Main photo: Teacher Tara Schmidtke (front right) accepts the recognition from Ross Atkinson, along with some of the students who worked on the yearbook (back from left) Lacy Lewis, Elizabeth Reynolds, Jessie Powell, Sami Thorton, Micayla Stayer, Kym MacLeod, Victoria Perry, Mary McKay, Urvi Patel, and Taylor Smith.
When Morgan Armour was appointed lead designer for the Huntsville High School 2015-2016 yearbook, he knew he wanted to do something different. He had no idea that impulse would lead to recognition far beyond the school walls.
Armour just finished his first year of a graphic design program at Fanshawe College and recently learned that the yearbook cover design he created in his victory lap year was selected for inclusion in a best-of-the-best collection of yearbooks from around the world by publisher Herff Jones.
“I was overwhelmed – I wasn’t expecting anything but I’m very excited that something we worked on collectively was recognized,” said Armour.
It takes many students to complete the yearbook, but first it starts with a concept. Students in the yearbook classes – grades 11 and 12 – submit a concept at the beginning of the year and present it to their peers. It is voted on by the students, with some input from the school’s art teachers.
“The concept goes beyond the cover design,” says teacher Tara Schmidtke. “They think about what Huntsville High School means to them, and how are they part of it, and how can they include everyone to really speak to the essence of who the people are that it’s representing. The yearbook has to represent everyone that’s in it and it has to speak to everyone.”
A screenshot of the HHS design in Herff Jones Ideas That Fly Volume 22
One of the first things Armour did when creating his concept was look at past designs. “They all looked similar and they all looked like yearbooks. I wanted this one to inspire and have it stand out through the years.” He chose a modern splash of all the colours of the rainbow to emphasize unity.
Once the concept and theme have been decided, the students build the yearbook from there. The effort is complicated by two different classes working on it in different semesters – the grade 12 class starts the process and the grade 11 class finishes it off. And the students have to learn new skills that many haven’t used before: how to write copy, how to use the design programs, and how integrate with businesses and solicit for ads.
“We have between 20 and 30 people building the book, how can we make it look like one person did it?” says Schmidtke. For this particular yearbook, 35 students were involved – Schmidtke’s largest group yet – and several of the grade 12s continued to help throughout the second semester.
It was that effort that prompted Schmidtke to submit the design for consideration. It was one of more than 6,000 submitted from North America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
“They worked really hard and had so much heart and so much passion,” says Schmidtke. “I felt last year was really strong and felt they deserved some recognition. I really felt they had a chance.” The students worked many evenings, weekends and holidays to pull the design together. “There was so much they put into that year. It was awesome that we got chosen.”
The 2016-17 yearbook has just came out – there are still some available and Schmitdke encourages students who haven’t purchased one to pick one up.
“In this digital age, people have pictures on their phone and there isn’t as much importance put on a yearbook. I still have all my yearbooks and I still look at them – it’s fun to look back. I hope that never dies. Having that piece of your own history, and not just from your graduating year… the book is forever. And for the students who created it, hundreds of people keep what you’ve made and to me that’s pretty darn cool.”
The collection by Herff Jones, Ideas That Fly Volume 22, “sets examples for schools across the world as they search every nook and cranny for the latest trends in the yearbook world,” says the company. “It’s a beacon of inspiration and a collection of top-notch examples of only the best of the best.”
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