High School Yearbook Themes: A List of Ideas (2024)

Before you can start laying out your book, you need to brainstorm all the possible high school yearbook themes that fit your school.

Coming up with a creative, unique to your high school yearbook theme can be tough, though. And thatcan make ready-to-use themes really attractive. A lot of those high school yearbook themes lists are just words on paper, though. There’s no visual inspiration into how you might carry the theme through to the layout and overall design. (If you ask us, that isn’t all that helpful.)

Read on, and you’ll get to read about—and see—seven ready-to-use high school yearbook themes.

7Ready-to-Use High School Yearbook Themes

#1: Journeys

High School Yearbook Themes: A List of Ideas (1)

There’s never just one way to get to where we’re going. (If that was the case, most of us would never get there.) A subway theme, with all its different possibilities, celebrates all the different journeys we take.

Some nameideas:

  • What a Ride
  • Underground Stories
  • Journeys

Graduation might seem like the end of the line for many seniors, but they they will continue on in many different directions as they begin to chart their own course. In this theme, consider using different train lines and colors for different grades. Where do they converge and intersect?

You could even do a Catch a Transfer feature with a Q & A to get to know some of your school’s transfer students. If you’re school is in an urban setting, thisis a way to acknowledge all of the vibrant neighborhoods that make up your student body.

#2: Insta-Worthy

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Is there a more popular way to share your favorite photos than Instagram? We can’t think of one. Use the app’s spirit as inspiration for your yearbook theme with this updated design.

Some name ideas:

  • #NoFilter
  • In an Instant
  • A Picture is Worth… 2017

Let’s face it, when you’re flipping through the yearbook, you’re focused on the pictures.

Using a social media theme is sure to get you plenty of likes, favorites, and flattering comments on your autograph pages. Consider carrying themes like Throwback Thursdays to show seniors when they were freshmen. Hopefully you can find an appetizing cafeteria meal for one of those always popular foodie photos. We’ll leave the filter up to you.

#3: Doodles

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What is high school besides one long day dream, interrupted by tests on subjects that teachers claim you’ll need to know for college?

Some name ideas:

  • Endless Daydream
  • Taking Note
  • Stuff as Dreams are Made On

Capture this fleeting reverie with a theme that celebrates whimsy. Enlist one of your best artists to scribble meaningful sketches, or include handwritten quotes that represent your time together. Or save yourselves the trouble and use ours.

#4: Work in Progress

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The great thing about your yearbook portrait is that even if it doesn’t turn out great, years from now you can just chalk it up to an awkward stage.

Some name ideas:

  • In Color
  • Leaving Our Mark
  • Our Magnum Opus

An unfinished painting is an imaginative way to chronicle how far your class has come, and the mystery of what lies ahead. We’ve got the palate and the canvas, now it’s up to you to apply the brush strokes.

#5:Glossy

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It’s no secret high school yearbooks are starting to look more like glossy magazines. Why not take a cue from the best ones out there?

Some name ideas:

  • Stories
  • In Print

While our theme design above is inspired by Henry Luce, the man who founded Time, Life and Sports Illustrated, you can find your own inspiration in your favorite magazines and build designs that feel similar. We also built a number of different layout options for every page and spread type, so you can focus on telling your school’s story.

#6: Shapes

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Geometric shapes are so in right now, especially when organized into mosaic patterns. And while we have a few themes that are built entirely around that concept, this one might be our favorite.

Some name ideas:

  • The Year That Shaped Us
  • Pieces of the Whole

Inspired byJørn Oberg Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, this high school yearbook theme looked to that iconic building for design inspiration. It’s a magnum opus. Just like your yearbook is going to be.

#7: Mascot

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Whether you had a super corny mascot or a team name that struck fear into rivals, one thing is clear: You and your classmates will remain Vikings/Bulldogs/Crusaders/Banana Slugs for life.

Some name ideas:

  • Changing Stripes
  • Hear Us Roar
  • A Winning Streak

Take pride in your school’s mascotand bring it to life in your pages. Say you’re the Tigers. Where will your seniors be on the prowl next year? Did you enjoy any uniform upgrades? Show how tigers really can change their stripes. We’re sure you’ve heard all the puns over the years, now use them to represent your school’s unique personality.

If those ideas don’t the gears of creativity turning, there’s plenty more where they came from. We’ve rolled out more than 33 new themes for this year, and you can explore them all using ourYearbook Theme Generator.

High School Yearbook Themes: A List of Ideas (2024)

FAQs

How do you come up with a good yearbook theme? ›

A great place to find yearbook theme ideas is in magazines. Sometimes the cover, advertisements or an article can inspire ideas. Browse the magazine stand and look at titles that are new to you – you might find a visual theme or a conceptual theme idea.

What is a concept theme in a yearbook? ›

A yearbook theme is the central concept or idea around which the coverage and design of the yearbook are built. It is a visual and verbal statement that helps highlight the memorable experiences throughout the school year, as well as the many students who contribute to the character of the school.

What are the components of a yearbook theme? ›

A theme ties the book together and sets the scene for the story of the year. A yearbook's theme has two components — the verbal tagline, and the visual design. Conceive a central concept that drives the book.

How do I find a good theme? ›

How to find the themes of a story:
  1. Identify the story elements and diagram the plot of the story.
  2. Identify the subject of the story: What is the story about?
  3. Analyze the the main character: How does the character feel? ...
  4. Summarize the story: Think about the story as a whole.

What are themes and ideas? ›

The main idea is what the book is mostly about. The theme is the message, lesson, or moral of a book. By asking crucial questions at before you read, while you read, and after you read a book, you can determine the main idea and theme of any book you are reading!

What are three elements of a yearbook theme? ›

A theme should:
  • Unify the book from the cover to the last endsheet.
  • Create a mood or tempo for the year.
  • Be appropriate for the school and the year.
  • Have both text and graphic elements.
  • Create continuity throughout the book.
  • Be visible throughout each section.
Sep 12, 2017

What are key themes and concepts? ›

Theme deals with the meaning behind the story or the main topic that the writer wants to be addressed in the story. Concept only deals with the origin of the story or the plan and it's eventual narrative that the story will take place.

What should a theme include? ›

The theme is the statement an author is making about a topic. Combine those topics with comments that reflect the author's observations about human nature. What is the author saying about those topics? What does the author believe to be true about those topics?

What are the 6 sections of a yearbook? ›

OPENING: The first two to four pages (or more) of the yearbook which introduces the theme. SECTION: A traditional yearbook is typically broken up into six sections: student life, academics, organizations, people, sports and ads/index.

What does a theme consist of? ›

In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative. Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject".

What are good things to write in yearbooks? ›

Other ideas
  • Write about a memorable moment you shared together.
  • Jot down an inside joke you have together.
  • Share an impactful quote.
  • Doodle or draw a picture.

What are 5 things you should remember when designing the layout of a yearbook page? ›

Consider these FIVE BASIC ELEMENTS when designing yearbook pages: photos, captions, copy, headlines and white space. Before placing the elements on the pages, you'll need to make some book-wide decisions regarding the structure of the spreads.

What does a good theme include? ›

A Theme IS

It isn't trite, it's not a cliché, or a maxim, or an aphorism like, “Actions speak louder than words,” or “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” It should be something that you find interesting, something a bit philosophical whose wording you have come up with by yourself.

How do you write a good yearbook story? ›

When it comes to creating a yearbook, knowing how to write a yearbook story/caption is important. Use visual nouns, active verbs, third person and past tense. Leave some white space; let your story breathe. Lastly, take time to write focused, meaningful and engaging yearbook stories.

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