Creating mods is one of our favorite parts of yearbook design (let’s be honest—ALL parts are our favorite). A good mod will bring your spread to the next level.These little capsules are designed to easily slip into a spread and add interesting details or cool visual stories. The content you can include in your mods is pretty limitless, and so are the design ideas. We’ve found a few design ideas (and corralled them together on Pinterest) that have us chomping at the bit, eager to apply them to our next mod designs:
Style Mod Idea:
From Glamour’s Best Dressed 2012
We love this as a design to include a lot of students within a small space. By removing the background and showing head-to-toe looks, you are able to include a huge number of students without the image getting too busy. If you ran this across the bottom of a page, you could include up to 30 students. We are also inspired by the color-grouping; imagine if this effect was mimicked by using photos of students dressed up in the school colors. That would be a dazzling way to show school spirit. You could also showcase Prom outfits, Halloween costumes, or First Day of School looks.
Poll Results Mod Idea:
When I Grow Up from We Are Teachers
First of all, this is a cute idea for content. Straight up adorable. But the design idea can work for a bunch of different poll questions where the response is a one- or two-word answer. You could showcase favorite bands or hangouts or use this design idea to present your superlatives throughout the book.
Illustrations and Handwritten Mod Ideas:
Famous Signatures from Business Insider
We love this as a mod design for its unique way of presenting floating heads by using illustrations. We also like the idea of using hand-written components alongside a very graphic design. It creates a little visual tension and would create some great breathing room on a page that is filled with images. Depending on your mod’s focus, adding either the illustrations in lieu of photos, or adding in a handwritten element, can bring your mod to the next level.
Dynamic Team Portrait Mod Idea:
Volleyball in Motion by Shirk Photography
This is a gorgeous way to use a bunch of different students to create movement. Besides being able to use this in any of your sports spreads, you could also show students dancing, walking down the hallway, or jumping for joy. A “stop-motion” type mod, either running down one side or along the bottom, can capture motion and add movement to your page.
Infographic and Image Mod Idea:
Healthy Carrots by Nish Market
This design flawlessly mixes the elements of an infographic with still-life photography. The layering is made possible by using a transparent, white design. You could use this design with your infographics or on any simple list. Just make sure the image is bold enough to carry the treatment.
Artistic Thoughts Mod Idea:
Art Journal by Me With My Head in the Clouds
Artistic designs work great for more personal mods. We also like how the copy is presented in a spiral motion, adding even more interest. This would be a great design to use for thoughts about friendship or a gratitude spread.
Stark Contrast with Text Mod Idea:
Quotes on Creativity by Johnson Banks
Sometimes, the simplest content can make for great design. In this example, we see a bunch of quotes stacked and blocked to create a strong mod that is begging to be read. The absence of much color creates a bold visual message that stops the concept just short of being too busy.
Inventive, Organic Statistics Mod Idea:
Apple Infographic from Time Magazine
The idea of representing technology with something so organic is a nice twist, but what we really like here is the idea of recreating a pie-chart into an image. Perhaps you could even use the branch idea to represent each grade level within your school. This design is cool because it tells the main story by splitting the idea into quadrants, but there is also room for mini-stories or quotes in the place of each ‘leaf.’
Image-Centric Mod Idea:
Tiger Infographic from PBS
This shows how one solid image can carry a lot of information. The mix of photography and graphics makes this a visually striking, informative mod. This format is really adaptable, depending on what you choose as your main image. You could feature your school mascot, an athlete, a teacher, a backpack, or the yummiest school lunch. Then you just need to create some factoids and draw some arrows.
Storyboard Mod Idea:
A Story in Images from Improv Everywhere
No copy is needed when you can tell an entire story with photos. The simple presentation can be used to recreate memorable moments in the same way that students create Snapchat Stories. You can show how students abuse the snooze bar or how younger children change from the first to last days of school. All you need is a narrative and a willing subject.
Bringing Inspiration to Your Yearbook
These design ideas for mods are a great jumping-off point to get you brainstorming and figure out what will work within your pages. Pull in your own content and style tile when looking, to make sure these ideas slip seamlessly into your spreads. We’ve gathered even more mod ideas on our Pinterest page, where you can find additional favorites to spice up your yearbook.
