And the top mistakes to avoid

Themes help create a consistent, professional-looking yearbook by tying together colors, fonts, layouts, and visual elements. When used correctly, they save time and make your book feel intentional. When used incorrectly, they can cause inconsistency and extra rework.

This guide walks through how to use themes effectively—and the most common mistakes we see along the way.

Click here to learn what themes are available in EDONext and how to place them

What Is a Theme?

A theme is a coordinated design system that includes:

• Fonts
• Color palettes
• Backgrounds and textures
• Page layouts and decorative elements

Themes are meant to create consistency across your book while still allowing flexibility for different sections.

How to Use Themes to Build Your Book

1. Choose Your Theme Early

Select your theme before designing most of your pages.

Why this matters:
Changing themes mid-book often leads to mismatched fonts, colors, and spacing that are difficult to fix later.

Best Practice:

Pick a theme during ladder planning or early layout stages

Use it as the foundation for all sections

2. Apply the Theme Consistently

Once a theme is selected:

• Use the same fonts for headlines, subheads, and body text
• Stick to the theme’s color palette
• Repeat design elements like lines, shapes, or textures

Consistency is what makes a book feel polished—not every page looking different.

3. Customize the Theme (Don’t Just Drop It In)

Themes are starting points, not finished designs.

Make the theme your own by:

• Adjusting colors to match school branding
• Modifying layouts to fit your content
• Swapping accent elements while keeping the overall style

This keeps the book unique while still cohesive.

4. Use the Same Theme Across Sections

Your portraits, clubs, sports, and special sections should all feel like they belong in the same book.

You can:

• Use variations of the same theme
• Adjust color emphasis by section
• Keep fonts and spacing consistent throughout

5. Save Custom Elements for Reuse

Once you’ve customized:

• Text styles
• Templates
• Backgrounds

Reuse them across pages to maintain consistency and speed up production. You can save custom templates or bookmark your favorite elements.

Click here to learn how to save a custom template

Click here to learn how to save a text style

Top Mistakes People Make When Using Themes

Mistake #1: Mixing Too Many Themes

Using multiple themes in one book creates visual chaos.

Fix:
Stick to one primary theme and use subtle variations—not completely different styles.

Mistake #2: Changing Fonts Mid-Book

Random font changes break consistency and make pages feel disconnected.

Fix:
Limit your book to:

1–2 headline fonts

1 body font

Mistake #3: Over-Customizing Every Page

Making every page “unique” often results in a book that feels busy and inconsistent.

Fix:
Let repetition do the work. Repeated layouts create rhythm and clarity.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Readability

Busy backgrounds and low-contrast text can make content hard to read.

Fix:
Always prioritize:

• Strong contrast between text and background
• Clean areas for copy and captions

Mistake #5: Applying a Theme Too Late

Applying a theme after pages are already designed leads to manual fixes and rework.

Fix:
Choose and apply your theme before flowing content or finalizing layouts.

Final Tips for Theme Success

• Treat your theme like a design system, not decoration
• Consistency is more important than complexity
• If something feels “off,” it’s usually a theme inconsistency
• A strong theme won’t distract from your content—it will elevate it.