We see it everywhere: ads, websites, DVD covers, movie posters, magazine covers… Why not in yearbooks? Here are some current design trends from justcreativedesign.com to get you started thinking about your 2010 book…  (If you do use any of these design elements in your yearbook, send me a .jpg of the cover/endsheet/divider page/etc.. and I’ll post it!)

1. Rays of Light

2. Black (or Colored) Silhouettes

3. Ink Splatters/Grunge/Hand-made

4. Swirls and Flourishes

5. Flowing Lines

6. Funky Circles

7. Smoke Textures

8. Simple/Clean (my own addition to the list)

This is most clearly seen in all of Apple’s marketing and in the recent Pepsi re-design. It is characterized by one clean font (usually sans serif), a lot of white space, and in Apple’s case at least, a reflection as though the object is sitting on glass.

Here are some samples from simoncpage.co.uk that combine 2 or more of these elements:

Here are a couple of 2008 yearbooks that incorporated some of these design elements:

For more award-winning yearbook designs, click here to visit Herff Jones’ Yearbook Showcase.