Elementary yearbook cover ideas
The best elementary yearbook covers are readable at arm’s length, use colors and fonts that stay clear in print, and give children a reason to pick the book up. Start with an idea below, then run it past the checklist before you print.
What are good yearbook cover ideas for an elementary school?
- A student art winner. Run a cover art contest and put the winning drawing on the cover. The free cover art contest kit.
- A collage of student drawings from every class, so more children see their own work on the cover.
- The mascot, drawn by students. Works well for a school with a strong mascot.
- A class-by-class cover. Each grade draws one tile of a larger picture.
- One bold photo of the whole school, the building or the playground, with a short title.
- The year’s theme in one object: a backpack, a school bus, a rocket, a bookshelf.
- Handprints or thumbprints from the youngest grades.
- A school-colors graphic cover with a plain title and the year. Simple covers age well.
- A cover designed by the oldest class as their farewell to the school.
- A name on the cover. At a Rethink school, families who choose personalization get their child’s name and photo on the cover of their copy. What custom and personalized pages mean.
- A template cover, recolored in your school colors. Canva yearbook templates.
- A theme the students vote on, from a short list the committee approves.
How do we choose a cover?
Shortlist two or three ideas, hold one committee meeting, and decide before design starts. If the cover comes from a student contest, the contest has to finish early enough to scan or photograph the art. How to choose a yearbook theme covers the same decision for the inside pages.
What should we check before printing a cover?
- Is the title readable from across a table?
- Is any text too close to the edge? Covers are trimmed after printing. Keep names, titles and faces at least half an inch inside the trim line, and a little more near the spine.
- Was student art scanned or photographed sharply, in even light, without shadows? How to photograph or scan a child’s artwork.
- Do you have permission for any art or photo you use? Check your school’s policy.
- Is every name spelled correctly? Check against the class list, not from memory.
Cover questions, answered.
Can the yearbook cover have my child’s name and photo?
Yes, when the school makes its yearbook with Rethink: the child’s name and photo on the cover are included in the +$10 personalization upgrade.
Can a student’s drawing be the yearbook cover?
Yes. Many schools run a cover art contest and print the winner. Leave time to scan or photograph the art before the design deadline.
Should the cover match the theme inside?
It helps. A cover that uses the same colors and fonts as the inside pages makes the book feel planned. Pick the theme first, then the cover.
Their art on the cover.
Their year inside.
Every child is in the shared school pages of a Rethink yearbook, and families who choose personalization get pages built around their own child’s class and grade.