My time on the Willow Canyon High School yearbook staff has pushed me to develop my design skills, and over the past three years, it has become one of my favorite aspects of journalism.
My design style has changed each year with the new yearbook theme, but I can tell that my senior year is my best yet in terms of design. I designed the cover, theme copy spreads, dividers, and various mods, reference and gut spreads.
cover
I designed this cover with a team of editors and a professional artist at Yearbooks@TheBeach camp this summer. This cover set the tone for the design of the whole book. We used the 45 degree angles and broken up text to illustrate the organized chaos that is each day, reflecting our optimistic, open-ended theme of “Let’s see what today looks like!”
theme copy spreads
Theme copy is meant to explain the message of the verbal theme, and that means connecting it to the visual theme as well. I used the phrase “the possibilites of today are endless!” in the same type as the theme on the cover and put the copy in slanted spaces to illustrate a sense of curiosity and spontaneity.
student life section divider
The divider acts as a sneak peek into the section, so I chose bright stripes and emotion-packed images to demonstrate the attitude of the Wildcat student body. I also created an interaction between the large cutout of the Choir singer on the left page and the guy throwing up finger guns on the top right page, which I felt added to the light-hearted, upbeat vibe of the spread and section.
clubs and academics section divider
This spread serves as a look into the academic and artistic excellence our school possesses. My colorful design reflects the creativity of the students featured on the spread: student organization leaders, student government officials, thespians, photographers, and social justice activists alike.
sports reference spread
The reference section holds the factual, historical records about the school year, but that does not mean it has to look boring. My design aims to be functional and aesthetically pleasing. The pink “row” titles break up large chunks of caption text so readers can easily locate player names, the season record or schedule boxes stand out from the photo captions, and the sports are grouped together by season and arranged by hierarchy. Volleyball, golf, and badminton all share a season, so they share a spread. But Varsity Volleyball is larger than JVA and JVB because it is more advanced. Golf and badminton, on the other hand, do not have Varsity and JV, so they are all the same size.
girls basketball gut spread
Finally, the gut spread. Designing the cover, theme spreads, and reference spreads were new experiences for me, but the gut spread is something I have been able to improve upon year after year. I designed this spread to capture the energy and determination of the girls’ varsity basketball team using a mix of bold typography, dynamic imagery, and warm, energetic colors. I designed the style guide to combine script and serif fonts for contrast, and for this piece I used diagonal accents and cut-out action shots for movement and excitement.
my growth
It took trial, error, and feedback to get to that level. Below are four spreads from my first two years in yearbook. The top row shows two gut spreads from my sophomore year, and the bottom row shows two from my junior year.
Looking back, I have learned a lot about design and would do a few things differently today. Below, I have outlined the feedback I would give my underclassman-self on these spreads.
My growth in design over the past few years has helped me be a better EIC for my staff. I know how to help them design their spreads because I can advise them to not repeat my mistakes.