3 Keys To a Great Yearbook
Yearbooks offer a unique keepsake for those who are moving on up in the world. As students progress from one grade to the next, maintaining a record of their time at this moment offers a great way to reminisce on the good times over the years to come. Building the best quality keepsake has always been an important responsibility of staff and students who are involved in the so-named yearbook staff or committee. This group of dedicated journalism aficionados has been integral in the continued use of yearbooks throughout schools in the United States and through the generations. A rite of passage for many a high school senior lies in the final days on campus collecting signatures and warm wishes in these books from friends, teachers, and peers. Crafting a great photo yearbook starts with a few key features and resources and builds from there. Continue reading to learn more about the process of constructing a yearbook that is sure to make an impact with your graduating class this year.
1. High quality photographs of the students is a must in any yearbook.
Any great yearbook will ensure that picture day sites prominently in the school year and that the images captured here will feature throughout the book’s pages. School photos are a tradition that is upheld every year nowadays. In early iterations of these remembrance books, photos weren’t common, but as soon as photography became a common feature in the American lifestyle, pictures of students and faculty began routinely gracing the insides of these keepsakes.
Making sure that names are spelled correctly and that they correspond to the correct images is something that yearbook staff members spend hours checking and double checking. The pictures are a core component of a great yearbook, as you might expect.
2. Dedications to the year’s activities, festivities, and high water marks make for great remembrances.
Dedicating a section or even a large portion of the book to festivities and activities that happened during the year is a great way to provide the kind of nostalgia that is sure to make for a fantastic product that students will cherish for years to come. Everything from the Homecoming dance to spring science projects can occupy a special place in a high school yearbook. Students participate in a wide variety of activities throughout the year, and documenting these in the school yearbook is the best way to ensure that everything is recorded for the future.
Remember, a yearbook is often a prized possession for adults as they look back on their younger years, but these also will be saved in the school library for future students to peruse. This means that capturing life as it was for the students who once walked the same halls can provide a learning experience for future generations as well as a time capsule for those who’ve graduated and moved on to bigger things in life.
3. Make sure to include ample space for signatures and collegial notes from friends.
Finally, the time honored practice of signing yearbooks and adding warm wishes for the summer and future endeavors looms large on the creators of high school yearbooks. As an editor of these keepsakes, it’s a good idea to include a number of blank pages at the front and back of these books, as well as strategically placed white space between some of the action images that have been included to showcase the events of the year. Students love the final few days or weeks of the school year after they’ve received their yearbooks, because they get the opportunity to go around to add personalized notes and warm wishes from all their friends and peers that will add substance and a unique element of joy as they look back on these memories in years to come.
These three key elements make for stunning memories that students are sure to love.
