How to Establish a Yearbook Style Guide
While establishing a theme can go a long way toward tying a yearbook together, there are still many stylistic choices to make when considering your yearbook’s design. When you take into account just how many pages are in any given yearbook, the stylistic choices multiply exponentially! That’s why establishing a style guide can save you and your team much time and energy as you put your yearbook together.
What should be included in a style guide?
While every yearbook is different, they’re mostly made up of the same elements. Fonts, color palettes, layouts, art, and writing are all typically part of yearbook design Those elements are a perfect place to start. Deciding on these stylistic decisions at the onset will provide your yearbook project with ample focus and direction. Check out our list below for more in-depth style guide tips on common elements for everything from elementary school yearbooks to sports team books!
1. Identify the tone.
Although many people may zero in on elements like color and theme when designing a yearbook, they may neglect to consider the yearbook’s tone. Should the writing evoke nostalgia? Does the team want the yearbook to inspire students as they move on to the next stage of their education? Military yearbooks will likely want to stick to a professional tone. Although this can be a simple choice, depending on the context, you’ll want to make sure that everyone on the team is on the same page.
2. Establish a color palette.
In a yearbook, color decisions will impact almost every element on a page. Although you’ll want to ensure that your color palette is consistent with your theme, don’t forget that your yearbook has to be readable! Even if you’re creating an elementary school yearbook you’ll want to refrain from using too many “loud” colors. Using a color wheel, pick up to three complementary colors that are easy on the eyes. Remember: no one wants to get a headache as they leaf through their yearbook.
3. Choose complementary fonts.
While it may be tempting to change the font on every other page, jumping from style to style can leave readers disoriented. Ideally, you should have a primary font and a secondary font that complement each other. The primary font should be used for – you guessed it – the primary elements of a page. This includes everything from page numbers to headlines and subheads. The secondary font, on the other hand, should be used for the rest of a page’s content, like captions, quotes, and body text.
4. Layout
Layout can be one of the trickier elements to codify in a style guide. Your layout guidelines will encompass everything from content modules, clipart, fun infographics, and more. Online yearbook design tools are especially invaluable when trying to remain consistent with your layout.
In fact, using online yearbook software can make sticking to your style guide a breeze. Contact us online or call Entourage Yearbooks at (888) 926-6571 to learn how we can help you create your yearbook today!