Columbia Scholastic Press Association

Advanced Yearbook - Design Emphasis

Experienced students will explore the main components of yearbook (writing, photography, layout) with an emphasis on graphics, photos and typography as related to storytelling and design. Enrollees should have some page layout experience using In Design and Photoshop. Tips and tricks to enhance digital images and create special effects and graphics for content-driven design will be shared.

Students will use photos, text, graphics, fonts, and their imaginations to design contemporary yearbook spreads using Photoshop and InDesign. This sequence will balance copy writing, technical know-how with artistry to ensure that the stories of the year are told clearly, distinctively, and creatively.

Supplies: Laptop computer with Photoshop, InDesign and any fonts you may be using in your 2009 book installed (don't forget the mouse and power supply!); magazines with design ideas; a copy of your 2008 Yearbook; digital photos will be provided for your design use, but feel free to bring your own.

Optional: digital camera with batteries, charger, card and card reader.

Students will:

• Master design terminology.
  
• Learn to think thematically.
  
• Understand the importance of finding a voice and putting a personality into their writing,
  
• Identify different ways of telling stories to keep their books varied and interesting.
  
• Design and personalize pages to present their book’s theme.
  
• Analyze content to determine the best way to visually present the story behind it.
  
• Improve and enhance photos for maximum print quality.
  
• Use good judgment and restraint in creating graphics, backgrounds, and special effects to enhance, rather than compete with stories.
  
• Develop a “total book look” through effective use of fonts, headline styles, graphic details and thematic touches.
  
• Learn shortcuts and tips of the pros to ensure an effective workflow.
   

Assignments 

• After viewing a variety of examples, students will adapt their own sample pages to create a matching style.
   
• Students will improve and enhance sample photos with a variety of common problems to practice color correction, sharpening and cropping.
   
• Students will write sample headlines, stories and captions.
   
• Students will design spreads and templates for use in various sections of their yearbooks.
   
• Students will create pages with judicious and moderate use of color, transparencies, effects, and fonts as graphics to enhance the presentation of stories.
   
• Students will develop a thematic approach to design in order to give a consistent look/personality to their book.

Sequence Instructor

Crystal Kazmierski is the adviser to Wings, the yearbook at Arrowhead Christian Academy in Redlands, CA. She teaches design, writing, and photography at summer journalism workshops. She received a CSPA Gold Key in 2002 and was the JEA National Yearbook Adviser of the Year for 2000. Her students have earned CSPA Crowns and NSPA Pacemakers for Wings.

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