This question has been put to us by many a yearbook customer and it’s a very good one! Although there is no actual answer, we can still give you a few helpful pointers on what we see in great yearbook examples. Has this been a helpful answer? Probably not, so here are some suggestions on ways to ensure that your yearbook has the ‘must-have’ pages and flows perfectly.
Start at the beginning with an introduction – a Foreword, Message from the Author, or at least an Introduction is a good solid way to start. Ninety-nine percent of the time the first page is an opening paragraph from the Headteacher, a Senior Leader, or a message from the Yearbook Committee. I’m all for bending rules, so alternatives could be a montage of photos from your first year, or even a beautifully designed title page.
Now we’re on traditional yearbook ground. If there were a yearbook rule book of some sort, inclusion of the next two page types would be written in indelible ink!
Teacher Messages
Teachers get in on the action too, and we know it can sometimes be hard to think what to write, so we’ve created a couple of blog posts to get you inspired. We get a bit watery-eyed reading fond memories of fun things you’ve done as a class, and positive thoughts for the future (because they’re the best).
Student pages
Sharing is one our favourite things, and student profile pages give everyone the opportunity to share a memory, their plans for the future, or even a full retrospective of the past five years (although this may be a bit lengthy). We often see students comments lead by a series of questions, such as the standard, “Where will you be in 5 years time?” or more adventurous “Who was your teacher crush?”.
Photo Pages
What can possibly be more essential in a yearbook than photos?! Absolutely nothing in our opinion. Friendship groups, trips, Drama productions, fancy dress & non-uniform days and Prom pictures – all of these are well worthy of your yearbook’s printed pages. So, what if you’ve got a ton of photos? That’s ok, a popular way of displaying a large amount of photos is in a montage. Photo montage pages fit snuggly in any part of your yearbook. Bonus!
Reward with Awards
A yearbook isn’t just about remembering, it’s about rewarding top talent too. Crown those best (and worst) for their efforts in being the ‘Best Teacher’, ‘Best Couple’ ‘Biggest Poser’, ‘Best Singing Voice’, there are literally millions. What are people going to be remembered for?
Signatures
When people in your year become movie stars, sporting idols and ‘the next Mark Zuckerberg’ imagine already having their autograph! Signature pages are a fantastic way to end your yearbook; and make it easy to find the page on your last day to grab as many signatures and messages as you can.
The page ideas don’t stop there my friend – there’s a hugemongous choice of fun yearbook pages you can use, whatever you can stretch your imagination to really! Baby photos, birthday pages, awards pages, trips pages, sports, student life, yearbook committee, look-a-likes, the list goes on and on and on….
