Yearbook Terminology

Grab a Yearbook Off the bookshelf – any old yearbook will do!

What is a spread? No, it’s not jelly or jam. It is two facing side-by-side pages in the yearbook such as 2 and 3, 4 and 5, etc.

What is a theme? A theme is a verbal statement and a visual look which tie all parts of the yearbook together. The theme should fit with our school and our year. Theme ideas? Think Differently! What are some? What is our theme for this year?

And a LADDER This is our roadmap to knowing what we will cover in the yearbook. A ladder defines: The number of photos on the spread Whether the page is color or black and white Who is assigned to work and complete the spread What copy needs to be added What the focus of the page will be

The Cover Does it appeal to our student body? Does it go along with our theme?

Endsheets Where do we find them in a yearbook? Do we want to customize our end sheets or use stock end sheets? What does stock mean?

Folios These are the page numbers that often include a small image that uses the theme of the book.

Contents After our ladder is complete we can decide which parts of the book are divisions and these can become our content titles. Do we want to include these on the front end sheets?

Spine The spine is the skinny part of the outside of the book where the front meets the back. We have to tell the publisher what we want on the spine. Usually the spine includes the name of our yearbook and the year. This year is volume 16.

Title Page We want to make sure that our title page flows with our theme and that we use focused and up close photos—since this is the audience’s first impression.

Section Pages These are usually divider pages that separate classes, sports, clubs, co-curricular and extra-curricular programs, and so forth. Sometimes they are great if used with leads that draw the reader—such as surveys. But, to just have a divider page with the name SPORTS is a waste of good coverage and a place for MORE photos. That’s what you’re paying for!

Signature Pages These are counted in sections of 16. These pages are ones that are printed at the same time—meaning the pages when folded out as a spread are actually one page. Our entire book is color. How many signature sets will we have?

Colophon A colophon is the last page of the book– before the autograph page—that lists the managing editors, staff editors, and all staff who helped publish the yearbook—that’s YOU! And it IS a JOB, but so worth it!

Process Color versus Spot Color Process Color uses the four colors – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) in varying degrees to produce color like you see in a magazine. It’s like picking out the color you want to paint your room. You look at swatches and choose! We will not be using spot color for our yearbook.

Headlines—Copy—Captions Words paint pictures! Pictures add GLORY! Hit Me With YOUR BEST SHOT! King of the JUNGLE Strollin’ Down Memory Lane Jammin’ at the Lockers These ARE a few of OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Spread Ideas And the winners are…remember the spreads we looked at in yearbooks that were loaded with pictures and activity? Now, let’s talk? You will be creating a graphic organizer that we can consolidate into one BIG book. This way if you can’t think of a way to create a sidebar, you can use the BIG book to help you.

Questions? Do we want to include surveys? Do we want more photos on the page. You will each be responsible for a spread in the yearbook.

Yearbookers We have so little time to learn so much before our first deadline! This week you will work on a graphic organizer. We will learn to interview next week. The following week we will begin to learn InDesign. The second six weeks we will focus on writing copy, headlines, captions and conducting polls and surveys.

Remember It’s the DETAILS that count Your photos MUST tell stories! Your stories must paint pictures!

BEATS & the LADDER You will receive a beat sheet this week to help you with reporting and taking photos for your spread assignment. We will work on a portion of the ladder assignments next week.

Idea Board – We Make It Happen Our book is a chronological book meaning it’s created in order of happenings (months) rather than the standard (opening – academics – sports – clubs) We Arrive Summer Fall – Sept Oct Nov Winter Dec Jan Feb Spring March Portraits Clubs Index