How to Create a Yearbook

Your yearbook--a moment frozen in time. Yearbooks capture the lives and events of a school during one year. Each year brings new staff, new challenges, new ideas and new themes to create the perfect yearbook for that school, that year. Years later, you will look back at your yearbook and be transported back in time, remembering who you were, who your friends were and what was important that year.

Instructions

1. Make enough room available in your workspace to allow different yearbook staff departments to have their own work areas. According to Taylor Publishing's "Yearbook FAQ's," this will give the staff a sense of workspace ownership and make them work harder. At the very least, have a dedicated storage space for materials and supplies. During the first meetings, decide what roles students will take on the yearbook, then determine the number of pages in your yearbook and choose a theme.

2. Organize your yearbook. While you can decide your own format, most yearbooks are organized one of three ways: (1) sectional, where the yearbook is divided into traditional sections like student organizations, sports, students and ads; (2) chronological, in which pictures and events are placed chronologically by days, months or semesters, with a separate class photo section; or (3) seasonal, which is like chronological but placed in order based on the seasons, according to Taylor Publishing. They note that, while rarely used, chronological and seasonal formats may be best for meeting deadlines.

3. Decide on a design. For design ideas, Taylor Publishing recommends looking at a variety of publications, including magazines, newspapers and brochures. Choose font styles and sizes for headings, copy and text under the photos, called cutlines. Consistency is important here, Taylor Publishing says, to keep the yearbook from looking cluttered and disorganized.

4. Gather the pictures you want to use. No matter how much copy there is, photography is the heart and soul of the yearbook. The first thing people do when they open a yearbook is look at pictures. An excellent way to be certain all possible planned events are covered is for the yearbook supervisor and editor to work together, creating a list of these events, dates, times and places, then assigning photographers to each event. A copy of the list should be given to each photographer, while the original stays with the editor's materials.

5. Create the cover. Designing the yearbook cover can be challenging. According to Taylor Publishing, each cover needs to include the name of the yearbook, the year and a phrase or graphic that depicts the year's theme. The three types of material used for yearbook covers are (1) Korigan, a paper-based cover that costs least and can only be silkscreened or foil stamped; (2) Lexatone, a high-quality, rich-looking material that can handle a variety of processes; and (3) Lithocote, which is printed on a press and can be full-color, with a matte or glossy protective finish. Processes available include silkscreen, foil and emboss.

References

• Taylor Publishing: Yearbook FAQ's

Resources

• Yearbooks.biz: How can I create a yearbook that is different from previous editions?
• Walsworth Yearbooks: Promoting Your Yearbook in the Facebook Era