DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS. SAME YEARBOOK LOVE.
Different generations see the world differently. While Millennials and Gen Z grew up in the age of social media, technological hyper-advancements and 24/7 connectivity, Gen X grew up using pay phones, playing outside with neighbors from sunrise to sunset and drinking out of the garden hose. Differences help define one generation from the next and are best chronicled in one special place — a yearbook.
A yearbook is an iconic tradition, designed to collect memories. Yearbooks provide intimate portraits of each era that goes by, documenting the most formative years in a young person’s life. The photos they contain, the fads they report on, even the designs they feature all work together to become more than just a book. They become a time capsule, with a distinct look, feel and message that can never be replicated again.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the generational distinctions you can find in yearbooks.
GEN ALPHA
Meet Gen Alpha: they’re creative, tech-savvy and the largest — and most diverse — generation to date. Fully immersed in the digital world from day one, this generation started in 2010, the same year that the iPad was launched, Instagram was created and “app” was the word of the year.
As Gen Alpha embarks on their journey through high school, they’re learning to strike the perfect balance between being online and offline. While social media remains popular, this generation has learned to embrace IRL experiences just as much. The yearbook remains an important connection to the past and a personal keepsake that can’t be deleted. Gen Alpha yearbooks are colorful, inclusive and of course, filled with their distinct “brainrot” humor.
Gen z
Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with social media. While capturing the perfect moment on social platforms like TikTok and Instagram is the new norm, nothing will replace the tangible keepsake that a yearbook is — a welcome contrast to an all-digital world.
As digital natives with diverse backgrounds, Gen Z values inclusivity, representation and authenticity, and these principals are the driving force behind their yearbooks. They focus on the community and the individual by embracing each student while also anchoring them in the pride and spirit of their entire school.
Millennials
For Millennials, their school years coincided with the boom of the digital age. Crack open a millennial yearbook, and you’ll see a real-time chronicle of the rise of instant messaging, social media and text speak.
This digital revolution also changed the possibilities for how a yearbook could look. Millennial yearbook committees had access to powerful new digital tools, letting them craft and publish more colorful and unique yearbooks than ever before. This led to a level of experimentation that may, to the modern eye, look a little amateurish. But there’s no arguing the fact that Millennial books were exuberant, fun and full of individuality.
Gen X
Gen X was characterized by resourcefulness, independence and absolute confidence in what was cool; hair had volume, MTV ruled and home computers were just being released, creating the first round of tech-savvy teens. The youth culture of Gen X is still referenced today, in everything from fashion to movies. You’ll even see throwbacks to their distinctive yearbook style.
Gen X yearbooks had colorful covers and striking typography. Punk rock, hair metal and grunge vibes regularly featured in designs, giving them a counterculture edge. Bottom line, you know a Gen X yearbook design when you see it. They still feel cool, in a perfectly retro way.
Baby Boomer
As their generational title suggests, Baby Boomers are a huge generation. They were born in the decades that followed World War II and grew up in a time of economic growth and all-American ideals. They were the driving force behind the invention of “Youth Culture” that included fashion innovations, teen-specific entertainment and iconic representations of teenage rebellion.
The pages of their yearbooks are almost entirely black and white. Baby Boomer yearbook committees designed and laid out their pages by hand, using traditional publishing techniques. The result was often simpler layouts with fewer components, but every single page had an extremely personal look and feel.
Silent Generation
The Silent Generation is named so because they were thought to be more subdued than the generation before them. It’s an odd designation, considering this was also the generation that invented rock and roll. Enduring both the Great Depression and World War II, the Silent Generation is tenacious, thoughtful and strong.
As the first generation to fully embrace yearbooks, it should come as no surprise they made them with flair. Formal portraits, stylish illustrations, hand-drawn cartoons and classic typography fill the pages. The covers could get particularly elegant with embossed leather, linen, gold leaf and other flashy details you rarely see these days.
Some things don’t change
Despite the distinctions we draw between generations, every yearbook throughout time has shared the same core goals: chronicling events, preserving memories and celebrating achievements. Without yearbooks, our school years wouldn’t be the same. With them, we can remember every best moment and share them with the generations yet to come.