the memory card onto your personal folder on the desktop, and then delete all of the originals.  Create a BEST OF folder and move 5-10 of your most amazing shots there to be edited and then renamed.  These are the only files you will need to upload on Vidigami and eDesign with the appropriate tags.  Images that you receive from outside sources should be renamed and uploaded onto Vidigrami and eDesign as well.
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FOLDER NAMING: [YYYY_MM_DD] Event Description_Photographer Name
EDITED FILE NAMING: [YYYY_MM_DD] Event Description_Photographer Name_IMG#

TAGGING:  Whenever images are imported into eDesign, whether they are taken by you or someone else, you are required to add a tag in order to ease sorting and placing images on spreads.

 CAPTION WRITING CRITERIA:
  • Descriptive and informative
  • Present tense used
  • People identified correctly with first and last name
  • Team photos begin with front row and end with back row
  • Grammatically correct
  • Design styles are consistent, attractive, and legible
  • All photographers given credit 

PHOTO CREDITS:  All images are required to have a photo credit immediately following the capture.  You should state the full name of the photographer or the person who provided the photo, whether that person is a student or an adult. 
​Format:  (Photo by _______) OR (Photo provided by____________)
Note: Marketing images will be labeled with photographer initials - BS - Bethany Stotler, AP = Abby Pheiffer, CW = Cathrine Wolf, SB = Shelly Betz
Any unidentified images should be given this credit: (Photo Courtesy of Foxcroft School)

MY WRITING FOLDER ON GOOGLE DRIVE:
Create a new Google Doc titled "Spread Topic Planning" - EX: "Opening Days Spread Planning"
Include the following headings: TOPIC (broad coverage), ANGLE (specific story), SOURCES (who to contact), QUESTIONS (interview prompts)

IDENTIFY THE ANGLE:
  • The goal is to tell a specific, engage story while informing and entertaining the audience
  • Instead of covering a broad topic, develop a concept or main idea for your writing
  • Brainstorm a list of possible angles, discuss these with your yearbook team, and decide on the most compelling one
  • Conduct multiple interviews to build the angle of your story - a good reporter identifies 6 or more sources

WRITE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:
  • Open-Ended Questions:
    • Has more than one answer
    • Could have a different response from every person you ask
    • Requires a respondent to describe actions and reactions
    • Is asked with the intention of collecting a quote
  • Close-Ended Questions:
    • Can be answered with "yes," "no," or two words
    • Is used to obtain facts, figures, and specifics
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GUIDELINES FOR FORMAL INTERVIEW:
  • BE PREPARED: Draft a list of questions to guide the interview
  • INTRODUCE YOURSELF: Start with your name and your involvement with the yearbook staff and your purpose
  • HAVE A CONVERSATION: Take a conversational approach instead of going directly through the list of questions
  • MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT: Indicate that you are listening carefully
  • TAKE GOOD NOTES: Jot down key phrases in quotation marks to remember later - if you intend to use a direct quote, read it back to the person
  • GUIDE THE CONVERSATION: If your source gets off topic, redirect them to you list of questions
  • END THE INTERVIEW: Review your notes, double check names, dates, and facts, and verify your information is correct - thank them for their time

LINKS:
Herff Jones Survey Questions
HEADLINES CRITERIA:
  • ​Primary headline grabs the viewer’s attention and connects to the spread content
  • Secondary headlines further define what is on each page
  • Subheaders support the overall message in the body copy
  • Present tense used
  • Effective placement and scale
  • All headlines are accurate, creative and set the appropriate mood for the spread
  • Design styles are consistent, attractive, and legible

BODY COPY CRITERIA:
  • ​Compelling language
  • Specific and factual
  • Organized and easy to follow
  • Strong quotes
  • Grammatically correct
  • Written in 3rd person
  • Avoid personal opinion unless provided in a direct quote



Graphic Design



​
eDesign Tutorials
WORKING IN PAGE DESIGN
Tour of the Workspace
Tools
Menus
Library Panel - access Images and Templates
Control Panel - options for selected tools
Understanding the Design Area
Gutter - where left and right pages meet in the center (don't place key parts of image or text in gutter)
Margin - solid line indicates consistent distance from the edge of the page
Dashed Line - only go beyond this line for objects to bleed
Bleed Line - where objects should be placed to extend off the page (elements must go all the way to the outside edge)
Cut Line - where paper will be trimmed
Paste Board - store elements you may add to your page later (will not be printed)
Folio - appears at bottom of page (must be edited outside of page design to prevent changes)

WORKING WITH TEMPLATES
Applying Templates
Go to Library Panel and click on Templates
Click preview to scroll through library - move previous screen down and then click, drag, and drop anywhere in the design area to apply template
Edit Undo or Edit, Select All, Delete to remove a template that you just placed
​OR drag and drop a new template over top and it will be replaced (smart template will appear with pending elements to be placed)
Creating and Saving Templates
Start with a pre-designed template then customize and save as your own template
OR start from scratch by adding your own design elements and save as template

WORKING WITH IMAGES
Placing and Resizing Images
Apply Template to spread
Go to Library Panel - Click on images drag and drop onto frame
Select image and drag to resize both the image and frame (editing edges have square handles)
Go to Control Panel - Click Picture Manipulation button to resize and reposition image inside the frame (editing edges have round handles)
You can also DOUBLE CLICK image to enter picture manipulate mode and single click to return to regular edit mode
Hold curser outside of the round handle until you see rotate icon then click and drag to rotate image
Placing and Cropping Images
Select the image and Go to Control Panel - Select Crop Image to resize the frame once the image is inside it
Use square handles to manipulate frame - Use round handles to manipulate image
Click again on the image to exit Cropping Mode (COMMAND DOUBLE CLICK)
Drag new image from Library Panel and drop on top of old image to replace it
Double Click image and go to Edit Menu and delete to remove it from the frame
You can place an image inside of any closed shape
Drag an image outside of a frame, to use it in the background (it will fill the page) - to remove go to Layout, Delete Background Image
OR you can click No to leave the image in a separate frame (the same size as the image)
Image Editor Introduction
Go to Library Panel - hover over image, click on Pencil icon in top left corner to open Image Editor (or right click and select Edit Image)
Original version will not be changed, a temporary version will be created
Editing options: cut out backgrounds, color splash, red eye correction, color filters, exposure
Editing tools/controls: for each
Zoom slider: pull to the right to zoom in or left to zoom out
Pan: move image around within the window (can also press and hold space bar to pan)
Apply Changes saves the edits made in that option so you can access other options - Discard Changes to remove edits
When all edits are complete click Save and Return
Image will process and edited image will be at the bottom of the Image Library
Go back to original version (now outlined in purple) and click on Filter All Edited Versions to see all the copies of the manipulated image
Filter Library to see My Edited Images

COLUMN AND GRID DESIGN CRITERIA:
  • Elements fit exactly within the columns and edges are perfectly aligned
  • Dominant photo is at least twice as big as other elements and close to the center
  • Internal and external margins are precise and consistent, except for bleed photos
  • Captions touch edge photo and are positioned to appropriately identify the image
  • No more than two captions are stacked on top of one another
  • Body copy is to the outside of the spread, with a clear subheader
  • White space is used effectively on the outside of the spread and is not trapped
  • Design styles are consistent, attractive, and legible



​iMovie - Senior Slideshow
  • START HERE:  iMovie Full Tutorial for Beginners
  • Create New Movie Project - Filename:  YEAR Senior Slideshow
  • Import all Photo Media in Order (Drag and Drop from open folder) - Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Portraits
  • Drag and Drop Transition Style and Time - Apply to All Clips
  • Import all Song Media in Order - https://mp3.downloads.direct/
  • Share File to Desktop - Upload to Google Drive
  • Share File to YouTube - Email Link

VIEW 2018 Senior Slideshow