Yearbook Terms

Graphic

A design element which may be used to enhance the look of the book. Should relate to the theme idea.

JPEG

A file format used for images. It is best used for photographs and pictures with a lot of different colors.

Font

A group of characters (letters, numbers, and symbols) that have a similar appearance...like Calibri or Arial.

Rule of thirds

A guide for image composition in which the frame is divided by and imaginary tic-tac-toe board. The subject should be placed in the area where the horizontal lines intersect with the vertical lines.

Action shot

A non-posed photograph that is taken while an activity or event with movement happens.

ladder

A page tracking system that allows you to plan what is going on each page in the book. We could view all of our pages with this.

Sidebar

A separate element, related to the page content, usually set to one side or across the bottom or top of a spread.

Pixel

A single dot or square of color that forms part of an image. If you zoom in on an image these are visible.

Section

A specific area of the yearbook that contains related pages like : Athletics, Administration, Academics, Clubs, Seniors and Underclassmen, Student Life

white space

Any area on the spread that does not contain photos, text, graphics or other elements. It should be located on the outer edges of the spread.

Copy/Body Copy

Any of the TEXT on the spread, including headlines, stories, captions.

Infographic

Chart, graph, map or other illustration that explains information that might be too complicated to share in paragraph form.

Spine

Connects the front and back covers. Usually has the name of the school, volume number and year.

Crop

Cutting or removing unwanted areas from a picture to get the most important part.

Caption

Explanatory text that not only identifies the who, what, where, when, why and how of a picture, but also tells something extra. Identifies students/grade level as well; usually 2 sentences minimum

Bleed

Extending picture beyond the edge of the page on one or more sides leaving no external margin.

Spread

Facing pages which are linked conceptually as well as visually. All pages, except page 1 and the last page of the book, are part of a spread.

Eyeline

Formed by arranging photos or other page elements to form an even band of white space used to visually link a spread and draw your eyes to the main part.

blurry

Fuzzy, unfocused, unclear, indistinct photo that should not be used.

Divider Pages

Introductory pages to the different sections of the book; follow the theme visually or with similar narrative. Usually used in larger books of 100 pages or more.

Headline

Large, sometimes bold type which attracts the reader and gives information from an article.

End section

Last section of the book which wraps it up--often dedicated to the yearbook staff.

Table of contents

Listing of divisions and the pages on which they begin. Usually used in large yearbooks of 100 pages or more.

End sheets

Located inside front and back covers. Helps to secure cover to inside pages. Usually has table of contents and follows theme design concept

Folio

Page number and/or spread identification, usually positioned in the bottom corners of the page.

Template

Pre-designed page with picture areas, caption areas, headline area and text area already in place. Pictures, text and graphics can be dropped into place on the template.

Clip Art

Pre-made illustrations, drawings, pictures, borders and other graphics that can be inserted into a page

Portrait/Mug Shot

Student or Staff picture, a photo of a person's head and shoulder area only. School photos are sometimes called this.

theme

The central idea or concept; the narrative or pictorial thread that unifies the various parts of the yearbook.

Herff Jones

The company that prints and publishes your yearbook, does your senior photos and makes senior rings and graduation announcements.

Gutter

The fold between two pages where the pages are bound into the cover.

Fontsize

The height of characters measured in points

Dominant photo

The largest photo on the spread. Should be about 2 times larger than any other photo.

deadline

The latest time or date by which something must be completed or submitted

cover

The outside of the yearbook, usually a hard surface printed with the name of the school, the name of the book, the theme and the year.

editing

The process of making changes, correcting errors, and making your project visually appealing to your audience--the customer.

upload

The process of transferring your digital images FROM your camera to a website or computer. It is sending a file from your computer to another system.

Resolution

The quality of an image. The higher the number such as 300dpi, the better the photo will print out or enlarge.

Columns

Vertical areas on a layout sheet. Most design is based on 6-column or 8-column layouts.

marketing

a sales plan, any activities that encourage customers to make purchases:, A group of activities designed to encourage sales.

Assignment

a task such as a photo shoot, a page spread or an editing duty to be completed by a staffer by a deadline

collaboration

act of working jointly; working together on a project

Candid photo

photo taken of somebody, when they didn't know it was being taken