Hmmm, so you’re stuck using one of the most ubiquitous typefaces that has plagued the earth since the advent of digital typography.

Times is a tested workhorse, but it lacks all flavour. For Times, I’d really recommend you using it larger than you’d regularly use it. Times can be quite beautiful at large sizes. Try spicing it up by not using black and white, but a grey (with a decent enough contrast to be read easily on whatever background you choose, at least a 40% difference in tone, 60% is best)

I assume this is mainly a black and white book?

What I’d recommend, and this is opinion, but choose only 2 typefaces for the entire book, and stick to them. I’d recommend a serif and a sans serif. You have Times chosen for you already.

Go through the sans-serif typefaces you have and see what pairs well with Times, and to feel them you have to get both of them big on your screen.

Also, once you start designing the pages, print them out and touch the pages, rotate the pages, flip them upside down and just look at the shapes of the letters. When you print a typeface it becomes tactile, it has a different feel.

I’m sure, if you were to being designing the yearbook, you could upload a layout page to the forum and get a critique on it and some better adive once we all see how you’re using it.

Best of luck with your yearbook, that’s a fun and important project!

Thanks for the advice innovati, Will certainly post a layout or 2 on the forum to get some feed back. The yearbook is full colour which i guess will give another dimension to work with choosing a limited palette so not to get to busy.
cheers
for now

G

well, if I was going to be doing a yearbook, one tool I’d have in my little box of tricks is this:

Vector illustrations!

I don’t know what software you plan on using for the yearbook — I would be doing it in indesign.

One tool that is invaluable is a lot of high-quality vector illustrations, and I use two main sources for mine because they aer quality, free and consistent.

Oxygen icon set

this is a pretty awesome set, and you can snag the colour palette from their site and use that in your layouts so the layout colours match the illustrations. For somebody who has little or moderate experience at this, this will save you time, stress and let you sleep at night because a designer better than me or you has chosen colours that work for us in advance :-)

It can be sneaky to get the icons, because you have to check them out of SVN or find a download of them elsewhere, but they’re licenced to open-source so you’re free to use and modify them.

oxygen palette

Tango Project

this icon set uses more a more trendy and limited palette, but there are less icons available. They are also open-source and free to use for any purpose, so go nuts and check them out, you’ve got nothing to lose!

tango palette

Hope these resources will help you, I know I refer to them or their colours palettes on almost every project I do!

Best of luck to you!

Thanks again, will be using Publisher to do the yearbook......only messing, InDesignCS3 is absolutely the only tool to use and with a couple of tweeks and additions could make illustrator vanish. I also have a couple of colour tools i’ll share as i find them ex useful.

cheers again

G

I would try a narrowish contrasty sans.

hhp