How can we make our yearbook easier to read?

IT’S ALL ABOUT THEM.
THE BOOK SHOULD BE EASY TO READ.
CONSIDER THOSE WHO WILL BE USING YOUR BOOK.
EVERYTHING YOU DO MUST BE A READER SERVICE

You’ve heard it before and maybe paid lip service to the concept, but in today’s world of multiple distractions and alternative opportunities, remembering the reader is king should be your mantra.

It doesn’t matter how compelling the story might be or how awesome the theme concept, if the content is hard for the reader to consume, the efforts of your staff will go unnoticed.

Consider this guide to make your yearbook a reader-friendly experience.

1. CHECK, CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK Contents should be specific so finding the great material on the inside is easy. If you have a two-section book, be sure you tell the reader where they can find sports or, academics or spirit week coverage. Don’t forget to double check the contents listing to be sure it is accurate. Nothing destroys credibility faster than turning to page 52 where Sports should begin and finding yourself in the middle of the chess club coverage.

2. SPINE RULES The name of the book and the year belong on the front lid so the reader knows from the get-go what is being read. The name of the book, year, volume number and school belong on the spine so when placed on a shelf the book is easily distinguished.

3. QUOTE, UNQUOTE Captions should have a definite link to the photo whether the caption touches the photo it describes or is part of a caption cluster. Be certain the caption gives the reader information that is not obvious in the photo and provides a follow-up to the photo action. Including a direct quote from the center of interest or about the center of interest is a great reader service and provides another opportunity for more voices to appear in the book.

4. KEEP SCORE Every sport should have a scoreboard listing the opponent, the score and the season record. Having that information with the team picture makes it easy for the reader to know how well the team did that year.

5. DON’T OVERDO It Drop caps, initial letters or copy starters are best when the letter is not separated from the rest of the word. A beautiful design is less so if the reader has to search for the complete word.

6. PAGINATE Folio lines (page numbers) on every page, or at a minimum on the right-hand pages help the reader find their way through a book. Don’t make the reader do the math to figure out where a topic is located.

7. TEACHER APPRECIATION It’s a reader service and a more complete story of the year when the information next to faculty pictures includes name, subjects taught and clubs sponsored or teams coached. Some schools even include where the faculty member attended college. Again, this is just good reporting when it comes to the record-keeping function of the book.

8. INDEX EVERYTHING A good index will include one alphabetical listing of everything that appears in the yearbook, not just the students. Many schools distinguish non-student items by placing them in bold face or color. An additional service is a topic index that runs as a sidebar in addition to the normal listing.

9. NOBODY LIKS TO SQUINT Part of the record-keeping function of a yearbook involves including group and team pictures that are cropped so faces are identifiable and not so small they really can’t be seen. Identifying captions should include clear indicators of where to start looking at the photo. So use Front Row or Bottom Row rather than Row 1 and Back Row or Top Row rather than Row 5. Captions that give first initial and last name only tell us just part of the story so be sure group and team captions use complete names.

10. JUST THE FACTS MA'AM In addition to theme-related material, the title page should give the name (title) of the book, year, volume number, name of school, complete address, phone number, website URL, school population broken down by class, faculty and staff. Some schools are even including the athletic or activities conference in which the school competes.

Contributed by Linda Puntney
Herff Jones Special Consultant