2019 Yearbook Contest – Application Opens SOON

The IHSPA Fall Yearbook contest application is opening up SOON!

The contest will open for entries starting May 10.

No additional changes to the contest have been made since last year, aside from the alterations made to the Evaluation and Critique Guide. However, these changes do not affect the contest entry process.

For anyone who may want a reminder about the contest process and guidelines, there is more information below:

Entering the Contest

To enter the competition, click here. Once on the Better Newspaper Contest website,  select contestant login and locate the 2019 IHSPA Fall Yearbook Contest (Iowa).

The deadline for entering the contest will be August 26.

All students are permitted to enter the contest, provided their school is an IHSPA member school.

Contest Guidelines

Each publication may enter up to five examples of work for each category. This does not include the Cover/Theme and Reader Services entries, of which there may only be one per school.

Entries may be from individual students, or they may be completed by groups, and they must all be submitted online as PDF documents. While some students may be entering into multiple categories, each entry must be submitted separately.

Photo entries should be submitted with only the photo and the caption used in the layout.

All entries must be from the previous academic year.

Other Contest Details

Schools are divided into three classes, based on enrollment size. The contest is divided this way with schools only competing against the other schools in their same size category. IHSPA has a specific system for determining each school’s size class, so please indicate your school’s total enrollments for grades 9-12. These numbers will be compared and divided into the three classes as evenly as possible.

Judges are encouraged to award 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, and honorable mention awards in each category.

Costs for the competition are described below:

  • There is a $1.50 entry fee, which is applied per entry.
  • The minimum number of required entries to participate is 20, so the minimum cost for the competition is $30.
  • The maximum number of entries is 92, which would total $138 in entry fees.  

Upon completion of the entry form, you will be directed to the IHPSA site to generate a bill for your entries and IHSPA dues.

After submitting entries online, mail payment to:

IHSPA Fall Yearbook Contest,
100 Adler Building. Room E346, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242

While costs do go with the number of entries, it is highly encouraged for schools to submit as many entries as possible to increase their chance of winning Yearbook of the Year.

The categories for the contest are listed below:

CategoryDescription
Feature photo with caption / student life, school relatedEnter photos that tell a story. The emphasis is on capturing people living their lives, so do not enter posed photos. Subject area encompasses school events, academics and organizations. Use photo techniques like framing, leading lines and low or high angle. The photo demonstrates good exposure and shutter speed. Include a caption.
Feature photo with caption / student life, out-of-school relatedEnter photos that tell a story. The emphasis is on capturing people living their lives, so do not enter posed photos. Subject area encompasses student life out of school. Use photo techniques like framing, leading lines and low or high angle. The photo demonstrates good exposure and shutter speed. Include a caption.
Environmental photo / captionEnter photos that show the personality of a person/group of people. The emphasis is on portraying the essence of the individual/group. Most likely, this will be done by posing the subject/s in an environment that helps tell the story. Use photo techniques like framing, leading lines and low or high angle. The photo demonstrates good exposure and shutter speed. Include a caption.
Sports action photo / captionEnter photos that tell a story. The emphasis is on action so do not enter posed photos. Use photo techniques like framing, leading lines and low or high angle. The photo demonstrates good exposure and shutter speed. Include a caption.
Sports feature photo / captionEnter photos that tell a story. The emphasis is on reaction to what has occurred in a sporting event, so do not enter posed photos. Use photo techniques like framing, leading lines and low or high angle. The photo demonstrates good exposure and shutter speed. Include a caption.
Story / student life, out-of-school relatedThe story goes beyond reporting facts to highlight an interesting angle. Subject matter encompasses out of school angles. Several sources and ample use of direct quotes bring robustness to the story. Include the headline.
Story / student life, school relatedThe story goes beyond reporting facts to highlight an interesting angle. Subject matter encompasses school events, academics, organizations or sports. Several sources and ample use of direct quotes bring robustness to the story. Include the headline.
Personality ProfileThe story goes beyond reporting facts to highlight an interesting angle about a person. Several sources and ample use of direct quotes bring robustness to the story. Include the headline.
Sports StoryThe story goes beyond reporting facts to highlight an interesting angle about a school sport. Several sources and ample use of direct quotes bring robustness to the story. Include the headline.
Infograph /ModCommunicates interesting information in an alternative form to story writing.
Entries could include charts, fact boxes, quote boxes, maps, question/answers, polls, step-by-step, how-tos and more.
Photo IllustrationThe illustration tells a story. Any item that uses photo manipulation qualifies.
CoverThe cover introduces the theme, which fits the school and the particular year. The design uses visuals that embody the theme catch phrase. The entry must be student-created work.
ThemeInclude the cover, the front and back end sheets, the opening spread and one division spread. The theme fits the school and the particular year. The cover introduces the theme. The theme carries over to the end sheets and the opening and division spread. This must be combined into a single PDF.
Design / Opening, closing or division spreadThe spread presents information in an organized way. It showcases the theme. and includes feature coverage in the form of photos/captions, stories and/or infographs. The layout represents a marriage of words and visuals and uses white space effectively.
Design / summer to December eventsThe spread presents information in an organized way. It showcases any event in students’ lives and includes feature coverage in the form of photos/captions, stories and/or infographs. The layout represents a marriage of words and visuals and uses white space effectively.
Design / January to June eventsThe spread presents information in an organized way. It showcases any event in students’ lives and includes feature coverage in the form of photos/captions, stories and/or infographs. The layout represents a marriage of words and visuals and uses white space effectively.
Page designs will be judged on the following criteria:
▪ Effective use of photos, color, art, graphics and typography
▪ Established visual hierarchy
▪ Contemporary appeal
▪ Contrasting elements of size and color
▪ Effective use of white space
▪ Creativity
Design / MugsThe spread presents information in an organized way. It showcases mug shots and includes feature coverage in the form of photos/captions, stories and/or infographs. The layout represents a marriage of words and visuals and uses white space effectively.
Page designs will be judged on the following criteria:
▪ Effective use of photos, color, art, graphics and typography
▪ Established visual hierarchy
▪ Contemporary appeal
▪ Contrasting elements of size and color
▪ Effective use of white space
▪ Creativity
Total PackageTotal package spreads will be judged on the following criteria. Winning entries will use a combination of these elements to tell the story.
▪ Writing
▪ Photos and captions
▪ Graphics, infographics and art
▪ Design elements used to help tell the story
▪ Interesting and unique angles
▪ Video elements or web links (Aurasma)
AdvertingAdvertising Includes business advertising and senior tributes. The layout uses typography, photos and graphics to bring attention to the business or individual. 
Reader servicesThe book uses devices that help readers locate information. Submit the table of contents, title page, colophon and one spread from the index. Page folios will be considered in conjunction with the index spread.

Yearbook of the Year Competition:

All schools participating in the Fall Yearbook Contest are automatically entered into the Yearbook of the Year competition.

As mentioned above, each category in the Fall Yearbook Contest will be judged for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and honorable mentions. For each of these awards, the publication/school will receive points. The school with the most points in each class will win Yearbook of the Year for its class size.

 

For questions about the contest, IHSPA membership, or payment, contact Paul Jensen at [email protected] or 319-335-3318.