1st Place, Student Life Spread
2021-22, Division 1, Yearbook Visual
By Ashlyn Rutterbush
The Charger
H.H. Dow HS
Y-08. Student Life Spread
One spread predominantly featuring coverage of issues and activities representative of or affecting student life in the school or community. Student life topics might include homecoming, prom, current events, trends, work and other issues affecting the daily student experience. Coverage emphasizing sports, academics or organizations should be entered into the respective category. Chronological books should select a spread whose dominant story contains student life coverage.
Judging Criteria
- Designed as two-page visual unit, arrangement of photos, headline, copy, captions and white space invite reader onto spread and show careful planning
- Dominance is established and other elements are arranged in such a way as to lead reader’s eye around spread
- Adequate external margins provide frame for spread contents and are defined by at least one element on each side
- Photos effectively cropped, of varied size, shape and content
- Content concentrates on a variety of action photos that help tell the entire story; posed photos are avoided
- Center of interest in photo(s) is not trapped in gutter; action and faces in photos do not face off spread
- Non-rectangular photos, tilted photos and other special treatments are used sparingly and effectively to enhance overall design
- Graphics and typography enhance readability and attractiveness of design
- Primary/secondary headline combinations have a contemporary design and establish a visual/verbal connection between photos and copy
- Type sizes for primary/secondary headline combinations are appropriate for the design; the primary headline should appear in largest type on the spread
- Copy and captions are a readable size and use a readable font
- Captions should touch photos to which they refer. Group or clustered captions are permitted, but attention has been paid to making them easily accessible to reader
- While designs may be innovative, they adhere to journalistic guidelines
- On spreads that include multiple sidebars/mods, a clear hierarchy has been established
- A horizontal eyeline has been established