AP’s 2008 Photos of the Year

‘Tis the season for “best of’s”! From the LA Times’ Best of 2008 Photography section, here are the 32 best photos from the Associated Press…

Check out the LAT entire Best Of section here. Happy browsing!

-Adam

Font Shuffle – FontShop.com on Your iPhone

Here’s the scoop from The Unofficial Apple Weblog guys:

“If, like me, you do a lot of your font shopping at FontShop, you’re sure to love FontShuffle.

FontShuffle is like having a copy of the indispensable FontShop catalog right on your iPhone or iPod touch. I know my dog-eared copy from 2002 needs to be updated and/or retired: FontShuffle is a nifty, free replacement. It’s ideal for situations where you know what look you want, but don’t know what font to use.

FontShuffle lets you choose from six major classifications of type: sans serif, serif, slab serif, script, blackletter, and display. Tap one, and FontShuffle shows you six more sub-categories to choose from. Tap one of those, and you’re presented with six selections from the FontShop catalog based on the look you selected.

If none of the fonts fit the bill, press “Shuffle” or simply shake the device to get six more fonts. Tapping a font lets you view a customizable string of text in that font, and even save a picture of the text to your device’s camera roll. Rotating the screen displays a specimen.

Unfortunately, FontShuffle can be frustrating if you know what font you’re looking for, as there’s no search tool. You have to shuffle through page after page of fonts until it comes up in a random selection. Also, FontShuffle doesn’t contain FontShop’s entire catalog. They promise to add more fonts in upcoming versions.

FontShuffle is free, and available from the App Store. It’s a must-have for any type geek or designer that needs a font reference handy.”

To download the link in iTunes, click here

Would you like an easy, automatic and secure way to accept photo submissions from parents, teachers and students for use in the yearbook? Now you can do just that with Herff Jones’ eShare!  Now students, parents and teachers can contribute content to the yearbook staff by uploading photos directly to your school’s secure space on the web, logging in with a code just for your school. You have complete control of which images you’d like to use and can log-in to download the files 24/7 with your YBAccess username and password. We have fliers ready to send out announcing this new service for your school and banner graphics for your school’s site. Contact us for more information and to sign up!

-Adam

Yearbook Discoveries Volume 13 Issue 1 Out Now!

Be on the lookout for the first issue of the completely re-designed Yearbook Discoveries national newsletter from Herff Jones. If you didn’t receive it before the Thanksgiving break, it might be in your pile of mail today and it’s full of great information, including work from local schools.

In addition to great articles on surviving your first year of advising, developing a voice for your writing and extending coverage, this issue’s Photo Corner was written by yours truly. Click here to download a PDF of the Composition Cards I talk about in the article. Did you know you can download PDFs of all the articles in this issue from yearbooks.biz>Resources>Yearbook Discoveries?

Join us in congratulating these teamSlye schools featured in this month’s Discoveries: Casa Roble HS for their CSPA Silver Crown, NSPA Pacemaker Finalist and sample spreads in the Design Concepts article, Center HS for their 2007 NSPA Pacemaker Finalist and sample spread in the Eye of the Beholder article, Colfax HS for their sample spread in the supplements article and San Juan HS for their sample spread in the Establishing a Voice article. Great work!

Editors’ Checklist for December

It’s the beginning of the end for 2008. Finish the year off right with this checklist for December:

- Take remaining group photos; complete the groups section.
- Check the progress of winter sports; update scoreboards.
- Submit underclass portrait sections, if not done on first deadline.
- Process completed pages before holiday breaks and testing schedules.
- Update your “hit list” (easily with the HJ Indexer plug-in) to make sure coverage is complete.
- Make sure the winter holiday won’t cripple your January deadline.
- Make sure the ladder is updated and copy shipment records are accurate to avoid confusion.
- Prepare to receive proofs. Let us know how to contact you in case we have questions about your proofs during the break.
- Post personalized name lists around campus to be proofed by students.

Proofs
Remember, proofs are intended to be a check that the pages have been worked correctly in the plant and for making slight modifications, NOT for completely redoing the pages. After you make your corrections, print completed proofed pages and re-package your InDesign files carefully.

Indexing
Once all the pages in your first work order of proofs are completely correct, now is the time to scan those pages with the HJ Indexer tool to begin building your index. The HJ Index builder scans your InDesign files and automatically finds the names on the spread for you to then edit as necessary.

Name List
The listing of students for name plates and name stamps is due on Friday, January 16. With the hectic pace of testing and holiday breaks over the next few weeks, don’t put this off until then! Lists can be submitted in Excel format or generated through the HJ Clique software. Don’t forget to include the names of students who’s books were purchased online. A complete distribution list can be download from Yearbook Access at www.hj-ybs.com.  (Don’t forget names for any special books such as the principal, library, advisers, staffers/editors or exchange books!)