Yearbook Basics

A Yearbook Serves Many Different Functions Picture Book: Pictures of readers and their friends Historical Document: Presents a documentation of the school year Reference Book: Confirms students enrolled at the school, spelling of names or scores of athletic events. Longest Kept Memento: Statistics show that the yearbook is the one item that is most kept 10, 20 or even 30 years.

Role in Telling the Story Photos and words are the tools to tell the story. Photos make up a large part of the yearbook. Action photos capture memories in motion. Reverence photos visually record the population of school and the membership of organizations and teams. Words often called coopy provide details that photos don’t communicate. Stories provide facts and quotes. Captions tell what is happening in the photograps. Headlines summarize the content and spark curiosity.

Signatures A yearbook is actually many little 16-page booklets, called signatures, bound into the cover. Each signature begins a big sheet of paper with eight pages printed on each side. All 16 pages are printed at once. After the sheet is printed, it is folded into booklet form. Yearbooks are made up of 16-page signatures, always beginning with a right-hand page and ending with a left-hand page. In the printing process, a signature is a large sheet of paper on which eight pages (a flat) are printed on each side. After both sides have been printed, the sheet is folded and cut so the pages are in book form. Most facing pages are not printed side by side; they come together only when the sheet of paper is folded. Each signature does have two facing pages that are printed side by side, called a natural spread. Although many yearbooks feature page designs in which photographs bleed across the gutter on most spreads, only on the natural spread is it guaranteed that the photographs and any graphics such as rule lines will line up exactly.

Yearbook Sizes Yearbooks come in three sizes 7 ¾” X 10 ½” often called Size 7 8 ½” X 11” often called Size 8 9” X 12” often called Size 9 Our Yearbook is 8 ½” X 11”

Parts of the Yearbook Cover: Should make a positive first impression and set the stage for the story. Endsheets: The heavy paper between the cover and the first and last pages is used to hold the signatures in the yearbook. Title Page: The first page of the book makes a positive first impression and provides critical reference information.

Parts Con’d Opening Section: Introduces the story of the year and explains the book concept. Dividers: Indicate new sections and provide continuity throughout the book. Sections: The departments or coverage areas of the book include student life, academics, sports, organizations, people, advertising/community and index.

Parts Con’d Closing: Finishes the story of the year and brings the book to closure.

Who are Our Readers? Primary Audience: THE STUDENTS Secondary Audience: Includes Parents and Staff To make sure that there is going to be a demand for the book, every student should be included multiple times. Coverage of all school activities, organizations and athletic teams is important. However, the most difficult challenge is including the growing number of students who attend school but don’t participate in activities, organizations or sports. We have to find a way to get these students’ pictures incorporated in the yearbook. Although important, the secondary audience shouldn’t receive primary attention when planning the content of your yearbook. These readers include faculty and staff, parents, community members and advertisers.

Learn What Students Want Survey them If you really care about your student body you will survey what they want in the yearbook. Surveys can reach a representative segment of students. If you decide to survey the students maybe we can do this in the homerooms. Maybe we can do a survey right after this year’s book comes in so that everything is fresh in the student’s minds and this will before this year’s plans are finalized.

What Do They Want? They expect content that interests them. Want to see photos of them selves and their friends. Like more photos than words. Like text represented in a creative way, free of unnecessary words and focusing on students & their experiences.

Do judge a yearbook by it’s cover, so it must make a good first impression.