What makes our yearbook unique?
We’ve created a multimodal experience through...
Project YearBK aims to create a memento yearbook for the class of 2026 to cherish after graduation, remembering their time at the University of Rochester.
As seniors wanting a lasting memento, we’re reimagining the yearbook through an innovative hybrid model: digital for accessibility and affordability, and physical copies so that students can preserve and share their college memories despite rising costs and fading traditions.
LET’S GO DOWN MEMORY LANE
A Yearbook Template for the class of 2026
physical QR codes inviting the class of 2026 to collaborate with us
A social media page promoting and documenting Project YearBK
Our Team
Earl Bumagat
Brandon Astuto
Emmie Lin
Joy Lu
Blayne McLawrence
Hi I’m Earl! I make sure to delegate tasks, look ahead throughout the weeks in accordance with our timeline, and adjust if there needs to be any pivots. I also stay connected with the departments and set up meetings to facilitate communications with them as a resource to help build up Project Yearbk.
Team Lead
Co-Lead, Designer
I’m Emmie! Most of my work consisted of working on the VR Archive of senior events, which involves 360 video graphing and developing in Unity. I also helped design the final website for Project YearBK through figma.
Social Media Manager
I’m Joy and as Social Media Manager, I oversee the creative direction and promotions of the project. I created content and supported campaign launches to increase student participation. I also assisted in branding for this project.
I’m Blayne, my role involved using Blender to 3D model the prototypes for our QR codes. I also helped out with spreading awareness to our project through posters and event promotions.
3D Modeler
I'm Brandon. I performed research for the project's digital yearbook and worked on the development of our website + digital yearbook.
Researcher, Developer
We conducted user research based on our target audience, the class of 2026 at the University of Rochester. Along with conducting secondary research on already existing yearbooks from other institutions
We discovered that 54.1% of our users prefer both a physical and digital yearbook, demonstrating a clear need for Project YearBK to be multimodal.
When asking our users what they mainly want to remember about their college experience, we discovered that 40% of our users wanted to remember campus traditions and senior events
Around 80.6% of users would be interested in the multimodal aspect of our yearbook, including the VR 360 tour, digital class yearbooks, and printed physical yearbooks
the average amount of users (19.4%) said that they would spend around $30. We also discovered that students would want to use alternative ways to purchase the yearbook.
Here are our key insights from our research that shaped and defined our design process.
User Need Research + secondary research
The class of 2026 prefer both a physical and digital yearbook
users mainly want to remember their senior events
Users are interested in the multimodal aspect of Project YearBK
Users are willing to spend a maximum of 30$ for a yearbook
The Research
During the start of the semester, we initially had the plan of creating a multimodal yearbook, which would’ve included
Physical Yearbook
Outreach for Project YearBK
360 VR Tour
This was the main goal of the project, we first wanted to include features like senior headshots, along with department photos. We were going to fully design the pages and included photos taken by seniors themselves. The physical yearbook would’ve been printed and shipped to seniors who purchased a copy.
We wanted to include a virtual aspect to our yearbook, for accessibility reasons and to create an new innovative yearbook experience. Our initial plan for this was a 360 tour of campus that you can explore through VR, and you can select certain locations / landmarks around campus and see the photos taken there by students.
We created a 3D printed QR codes as a fun way to engage with the class of 2026, we wanted the students to be able to see the QR codes around campus and submit photos for our yearbook, making the whole process more personalized and unique. We also wanted to increase our project’s presence by creating a Instagram page dedicated to the documentation and promotion of Project YearBK
The Approach
So how did we design Project YearBK?
Physical Yearbook → Customizable Yearbook Template
We've decided to shift from creating and printing a physical Class of 2026 Yearbook to designing a customizable Yearbook Template on Canva. This allows us to focus on giving our class a meaningful, personalized experience.
360 VR Tour → Senior Event Archive (360 Video)
After consulting with stakeholders and students during our prototype fair, we discovered that there is an already existing 360 tour of University of Rochester. Thus we wanted to change our plan for the virtual portion of Project YearBK to a 360 video archive, which will include senior events from the Class of 2026. This will be filmed through a Insta360 camera and built on Unity.
Pivoting our Project
Following our research, we chose to pivot our project's direction to better align with our time constraints while staying true to our core goal: creating a accessible memento of our class year.
Both
Digital
Physical
54.1%
10.8%
35.1%
2
3
4
5
1
5.6%
5.6%
16.7%
41.7%
30.6%
“What specifically are things you would like to remember about your college experience?”
“Places around campus my friends and I hung out throughout college”
“Friend interactions, small personal moments, and the feeling of community and support”
“Friends, extracurriculars, academic achievements, campus traditions”
“Traditions, big moments (commencement, dday, welcome week), and all the ppl”
“The events I go to with my friends and the time I had”
Creation of the 3D QR Codes
Yearbook Template
An Instagram dedicated to the creation of project yearbook
@Project.YearBK
Creation of the 3D QR Codes
3D Modeling
Our Deliverables
Project YearBK officially began in September, with our primary focus on brainstorming the structure of the yearbook and figuring out the logistics. We reached out to key campus partners, including student organizations, the Class Council of 2026, iZone, Studio X, the Greene Center, and the Student Alumni Association, to collaborate with.
During this phase, we defined our main deliverables: a physical QR code to distribute across campus for collecting student photos, a social media platform to promote and document the project, a printed physical yearbook, and an XR digital component that was initially envisioned as a 360° campus tour.
In October, we began prototyping the physical QR code by designing it in Blender and 3D printing it through the Makers Club. At the same time, we launched promotional efforts to gather student photo submissions and used a 360° camera to capture campus imagery for the digital yearbook. We also met with the Greene Center to explore opportunities for professional headshots and prepared our application for iZone’s Make It Happen Grant.
To build visibility, we launched our social media initiative, Seniors of Rochester, conducted research on past UofR yearbooks and examples from other institutions, and distributed surveys to guide our product discovery process.
September 2025
October 2025
In November, we focused on increasing engagement by hosting a giveaway through Seniors of Rochester to encourage more submissions.
During our design day, we made a key pivot in our project direction, shifting from a 360° campus tour to a 360° senior event archive. This allowed us to maintain the XR component while focusing more directly on capturing senior experiences. We also attended senior events to promote the QR code, collaborated closely with the Class Council of 2026, and successfully interviewed for and were accepted into the Make It Happen program.
November 2025
In January, our focus shifted toward designing the structure and content of the yearbook itself. We began defining the types of pages it would include, such as student organizations, headshots, school traditions, and class superlatives.
We also reached out to student organizations we wanted to feature and continued building anticipation through social media content promoting the upcoming yearbook.
January 2026
As we approached the production phase in March, we recognized that the scope of our original vision was too ambitious, especially given changes in team roles. In response, we made a final pivot in our project direction. Instead of producing a single comprehensive yearbook, we shifted toward creating a customizable yearbook template that would allow seniors to design and personalize their own yearbooks.
Due to unforeseen health-related challenges within the team, responsibilities were reallocated, which required us to further scale down our deliverables.
March 2026
By December, we had recorded five senior events and continued building out content for the 360° archive. We produced a total of six physical QR codes and distributed them at events to increase photo collection. Meanwhile, we continued developing the Seniors of Rochester series and began the technical development of the XR archive, including designing its interactive user interface.
December 2025
Throughout February, we continued filming senior events using our 360° cameras while making steady progress on the XR application. At the same time, we began designing the yearbook in Canva, developing a cohesive visual identity that included a consistent color palette and font system. We also continued participating in the weekly Make It Happen workshops, which helped guide our development process.
February 2026
In April, we reached several major milestones. On April 10th, we presented at Make It Happen Night after completing the workshop series and were awarded a $1,500 grant, which we plan to use for printing.
By April 17th, we finalized the yearbook template and launched our marketing efforts. To encourage adoption, we promoted an offer where the first 50 students who submitted their completed templates would have their yearbooks printed by our team.
May will focus on distributing the templates, printing submitted yearbooks, and evaluating the overall impact of Project YearBK.
We’ll also be handing off Project YearBK to the class council of 2027, hopefully they’ll continue our traditions and spreading the word for the yearbook template.
April 2026
May 2026
Yearbook Design Focus
Final Pivot
Design & Development Progress
Completion & Launch
Next Steps
Prototyping & Early Development
Direction Shift & Momentum
Content Creation & Development
Project Launch
Timeline
Click here for the Template!
--->