Creating cohesion throughout your book requires both a verbal and a visual theme. Here are some tips on using graphics to help with keep your book visually unified:

• After choosing your verbal theme, choose a visual theme that illustrates or matches your concept. For example, if your verbal theme is “Traffic”, your visual theme could be a blurred effect in photoshop which illustrates constant movement, or it could be dotted lines mimicking street dividers. There are many ways to visually illustrate a theme concept. The key is pick only one, or your book will look too messy.
• Have students keep a graphics notebook of ideas they find in magazines, ads, newspaper, menus, websites, etc… which use your graphic element. For example, if your element is “paint splatters,” there are so many ways this could be executed, it would help to narrow it down with an example from a professional publication.
• Once you decide on your graphic element, find a variety of ways to use it throughout the book. Change it for every section, but keep it consistent within the section. For example, if your visual theme is interlocking circles, you could have them go across the entire spread horizontally within Student Life, but for academics, they go vertically and only through 3/4 of the page behind the headline…
• If you haven’t used Photoshop Brushes yet, experiment with these to create your ideal graphic. There are plenty of free brushes available for download online.
• Check out theyearbookblog.com for the 8 most popular graphic elements in design today.

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “G” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…