The Yearbook staff works each year to put together a yearbook for all students, faculty, and staff. In the elective class, students spend three to four hours each week finding photos, designing, editing, and writing.
This year’s staff is smaller than previous years with eleven members including head editors Carly Harris ‘21 and Mia Owen ‘21.
Trent Boysen, the faculty sponsor and teacher for the course, is responsible for communicating with the yearbook plant and overseeing the work of the staff. But creative decisions are ultimately made by editors with input from the rest of the class.
“It’s the staff’s book, not Mr. Boysen’s book,” said Harris. “He helps put our ideas together, makes our big design pieces.”
Editors also design the ladder of the yearbook, which is the order of the pages and chapters. This year they’ve decided to make it chronologically, and are currently working on finishing the fall section. The staff use this framework to find content for the pages chosen. With much of the fall season and typical events missed because of the pandemic, the staff is facing a lack of content compared to previous years.
Communication is another challenge in this year’s process. Editors are usually able to talk to an artist who designs the cover of the yearbook. In person, they can fully convey their artistic ideas, having it look as close to what they imagined as possible. This year, editors are talking to Mr. Boysen, who talks to someone, who talks to the artist.
“When [the message] goes through three people it’s not conveyed well, and our ideas can get lost in translation,” said Owen.
Rather than having staff members make art for the inside pages, this year they are also trying to incorporate art from the student body. Students are invited to draw something representing this year, quarantine, an activity they enjoy, etc. Owen will then turn the drawing into a digital illustration, adding color and putting it into a polaroid frame to scatter them through different sections. Students interested in sending in a piece can contact Owen or Harris, or email the class at yearbook[at]email.usn.org.
Owen and Harris enjoy the creative freedom that the process allows them access to and look forward to continuing to work towards finishing this year’s book.
