04 alternative copy forms

Alternatives to Traditional Story

PresentationLizabeth A. Walsh, MJE

Ideas are everywhereKeep your eyes open for sidebar design & treatment ideas.oBillboardsoPostersoFliersoBrochuresoAdsoMagazinesoInternet pagesoOther schools’ yearbooks

Create a wallCreate a wall (or window, or door, or ceiling)(or window, or door, or ceiling)

Everyone gets to bring in ideas

Post them during school time Then create an idea file for summer camp

time

Don’t be afraid to design them differently when you make them your own

R&D DOESN’T stand for Rip & Duplicate. It means research and develop- on your

own

A few examples from A few examples from RHSRHS

We scoured magazines all year

We had a plan for design elements- not complete designs or templates

We changed ideas to fit our needs

We have brainstorming & assignment sheets we use to gather ideas in a concrete manner (for grades & communication).

Alternative Copy IdeasAlmost all the letters from A-W

because I couldn’t find ideas that began with J, K, R, U, X, Y or Z

A, B, C or 1,2,3 captions A, B, C or 1,2,3 captions togethertogether

Quite often you can group photos in a montage, mark them with letters, and caption the entire group together in a single caption space.

Advice boxAdvice box

You can provide suggestions or advice in a small box that leads reader to other resources on the topic.

Bullet Entry PointsBullet Entry Points

Rather than having a very long block of copy, break it into smaller ideas with bullets or dingbats

ChartsCharts

To compare, contract, or quickly list similar characteristics of dissimilar things, charts work quickly and are easily understood.

Cut out backgrounds with Cut out backgrounds with wrapped text or cutlineswrapped text or cutlines

A COB’ed photo can illustrate or demonstrate without taking the space of a regularly placed photo. The text can wrap around the picture, creating a novel look.

Dramatic quotesDramatic quotes

If you have a quote that really creates an emotional impact on its own, use it to either caption the photo, or overprint it on a dominant photo.

Entry point Entry point subheadlinessubheadlines

You can easily break up a large copy block with subheadlines that catch the reader’s attention.

Faces in the crowdFaces in the crowd

Selecting a few students who stand out for some reason and highlighting them with a news brief is a nice incorporation of additional people.

Fast FactsFast Facts

When you have a longer story, the basic facts may be harder to find, so add a fact box to the layout and make things easier on the quick-read audience.

Good news / Bad newsGood news / Bad news

Covering news events in a news brief, rather than developed stories provides information quickly and efficiently.

He (or she) said itHe (or she) said it

Doing a “they said it” or a “he said / she said” contrast are both good ways to capture ideas, moments, and random quotes.

Identification onlyIdentification only

At the very least, each person should be identified, but not every photo requires a complete caption in some circumstances.

Inside informationInside information

A “gossip” style column of random information about people (with their names colored or bolded) gets more people included in your publication.

List with montageList with montage

Close-up photos of brand names or styles, along with the list of all fashionable things gives a time-capsule snapshot of the year.

Logo with fast factsLogo with fast facts

Creating a logo for an event and then listing the brief facts about the event can provide information quickly and easily.

Meters and measuring Meters and measuring devicesdevices

Any kind of device that is used to measure things can also show an amount for your desired information.

Montage with captionsMontage with captions

Doing a photo montage with overprinted captions or overprinted ID bars can include more faces in your publication.

NumbersNumbers

Using numbers to introduce ideas or statistics in a creative way can add interest.

OverprintingOverprinting

Either fading out a photo or reversing type to use some of the photo space can free up layout space and still provide vital photo information and a part of the story.

Photo essayPhoto essay

Although you can simply use photos with a headline (or headline package), you should probably consider captioning each photo for maximum impact.

Q&A (verbatim Q&A (verbatim transcript)transcript)

Providing the original transcript, unedited, or edited very little, along with a headline package can be effective and easy.

QuizQuiz

To get readers to interact with the material, include quizzes and score charts.

Quotes as captionsQuotes as captions

If what the person has said explains the picture and its importance effectively, just use it, and nothing else.

Quotes around the Quotes around the borderborder

Using a series of quotes and attributions around the border of a layout is an interesting way to add information.

ScheduleSchedule

Provide the schedule in an easy-to-read informational box.

Short story, great Short story, great photophoto

Sometimes the photo is award-winning, but the back story is boring. Just do a short story and let the picture do the talking.

Storytelling captionStorytelling caption

An expanded caption (instead of a cutline summary caption) can provide the 5Ws and H in three sentences with a headline.

Top 10 listTop 10 list

Or whatever kind of numbered list you want to create can give lots of info quickly.

Vertical design w/ Vertical design w/ popoutspopouts

Breaking up your page into both vertical and horizontal modules can give you more space for related information.

Who’s who or What’s Who’s who or What’s whatwhat

Running a vertical or horizontal module that lists names in the news or participants in an event, or equipment used, or whatever you want is easy and fun.

Words to live byWords to live by

Using either famous quotes or student quotes on a given topic can include more people and give your publication a “wise” feel.

All materials All materials presented…presented…

Remain the property and copyright of the various owners of the original works.

These yearbook samples were presented at BALFOUR workshops for the benefit of their clients and customers.

Please do not alter these presentations.

Use of these shows is intended only for individual adviser-to-staff classroom teaching, not for publication or reproduction in any form for any type of presentation at a conference, camp, convention, or gathering of multiple schools’ staffs.