Images & Graphics

The cover of NorthgateHandbook.docx needs a school logo and a visual highlight around Saturday 14 March 2026 so families see the date before they read a single policy paragraph. Pictures and shapes live on the Insert tab.

You will insert a picture from a file and draw a rectangle shape with optional fill and outline. Shapes sit on top of or behind text depending on wrap settings.

In this lesson you will learn insert pictures from a file and draw shapes with text inside.

You will also place a logo on the cover and draw a shape around the date.

• 1Go to the cover page of NorthgateHandbook.docx.
• 2Insert tab → Pictures → This Device (or Stock Images for practice).
• 3Select your school logo file.
• 4Click Insert.

Drag corners to resize. Use Picture Format tab → Wrap Text → In Front of Text if you need to move the logo freely on the cover. Alt text helps screen readers — right-click the logo → View Alt Text, type Northgate Academy logo.

Highlight Saturday 14 March 2026:

• 1Insert tab → Shapes.
• 2Click Rectangle.
• 3Drag on the page to draw the box.
• 4Shape Format tab → Shape Fill → no fill or light yellow.
• 5Shape Format → Shape Outline → school colour.

Shapes sit on top of or behind text depending on wrap settings. Keep the highlight subtle — the date must stay readable when parents photograph the cover on their phones.

A typical cover stacks the logo above the handbook title, with the date highlight near the subtitle Updated for Saturday 14 March 2026. James Okonkwo checks Print Preview after inserting objects — logos that look fine on screen sometimes print too dark on the office copier.

Resize from corner handles and hold Shift to keep proportions. A stretched logo looks unprofessional on the handbook PDF uploaded to the school website.

Every picture in a document parents receive should have alt text. Right-click the logo → View Alt Text → type Northgate Academy logo. Alt text helps screen readers describe images for families who use assistive technology.

Decorative shapes around the date do not need alt text if the date is also typed in plain text nearby — redundancy helps everyone, not only screen reader users.

Pictures import pixels from a file — logos and photos. Shapes are vector boxes and arrows you draw in Word. Use pictures for the crest; use shapes to frame text you already typed.

Both appear on the Insert tab. Home → Bold changes text style; it does not insert images. File → Save As stores the file; Insert → Pictures adds the logo.