The Yearbook Blog

“JUMP!” is a great late-night deadline song by Van Halen, but also a commonly used technique in magazines and newspapers. Jump coverage makes your readers turn the page (or multiple pages)

• From Organizations, a story on Key Club jumps to the Senior section, highlighting graduates at the Key Club banquet
• A student life story about the school’s first dance could send readers to the 6^th Grade spread with poll results on how many attended the dance
• Cover individual sports that students play outside of school hours and then link those captions to the same students on their mug page

Jump coverage, while commonly used in magazines and newspapers, is showing up more often in yearbooks. This is when a story continues on a second page, forcing the reader to jump to another location—either the very next page or sometimes an entirely different section of the book. Jump coverage works best when the book’s theme sets up the situation, like “There’s More to the Story” and “From Here to There.”

We see this used a lot with an extended opening, but don’t just stop with the obvious. Using jump coverage, a story on Key Club can jump to the Senior section, highlighting graduates at the Key Club banquet. A student life story about the school’s first dance, could send readers to the 6^th Grade spread with poll results on how many attended the dance.

Of course jump coverage requires good planning because it’s only successful when you give the page number for the follow-up story. Also, don’t pass up opportunities to link your main story to a sidebar on a different location—anything that keeps your students turning those pages!

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “J” 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…

The Cullen gang in the Forks High School cafeteria

Do the words Bella, Edward, Jacob, La Push, and Forks bring chills of excitement to you? Well, Forks High School, where Bella and Edward of the “Twilight” book series met, is now offering you a chance to be a part of the official “Twilight” spread of the official “Twilight” High School! For only $2, you can vote for your favorite locations from the books/movies that will appear in the yearbook. In addition, everyone who votes will have their name printed in the book. Visit the Forks High School website for more information and to download an official entry form.

What does this mean for you?

As you brainstorm your themes for 2010, think about what your school or town famous for? How can you incorporate it into your theme? Better yet, how can you turn it into a fundraiser? Brainstorm ways to get the community involved!

And don’t forget the virtual community. Think about how many “Twilight” fans Fork High School has reached globally by placing their contest info on their school website! And don’t just stop at your school website, use social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to advertise your book and contests as well. Don’t know how? Ask your students!

I was browsing the internet for design inspirations and came across PrintCreate.com’s collection of Barack Obama posters. Not only is it a collection of today’s hottest design trends, but it’s a gold mine for yearbook theme ideas as well. Here are just a few examples…

To see the full collection, visit printcreate.com
And if you love the iconic look of artist Shepard Fairey’s poster of Obama, you can “Obamicon” yourself at obamicon.me