The Colophon - Balfour Yearbooks Blog

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented stories. Tell us how life has changed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Is it girl’s basketball or girls’ basketball? Neither actually. Sports grammar and style can be tricky, especially if you’re not super familiar with all the sports. Here’s seven suggestions to clean

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.” –David Ogilvy, British

Everyone has a story to tell. It’s an old axiom that benefits the yearbook world. Unheard stories all around us—in the next seat and the classroom down the hall, at club meetings and late-night

This post originally ran in the Fall 2018 issue of Balfour’s magazine Elements.

It’s epidemic. Texting and tweeting have eliminated the human voice. Students would rather interview via text or email

Every May, a host of Internet stories and social media posts gleefully delight in funny senior quotes. Occasionally, one of those quotes makes bigger headlines, embarrassing the yearbook staff and

Unexpected snow and Christmas lights. Pumpkin spice lattes and holiday getaways. Chilly weather and winter breaks are the perfect excuses for seasonal coverage. Bring on the winter wonderland spreads!

Sports coverage shouldn’t be terrible. But often our unfamiliarity with sports terminology or the season’s outcome results in vague or fluff-filled stories. Worse, sometimes the story is omitted

Distribution day is the best and worst day of the year. You’re so proud of the beautiful book your staff worked so hard to create. And then someone points out a mistake. And another one. And then

Colons can be confusing. It’s easy to go overboard with commas or parentheses. But dashes—those beautiful, thin lines that suggest a subtle pause or an abrupt change in thought—can be a smart

A strong social media presence—it’s the newest “must have” in the media world, including student media. While yearbook advisers and staffs may be well-versed in the realm of print, going social may