The theme is the main idea around which the yearbook is based.

The theme is the main idea around which the yearbook is based. 1

To achieve the highest impact, the theme should meet the following criteria: --In addition to having a distinctive visual look, there should be a memorable verbal phrase. --It should fit the school. The students need to be able to identify with the theme. --The theme should also relate to the year. You might use concrete details in your copy and reporting captions to make it fit the coverage year. -- And, most important, it needs to easily identified by the readers. 2

When you are creating a look for the theme, there are a number of different decisions you ll make. There should be a specific font family that is used on all theme pages. It s wise to choose a family that has many variations or weights (like light, medium, bold and black). The other option would be to select a very distinctive font that is the essence of the theme. Then, you would only use the theme font for headlines on theme pages. In addition, you ll want to choose logical colors, shapes, patterns and textures to help make the theme package identifiable. Most importantly, your choices need to make sense. If you are using six colors to make the sections distinctive, all six should appear on the cover. If you intend to use packages of two vertical elements to support your theme statement, it would be crazy to have a bar with three horizontal photos on the cover and a cluster of five square photos on the endsheet. Your decisions regarding your theme look should be made after careful consideration and should be maintained throughout the book. 3

You will see those visual identifiers repeat every time the theme is presented. Each presentation may be a little different, but it should be clear when the readers come to another one of those pages. The theme will first be shown on the cover and again right away on the endsheets and title page. On the opening, you ll be able to provide some details about how and why the theme fits your school and the coverage year. The dividers tie the content of each section to the main theme and the closing brings the main idea full circle. You might use both the verbal and visual aspects of the theme to develop secondary and tertiary coverage packages for your yearbook. The visuals will often repeat themselves in the folios and the letters that divide the index. 4

In addition to the visuals for the theme, there are guidelines about the information that should appear on the cover of the yearbook. On the front flap, the name of the book and the year should be present with the statement of the theme. The spine of the book should list the name of the school (with city and state), the name of the book, the year, the volume number and either the theme statement or the logo which identifies it visually. Even if you have a small book with a thin spine, you should try to fit all required elements on the spine; 14 or 16 point type is fine 5

The cover introduces both the theme and its identifiers, establishing visual patterns which will continue inside. Look how easy it is to identify the type, color, shape and patterns the staff has selected. 6

The same logo, colors, font and patterns of contrast established on the front flap are used to list the information on the spine. 7

If you print on your endsheets, they should include both the table of contents and repetition of the theme statement or logo. If your endsheets are not printed, you should choose a color that coordinates with your theme or leave them plain white; don t introduce different graphics here. 8

There should be no doubt that the endsheets are part of the same visual and conceptual package. A couple of quick notes about the table of contents: First, there s no reason to label it as such; it will be clear that s what it is even without a label. Also, while many schools will rename the sections to go with the theme, it is important that the traditional section names appear in the listing so there is no chance the readers will be confused. While it might be clear to you as staffers that, obviously, Unique would be the People section, that might be a stretch for some of your readers and you never want them to have to wonder where the clubs section is Last (and this is pretty picky), feel free to list only the first page in each section. Anyone can figure out that if the people section starts on page 68, then 66-67 is the last spread of student life. 9

All of the information that appears on the title page is there so that anyone can, at any time, know how to reach the school and obtain certain facts about that school year. The theme, the book name, the publication year and the volume number are there as a matter of record. The contact information for the school should provide complete street address (with city, state and ZIP) and 10-digit phone and fax numbers. Don t forget the school s Web address and population counts for both students and staff. 10

Believing that more of a good thing is better, some staffs add other details as a matter of reference. They name the principal, break the student population down by grades and include the name of the athletic league in which school teams compete. 11

Don t forget the rules of design when you re worrying about fitting all of these required items on the page. Because there IS lots of content, it becomes even more important to have a strong visual hierarchy. The visuals which tie to the theme will be dominant and the other information will get physically smaller in size as it decreases in importance. 12

There s no one answer for how many spreads your opening should contain. While a single spread might be fine for most themes, two spreads make most sense for then & now and comparison & contrast concepts or themes like Twice as Good. By like token, a three-part theme like Before, During and After or Yours, Mine and Ours would really call for three spreads of opening. But no matter how many pages you decide to use, the opening needs to continue the use of the theme s visual elements, adding specific copy details that tie it to both the school and the year. The photos should be action shots packed with motion, emotion, action or reaction. And they need to be accompanied by thorough captions that answer all questions and provide additional information that was obtained by interviewing the subjects of the photo. On this single opening spread, the designers added the secondary quote package to remind readers that the five sections are all about u while providing IDs for the cover photos (they NEED to be somewhere). 13

The dividers should once again repeat the theme graphics introduced on the cover and they should look like, but not be exactly the same as, the opening. Notice how the headline treatment and caption starter have been altered to include the name of the section. The series of five quotes continues with reactions not representing the five sections, but from coverage within the section. To cover more people, these small shots will not be repeated inside the section. But because the tightly cropped action shots are more interesting than five similar shots of people lined up against a brick wall or with their back in the bushes, that s the way these informal portraits were taken. The shape of the dominant photo has changed and the first photo from the series of five on the endsheet finally has a caption and complete ID. 14

The content pages should look like they come from the same book as the theme pages but will not repeat all of the theme identifiers. In this case, it s a single-font book so that IS the same. But the overwhelming U is gone except for the heading on the secondary copy package. Instead of repeating the theme colors, the designers have incorporated pick-up colors, taking cues for the pair of colors used from the photos on each spread. The headline style will remain consistent inside the student life section as will the use of a single group caption for all candids and secondary coverage which varies in format according to the spread and the way each story can best be told. 15

The next divider means a headline change, repetition of the theme art and another package of five sectional quotes. Because the subject of the dominant photo would have been looking off the page, the layout was flopped so his eyes would lead the readers into the theme logo instead. 16

Another divider carries the theme through the book, adding specific details about how that section is tied to the theme. 17

The font s the same, the structure of grids and internal or external margins is the same and, since it s another content section, the headline and secondary headline and copy starter have a new format. As in other sections, only the heading on the secondary coverage package ties back to the theme visuals. 18

Another divider 19

another section. The consistency of the dividers holds the book together and the flexibility and variety of the sectional designs keeps it interesting and compelling. The consistent attention to detail, use of many student quotes and group captions with the candids are supplemented by yet another distinctive headline design and additional options for secondary coverage package incorporating the U from the theme. 20

The final divider points out a couple more places where the staff achieved highest impact because of attention to detail. From the minute they selected the words for each section, they knew there was disparity. Any design that used the section titles needed to accommodate both the 13 characters in Unforgettable and Understanding and the 6 in Unique. As a result, the size of the type was always determined by the longest word from the start. All too often, when we look back at the dividers of a book as a package, we see fluctuation in heading size due to the failure to plan. If every divider has a different sized headline because that s the biggest that fits, the impact is less than when they are all the same size. And remember when the format of the second divider was flipped because of the direction the subject in the dominant was facing? If possible, it s best to have that happen more than once so it doesn t look like a mistake. 21

The final content section presents another visually connected, yet clearly different, sectional plan. Notice how the screened numbers in the main headline influence the design of all other display type in the section. 22

Even the letters that separate the index entries alphabetically take their form from the theme visuals introduced on the cover. Notice all of the things the staff did to make the index easy to use. They ve coded the entries (seniors are heavy, topics are medium italic and others are light) and a hanging indent means that only names hit the left margin. Anyone whose index entry requires a second line will find that line starting a pica to the right of the lefthand margin. 23

The closing is the opening, flopped. The starters to the five quotes are once again the names of the five sections and the copy, which began with a U on the opening has been written so that the last printed words in the book are, you guessed it: it s all about U. Visually, verbally and conceptually, the closing brings the theme full circle. 24

Let s take a look at three books that did a great job of developing their themes. 25

Beginning on the cover, the staff of the View established those visual identifiers that set the book apart. The combination of the two fonts, the horizontal bar and the pattern of five photos will appear every time you hit a theme page. 26

On the endsheet, the photo pattern is repeated and each photo represents one of the book s five sections. In addition to the tradition section, each theme header plays off the word In from the theme. Independence, Individuality, Intensity, Insight and Inclusion appeared in the same handwritten font as the word In. 27

The color, the fonts, the bar and the photo pattern repeat on the title page. And, since the cover photos have already appeared twice, there s new content in those shapes. Clearly, part of the same package. 28

The opening s blue background sets it apart while using the established visuals. 29

By NOT using the heavier background on the dividers, the opening and closing were clearly different than the dividers. The colors established on the endsheets returned on the dividers and the bar moved lower as readers progressed through the book. In addition, a large dominant was added to the design and the photo package decreased a bit in size 30

The pattern was continued as each new divider appeared. Consistency is key. 31

The closing, like the opening, repeats all of the key elements to bring the theme full circle. 32

The varsity letter tipped on to the cover is the strongest visual of this theme. A cool play on the school s monogram allowed the staff to focus on distinctive attributes of the school 33

Because the large C for Carlson also reads as See, the staff saw no need to rename the sections. If worked fine for them to have the readers See Student Life, See Sports, See People, etc. 35

The photo is one that screams the theme. Even when the letter s not chenille, it s power is clear. 36

Rather than do the expected and repeat the varsity C, the staff used word pictures and an array of images to allow the readers to SEE THE DIFFERENCE. 37

On the second spread of opening, the same flowing copy and huge dominant with inset images share more differences 38

Merging the looks of the opening and the varsity letter, the divider creates an identifiable presence, 39

The dividers provided consistency as the readers worked through the book 40

Adding to the list of things that contribute to Carlson, the next divider tells more of the story. 41

In another textbook example of theme development, the staff created strong visuals on the cover and carried them throughout. NOTE: Ask students to identify the visual identifiers they used (the color blue, the sans serf font in all lower case, the vertical stack of words, the bar, the pattern of photos and the partial cut-out should all be listed). 43

The endsheet is an obvious display of the same identifiers. Notice how each section is a different attribute of the school. 44

Even the title page makes use of the staff of our listings. In addition to the requisite information, it provides the hint that the words are more than a texture Those words change and foreshadow coverage. 45

An extended opening provides a spread of details pertaining to each section. Notice the silhouetted photos 46

because they appear in order 47

On the spreads that explain the sections impact on the overall theme 48

By the seventh spread of opening, the silhouettes have all been repeated and the sections woven together so that the copy ends logically: THIS IS OUR STORY. You know the routine. Our better is better than your better. 49

The dividers provide visual and verbal development for each section. The blue bar is filled with photos leading into the section while the silhouettes cleverly illustrate the main concepts. 50

There are layers and layers of development in Rampages. It s unlike that readers will get all of the details the staff applied to the theme s development. The reporting in this book is amazing and the theme package are filled with the same kinds of details and stories as the content pages. 51

The main headline, the illustrative silhouette and the copy at the bottom right require more attention, but the color the type, the bar and the stacked verbal listings make it clear from the start that the reader has reached another spread in the conceptual package 52

As the book ends, the readers again travel full circle. The closing is strongly connected to the opening and both visually and verbally brings the theme to a logical conclusion. 53

We ve covered the traits of great themes, learned the components required in various locations, and walked through the development of a hypothetical theme from cover clear to the closing. Then we saw three books and examined the ways they developed their themes. When you have an idea and you ve imagined all the ways you could make it work, it s time to test your theme. Can you answer yes to each of these questions: 54

If your theme is not recognizable, repeatable, relevant, refreshing and reaslistic 55

It truly is, probably time to rethink it! 56