InspirationInstant

August 2015 • Lifetouch Yearbooks Division • Volume 1, Number 1Brought to you by your Lifetouch sales professional:

Choosing and planning the theme

Inside Ideas in an instant • Theme: From the cover to the last pageWhy have a theme?

page 2

For theme ideas, go to this site:

http://portal.sliderocket.com/BGUZY/Sec-Theme-for-slide-rockethttp://yearbooks.lifetouch.com/files/files/YearbookThemeIdeas.pdf

For theme development ideas, go to this site:

Developing the theme verballypage 3

So...You’re new to yearbook, or you’re very experienced, or you fall

somewhere between those two areas. How do you survive? Where do you

find new ideas? How do you make the job a little easier?

First, contact your Lifetouch yearbook sales professional to meet,

discuss ideas, and answer questions. Your yearbook sales professional will

help you and your staff choose a theme, design a cover and plan your book.

Second, discuss what’s new and different about your school. The

questions on page two will inspire the discussion and will help students

choose just the right theme.

Third, work with your Lifetouch professional to create a design that

reflects your theme. Use that strategy on all the cover and theme pages.

Fourth, finalize your theme statement and create theme-related titles

for all division pages.

Fifth, brainstorm with students to determine ideas for theme-related

photos, copy writing styles, and secondary module titles.

Visual theme developmentpage 4

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Analyze your school:The theme and its purpose The yearbook theme is the unifying device that holds the book together ver-

bally and visually. The best themes reflect specific, unique aspects of the year.

For example, if it’s an “odd year” numerically and if your school is facing new

and different challenges, the staff might choose “One Odd Year” as the theme.

If the school is making cuts due to a budget shortfall but trying to do more

with less (fewer faculty, less money, etc.), the staff might select “Less is More” as

the theme.

If there are no unusual aspects to the upcoming year, the staff might focus on

the unique personalities in the school, using “You-nique” as the theme.

What works for one school may not work for another. It’s

important to choose a theme that truly reflects the events and

personalities within the school.

Theme elements The theme statement or a reference to it

appears on the cover. If a staff chooses to print on

the endsheets (the heavy paper that holds

the book to the cover), the theme appears

on the endsheet with theme-inspired titles

for each section of the book. The theme

appears again on the title page (page one),

opening section, dividers and closing section.

To emphasize the theme in each section, consider

adding theme-related titles to the secondary coverage

sidebars in each section.

The final decision:

Based on this analysis, list three theme ideas for your 2013 book:

What is your final theme choice?

Why does this theme work best?

Where to include the theme:

Cover

Front and back end sheets (if printed)

Title page (page one)

Opening spread (pages 2-3)

Division pages

Closing spread (last spread of the book, if space permits)

Parting page (last page of the book)

Assign section titles

List theme-related titles for the following sections:

Opening section:

Student life:

Sports:

Academics:

Clubs/organizations:

People

Closing section:

Parting page:

Why choose a theme?Discuss the following questions with your staff. Write your answers in the spaces below or on separate sheets of paper. Answers to the questions will help students create just the right theme for your school this year.

1. What is the name of your school?

2. What is your mascot?

3. What are your school colors?

4. Where is your school located?

5. Describe your location (inner city, mountain top, country)?

6. What traditions are important to your students?

7. What part of your school makes your students proud?

8. How is your school “above average?”

9. Describe your school in one word.

10. Describe your student body in one word.

11. How do rival schools describe your school?

12. Describe your school’s faculty.

13. What clubs are most outstanding in your school. Why?

14. What athletic event is most significant to your school each year? Why?

15. Where would we find your student body on Friday night?

16. What’s the first thing visitors notice about your campus?

17. What physical changes or other changes will occur at your school next year?

18. How do community, national and international events affect your school?

19. What challenges is your school facing this year?

20. How is your school dealing with these changes and challenges?

21. List 20 adjectives that describe your school:

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Design style and graphic elements:

Assignment: Create theme-related design elements for the following parts of your book:

Folio (page number) design ideas:

Headline design ideas:

Secondary coverage headline design ideas:

Cover design elements to reflect the theme:

Describe “the look” of your book:

Type choices:

Theme logo type:

Body copy/headlines:

Captions/headline:

Theme-related module titlesAssignment: Create theme-related module titles to use throughout the book.

In the area below, list phrases that relate to the theme of your book or the theme of each section:

Section Theme-related module title

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