We love nothing more than seeing yearbooks personalized with each student’s memories. Custom pages embedded within the pages of classmates, activities, and school-wide celebrations deliver more than memories. They celebrate the uniqueness of the individual holding the yearbook. Congratulations to all the parents who created and shared their designs. The following six wowed our panel of designers and yearbook parents to earn the top honors in either the K-8 category or high school one.
K-8 Custom Page Winners
First Place: Laura Dauley, IL
“I wanted to honor Harper’s eleven years at Mayer with custom pages that show her journey from beginning to end,” Dauley said.
Why we loved it: this spread looks like it could be a magazine ad. It’s clean. The photos have a strong alignment. Dauley’s use of the canary for both Harper’s name and the years adds balance where the polo shirt could have been a distraction. The negative space in the parent message is a place of rest for the eyes among the thirteen photographs.
Second Place: Nicki Prettol, TX
Since her son loves baseball, “it seemed fitting to give him baseball-themed custom pages,” Prettol said.
Why we loved it: Again, the use of color made the designers on the judging panel smile: the orange is in both photos and text, unifying the design. From the stats on the left-facing page, to the highlights on the right, Prettol used a little text to make a big impact.
Third Place: Colleen Packman, TX
“As his elementary ‘mission’ comes to an end,” said Packman, “I couldn’t think of a better way to represent his time than to relate it to one of his favorite hobbies.”
Why we loved it: E-sports and cyberpunk are trending in the design world. That alone made us take a second, third, fourth (you get it) look. She used subheadings to organize the content in a game UI.
High School Custom Page Winners
First Place: Ethan Scrogham, IL
“This year I am a senior and wanted to put something to show all of my accomplishments and activities,” said Scrogham. He compiled this spread using photos from the past four years.
Why we loved it: The story. Scrogham’s involvement increased each year (as did his smile). Seeing a freshman on the court wearing a mask grow into a campus leader is a portrait of resilience.
Second Place: Amie Kelp, MI
“This [creating a custom page] is the best way to personalize a book possible,” Kelp said. She created over ten to celebrate her daughter and the memories they made.
Why we loved it: The title made us smile, as did the pet photos. Kelp used the border color to visually connect related adventures, which brought some order to the collages.
Third Place: Kirsten Megaro, NJ
Megaro said, “As homeschoolers, most of life is part of our learning. This first spread gives an overview of our year.” Each child also has their own spotlight custom pages spread for their personal memories.
Why we loved it: This spread shows the impact three people can have on their family and community. Megaro matched the photo styles bringing unity to the various backgrounds and locales. She also made the busy background work by using white text blocks with transparency.
