Cover Design

You can't judge a book by it's cover or can you? That initial appearance can really set the tempo for what is to follow. The talent displayed on a yearbook cover can certainly be indicative of the layouts within the book. Really take time and place emphasis on your cover.

Before starting your cover design, spend some time developing the theme for your book. Talk to students, staff and administration. What is the focus of your school? Brainstorm ideas without judgement initially being passed. Next, start to narrow down the theme and possibly integrate suggestions that have come forth. Once a theme has been selected, consider throwing the theme out to the school and ask for participants who would be interested in designing the yearbook cover. Establish the parameters of the book: size, colour, need for type placement, etc. Give a time frame for submissions after which the yearbook committee would make the final selection. Announce the design winner to the entire school but keep the design itself a closely guarded secret! This heightens the excitement surrounding the yearbook itself. Involvement of students in theme selection and cover design results in a sense of ownership. Invariably, schools that adopt this approach, find that yearbook sales go up.

Now, what to place on your cover. Remember that the spine of the book should have the school name and year of production. Since school terms run over two years, most schools indicate this and have something like '2003 - 2004' rather than just '2004'. Make certain that your type stands out against the background design and has good contrast. On the front cover, you may wish to repeat the school name. Also, this surface should establish the book theme. This is usually accomplished with the inclusion of art, photography and type. Remember that your overall design should run from the front, over the spine, and onto the back of the book. All too often schools have a design that appears only on the front and the back is left blank. Try to avoid this if possible.

Look at a few Canadian books below and decide for yourself what you might like.

The University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Ontario

Excellent use of a front-back design has been used. The graphics appearing on the front continue on the back. The background pattern and overlap of elements provides a three-dimensional impact. The design vignettes from a darker tone in the centre to a lighter tone on the outside. Art and type contrast well with the background.

 On page one of their book, they used a translucent paper to include their book theme "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end." The careful placement of the type allowed the reader to see the dynamic close-up of a child's eyes on the following page. What a great start to the book!

St. Basil Secondary School, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario

The theme of the book was 'Life's an open road'. They selected photographs that depicted this theme and had them overlap to give a three dimensional design. The dominant photo on the front was repeated as a small image on the back to give front-back unity. The sepia tones were also used to maintain this unity. The type on the front cover; "When starting on a journey we all must choose a path. Take a moment and think about the road taken." reinforces the theme well. Type on the back; "The road leads to many places." again reinforces the theme. Type contrasts well with the black background on the spine. The colour of the type is pulled from the colour in the sepia photographs. Just excellent work!

 St. Basil Cover

George P. Vanier Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia

Two photographs were used in this design; one in the lower right on the front and one in the upper left on the back. They appear as light blue duotones and bleed off the cover and vignette into the black dominance which provides the background. The theme of the book was 'Undefinable'. Simple and too the point! Small supporting type wraps from the front to the back to offer design unity. The type contrasts well with the background.

Notice how they have extended the theme onto the front end sheet with the additional type "We are diverse. We are Undefinable." and the blue colour is maintained. Also, using the front end sheet for the 'Table of Contents' frees up page one for additional content. Excellent use of negative space and simplicity create a great overall design.

Pinetree Secondary School, Coquitlam, British Columbia

This book stands out initially because of the attractive and unique landscape format. The background image is a screened photograph of the school which has beautiful architecture. All the type is surprinted on top of the light background and excellent contrast is established. The theme "Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace", is clearly stated on the front cover.

The use of three vignetted architectural photos form the basis for page one. Simplicity, excellent use of white space, and great photography provide impact throughout this book. Note the effective use of the rule and supporting type below the photographs.