Different yearbook themes can do a variety of contrasting things for supporting and guiding the direction of your entire publication. Some themes are bigger and bolder, directly taking over the pages and sections of your book with ease. Others are a bit more subtle, finding their ways into the pages without getting too “theme-y.” And sometimes, this less themed option can be the perfect way to guide your vision without going overboard with trying to gear everything you do towards a very specific look and feel. So when you’re searching for the perfect theme that offers a more understated vibe, a “25 Words or Less” theme could be your perfect choice! And to help you build out a great yearbook around this kind of easygoing theme, I’ve got my favorite ways to work it into your book below.
A “25 Words or Less” yearbook theme can be perfect for elementary school yearbooks – it keeps the copy nice and short!
Photo Credit: Flickr User Massachusetts Secretary of Education
Short and Sweet
When you’re looking for a theme that really lets the photos do most of the talking for you, this is one of my favorite options. Like the name implies, you should try to keep all of your sections of content to 25 words or less. It’s a great motivator to shorten up your copy and get to the point quickly, which can be a great way to encourage your students to practice their short form writing skills. They’ll have a blast coming up with ways to shorten up the longer copy that usually ends up on the pages of your school’s publication and learn a ton about communicating more efficiently – which can be a super helpful skill to have as they get older. Just make sure your content doesn’t go too far into the ‘text speak’ realm – too many abbreviations (LOL, anyone?) can get confusing really quickly!
Quick Quotes
One space that this particular theme can really make an impact is in the quotes section of your yearbook. In fact, it’s a great way to get even more inspirational fodder from the leadership at your school, by asking them to craft a quick piece of advice for the students in less than 25 words. Plus, these are always the kinds of fun challenges that everyone will enjoy reading. And because it really does require your administration to be short with their thoughts, you don’t have to worry about editing a bunch of content down: the yearbook theme guidelines speak for themselves!
Get Punchy
As with any short form text, it can be a fun and easy way to get a little witty with your captions and explanatory copy. And that is certainly a way to make the yearbook more fun to create and a lot more exciting to read. Encourage your yearbook committee to get creative with all the writing they do by incorporating some short poetry, distinctive words and alliteration to weave more exciting words into the pages of your book. This theme does more than just create a fun way to gain a new perspective on yearbook creation: it’s also a great way to teach your students some new writing skills.
Getting Creative with your Yearbook Theme
If you have a lot of diversity in your student body that you want to really reflect across every page of your yearbook – or you just want a less strict yearbook theme to work with – then a “25 Words or Less” concept is the perfect choice. Not only does it give you more flexibility for more unique photo shoots across all of the varying groups on your campus, it’s super fun to work with. And as you’re creating all of this fabulously short and sweet copy, you can rest easy knowing that this year’s book will definitely be something the rest of your students absolutely love to read!
