When creating a stunning book your yearbook team will be proud of that’s also affordable, hard choices need to be made. Finding the right balance between a sensible budget and inspired design is crucial.
An easy way to mitigate skyrocketing costs during the yearbook production process is to use free digital tools available online. Yearbook teams can use a wide variety of digital resources to complete essential production aspects, bringing down the cost of a yearbook substantially.
Using free photo editing tools, layout design software, and useful communication apps preserves your budget for unavoidable costs, like book cover style and page number preferences. Not sure where to start? Check out the following suggestions. We’ve rounded up eight of our top free digital yearbook design resources to help maximize your design efforts and your budget.
Top Free Yearbook Design Resources in 2020
Finding inspiration and creative ideas for designing a cohesive yearbook can require a lot of research. Sifting through multiple resources in search of a perfect image, page idea, or unique personal message can consume hours and can feel overwhelming.
Stay calm and keep your design idea search simple by focusing on the online resources many yearbook teams consistently find reliable.
Pinterest: A social media platform for finding design and inspiration ideas, Pinterest is a fantastic place to find and share yearbook design ideas. Create different collections within the Pinterest app to keep the ideas you find organized and easily accessible.
Unsplash: Stock images may not be what a yearbook editor recommends to use as part of a project’s image collection, but, sometimes a stock image can offer design and image editing inspirations. Unsplash is a free, online collection of stock images anyone can sift through, download, and incorporate into a project as needed.
Free Online Image Editing Tools
Photo editing tools required when editing yearbook images don’t need to have a costly subscription or licensing fees to be effective. Try any of the following image editing software options. Each of these options is equipped with powerful image editing tools, as well as being easy to use, while also producing professional results on any budget.
Adobe Photoshop Express: A free version of Adobe Photoshop, the Adobe Photoshop Express version of the software gives yearbook teams the ability to edit images with professional quality from almost any mobile device. Intended for editing images for social media platforms, the free app allows yearbook images to be edited on the go and is easy to learn.
GIMP: A bit more challenging to learn than other free photo editing software options, GIMP is an ideal choice for those looking to explore professional graphic design and image editing. Tutorials and an extensive online community make GIMP a reliable option for yearbook committees to depend on for many years.
Picresize.com: If you just need to make simple changes, you may not even need Photoshop or Gimp. As the name suggests, this site makes resizing photos a snap! Just upload, choose your dimensions, and save in a web friendly format like jpg, png, or gif. If you want to add special effects to you can, as well as flip or rotate an image. It’s free, very user friendly, and ideal for quick edits.
Budget-Friendly Yearbook Layout Software
Page layout and design is the key to developing a consistent and unified looking yearbook. After staff members have planned the look and feel they want to convey in their project, put those ideas together easily with one of the free software options below.
Scribus: A publishing software for desktop applications, Scribus is well-suited for yearbook teams to learn about publishing processes, while also staying within budget. For students learning the program, we recommend opting for the stable version of the software.
Canva: For a graphic design program that’s intuitive, versatile, and free, Canva is a good option. Use Canva to develop page layouts, or to take advantage of the full availability of adorable graphic elements. There is also a robust image library, though some images cost money.
LucidPress: Offering web-based design solutions, LucidPress makes their software free for students to use upon request. The company’s education account gives students the ability to access the features of the professional account at zero-cost.
Of course, there may be others perhaps you’d recommend. Did we miss any amazing digital apps for yearbook design? Leave a comment on our Facebook page.
Tips to Manage YearBook Costs without Sacrificing Design Quality
Incorporating free digital services and programs in your yearbook planning process is a smart and efficient way for a yearbook staff to manage available resources. If, however, you prefer the stability and support of licensed software to plan your yearbook, consider FutureBook Yearbooks. With our affordable pricing program you can have the option of including access to an easy-to-use and robust yearbook online software. We believe that producing an extraordinary book doesn’t have to be overly expensive.
For more information on how FutureBook Yearbooks can help your team create a cost-effective yearbook, contact our team.