Business Advertisements and Dedications

What they are & how they're created

ALL PHOTOS DISPLAYED AND USED WERE PROVIDED BY THOSE WHO PURCHASED THE ADVERTISEMENTS/DEDICATIONS AND HAVE ALREADY BEEN PUBLISHED IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL YEARBOOK

Full-page dedications were purchased through yearbookforever.com. The photos used were received through the website and then sent to the editors and staff so they could use those photos to create dedications and business advertisements to go into the Marquee yearbook. 

The time it took to create and design each page to fit each photo sent varied based on the number of photos each parent/business owner sent in to use along with the desired text sent in to be placed. I've faced multiple challenges designing full-page dedications and advertisements because of the number of photos and long lengths of text sent in to use. I overcame this by moving certain photos around, changing the size of photos, and testing out different areas where pictures could be placed. This was especially carried out when there was a lot of text. 

Each dedication on this page is consistent with the colors used. Not only does this make the spread look more appealing, but it also contributes to the overall mood of each dedication. 

For example, the two dedications on page 324 (bottom left) complement each other while also giving each other a chance to shine. The colors behind the photos and text are pulled from the dominant photo for consistency. Overall, pulling those colors ensures that the dedication is appealing to the eye while also impacting the overall mood.

An example of this can be seen through the blues on page 325 (right). The different shades of blue contribute a sense of nostalgia and serenity through its impactful use of colors associated with the dominant photo.

Not everyone wanted to purchase a full-page dedication, and that was perfectly okay! It's all about completing the puzzle and ensuring that those dedications reflect time and thought on how they were designed as well as making sure each dedication has its own space.

When planning out what types of advertisements or dedications will go on each page, the size of each one purchased ALWAYS needs to be considered. If not, everything will be disorganized and some advertisements/dedications will look out of place. This will affect the overall look and consistency of the pages that came before them. 

Creating these dedications and advertisements is one big puzzle. Each one has its place and the right fit to complete the overall template and look of the spread. I didn't face many issues planning the layout because I didn't rush doing so. This way, I could ensure each advertisement and dedication wouldn't feel out of place.

After contacting parents for more photos, some said they only wanted to use one, and though it may seem like you can't do anything to make that design better, there's always something to be done. 

Again, the consistency of how dedications are designed is crucial to ensuring that no one feels like their dedication was worked on less than others. Each one should be designed so that it's cohesive with the others. 

I personally struggled trying to find a way to make one picture look "right" for this (page 347, right) dedication by changing the text color and moving the first and last name around onto the actual image, but it just didn't work out. I didn't want anyone to consider it "better" than others that also had one photo. As a result, I did what I could to ensure the picture was as big as possible, and moved the name in the middle of the space to give it a "fuller" feeling. The text was placed on the far right since it was a poem and the structure was unable to be changed.