YearBook Publishing And Printing

When it comes time to pick a theme for your yearbook it can get very challenging. So many different directions and choices to choose from and possible ideas it might get difficult to pick one and run with it. Your team will also most likely have many different ideas for you to choose from so it is important to pick one everyone will enjoy working on it.

Most schools have team mascots and school mascots that brand them a personality. Branding is what most people use to remember anything. Whether it be a clothing line or soda the power of branding goes a long way. Let your yearbook carry the brand of your school or organization. if your school has powerful branding throughout the student body, maybe your mascot is very frequently used or your school has a logo or symbol that they are very fond of try integrating it into your design. Keep the design of your location in mind. If your school is located in a very rural area you don’t want to use city type design for your book. The more you can connect with your audience and surroundings the more of a success your year book will be.

Or maybe your school’s symbol has never really been taken to the next level. Now is your chance to really bring some life back into your school’s symbol or logo. Give it the branding power that might have been swept under the rug for many years.

So you are quickly approaching that time when you have to put things a bit into overdrive and make some final decisions like, the theme of your yearbook. Some themes are very predictable and some are unique and if you want your yearbook to stand out it is important to think outside the box. Don’t forget your number one resource, the computer.

Start by asking around the school on different themes you would like to see for this years yearbook. One of the quickest and easiest ways to do this by using the websites like Myspace and Facebook to help you communicate. Physically speaking with students will still be a must but using the computer can aid in choosing the right theme. Most schools probably already have a group dedicated for your school. By contacting students through a group page you can quickly contact a great deal of students asking what they would like to see in this years yearbook. This is a great way to get through to all your peers in a timely fashion. You can set up polls and discussion within the walls of the group page and get some real honest answers from people. Your students will more likely give you an honest answer in the group online when they are at home than if you corner them at their locker. Posting flyers at school encouraging those who have not yet joined the group will also help in getting good feedback from the people who are going to buy the yearbook. The tools of technology have helped make things quicker and easier. Using these to your advantage will help you produce a superior product.

Even in elementary school, students can come up with some fantastic ideas for yearbook themes. As the editor of the yearbook, it`s your job to ensure that they feel comfortable airing their thoughts and encourage the students to come up with their own ideas.

Yearbook themes often have a lot of pressure to be incredible. They often fall short of this goal, but that doesn`t mean you should reject the ideas coming from the students. They probably have a far better idea of what type of yearbook theme would be acceptable to their peers than you do.

For many younger students, their ideas may not be very well formed. If they can give a general inkling of what they are thinking, it is then your job to help them develop the best idea and turn it into something that can actually be used as a yearbook theme.

Just because you work with younger students doesn`t mean you shouldn`t let them have a say in the yearbook theme. Open your mind and let the kids join in.

There is something about clip art that makes most people cringe, thinking of those cheap, gawdy graphics that were available in the early days of computers. Now, however, clip art can be your best friend in enhancing yearbook themes.

In order to use clip art correctly, you ned to get hold of some top quality stuff. There are now cds as well as entire websites devoted to providing clip art that would be appropriate for your yearbook themes. Some of these will require a fee, but it`s often worth it, just make sure you get the chance to browse the gallery first.

With high quality clip art, you`ll find plenty of options for just about any theme you can come up with. There are literally hundreds of thousands of graphics that are perfect for use in a yearbook. As long as you make sure you have the right to reprint them and use them for commercial purposes, you can use these graphics to add a little extra something to the yearbook theme.

Yearbook themes frequently need a bit of enhancement to keep them interesting. If you find that you just can`t figure out how to do that, then it might be time to check out clip art as an option.

During the holidays, you might find that you have a lot of rather Christmas-focused photos that don`t really fit in with any of the actual yearbook themes that you are trying to work with. If this happens, it`s fine to break the rules for one section of the yearbook and have an area where you actually just use a Christmas themed layout.

Holiday yearbook themes are used separately from the main yearbook theme in most cases. If you can tie the two together, that`s fine, of course, but it`s also great just to have a holiday theme for a few pages.

The holidays, particularly Christmas, are very popular for obvious reasons and chances are you`ll have more than enough photos to put together a special holiday layout or two. It can be a lot of fun to work on a couple of pages that have nothing to do with the yearbook theme at all.

Don`t be afraid to branch out in your yearbook themes. Include the holidays as separate layouts and enjoy it.

Everyone knows that teens are notorious for rejecting adults and authority, so it can be a bit difficult to find a yearbook theme that won`t offend them or make them roll their eyes. However, you happen to have the perfect tool right under your nose . . . the students themselves!

It`s amazing the ideas kids can come up with if you leave them to it. Why not fuel a brainstorming session with pizza and soda and let a test group of students have at it? They`ll probably come up with a few sizzling ideas by the end of the session!

Using ideas from your students is a great way to find a yearbook theme that actually appeals to this difficult age group. It might be hard to figure them out sometimes, but by putting the kids themselves in charge, you`ll end up with far better results.

Yearbook themes for high school students need to be right on or they will just scoff at all your hard work!

It`s pretty much inevitable that you will end up using the same theme as another yearbook at some point in time, since it`s very difficult to find completely unique yearbook themes. That being said, there are times when you borrow an existing yearbook theme on purpose.

There are ways to make sure that even when the yearbook theme is the same as another existing yearbook, it can be like new for your school. All you need to do is make it totally different.

One way to keep yearbook themes unique is to change up the colors. Use the yearbook theme as a basis, but add your own colors. Put your own twist on the yearbook theme, rather than copying exactly what another yearbook has done.

Recycling yearbook themes don`t have to be the same old dull boring thing each time. If you`re using a phrase, try changing the meaning for your yearbook theme. Get creative and have fun.

One fun way to create a unique yearbook theme is to go with a movie theme. This can be easily done with a few of the following tips:

• Film strip borders. Rather than leave them just black and white, why not put some actual photos in those tiny slots and let students try to figure out what the scenes are?
• Cartoons. Add in some fun cartoon strips drawn by students and representing school life.
• Film portraits. Take photos like they were being shot in a film . . . in front of a green screen, in fun poses or even recreate the scene from a favorite movie.

While there are a lot of different ideas for yearbook themes, going with a movie theme can be a fun way to create a unique yearbook. It`s something that can be endlessly changed, so you can pretty much guarantee that you won`t have anything like it for competition.

So, you have a great yearbook theme and your students are excited about it, but what if you don`t execute it well? Without the right polish, even the best yearbook theme can fall flat on its face!

Here are a few tips for making your yearbook theme shine:

• Play it up. It`s fine to go over the top with a yearbook theme and make it overly obvious.
• Twist it. Use different meanings of the same theme to make the entire yearbook fascinating to students as they unravel the different meanings.
• Work it. Use your theme in everything. This is a lot of fun, turn titles into plays on words to reflect the yearbook theme, captions, borders, etc.

Most of all, just have fun with the yearbook theme that you`ve chosen. Let your students come up with great ideas on how to use it and turn it into something interesting, your passion will shine through the photos and yearbook layouts.

What do good yearbook themes have in common? That`s the question to ask yourself when you aren`t sure of whether or not your yearbook theme is good. Check out this list of signs that a theme is an excellent one.

• The students love the theme and are all talking about it.
• It`s an original, not found elsewhere.
• It`s clever (not just to you, but the kids).
• The yearbook theme captures the essence of the school.
• It`s something that everyone at school can relate to.
• You love it so much, you wish you could use it again next year.

Coming up with a great yearbook theme can take time and patience, as well as some major creativity. If you aren`t sure how if your theme is actually any good, check it against the list above. You`ll quickly realize whether you should look for a new theme or just go with the one you have.