It's big. There's room for information and pictures.
And it can be used for a concert, a sale, or a protest.
Let's grab the viewer's attention with poster design.
Posters have a long history being one of the earliest forms of advertising.
Because they were meant to be read from a distance,
it forced designers to rethink the way text and image were combined.
The format swept the world and became a common sign in the streets
featuring work by the great artists of the time.
Even after the advent of the internet, posters remained
a popular choice for graphic communication.
A poster is large, often made to be seen in public places.
Its scale means it should be eye-catching from a distance
and taken in at a glance.
Even those who choose to stop and look at a poster
shouldn't need to spend too long deciphering it.
It should contain only essential information.
A striking image or graphic, an intriguing headline, a business name and logo,
brief details about the products or event, a call to action
encouraging the audience to find out more. And that's it.
Refining the poster down to only essential information is a powerful design challenge.
Here are some helpful tips.
Viewers won't always look at a poster from top to bottom.
Hierarchy determines what content is seen first, second, third, and last.
Here, the most important text is the "FLASH SALE" line followed by the "50% off" line.
Hierarchy is created using type, contrast, color, and scale.
Once drawn in, the viewer looks at the image, and if interested, will read the details.
Notice the call to action at the bottom.
This is what they will see last...
...and hopefully remember.
Here, various sizes of text create hierarchy and determine the viewer's experience.
Additional graphics help to decide what's the most important message and design accordingly.
Posters are used to promote and inform.
Here, the viewer is being informed that they can help stop global warming.
But what does the viewer do with this information?
Should they buy now? Visit online? Get in touch?
The call to action is the instruction in this design.
The viewer can learn more by visiting a website.
The call to action, sometimes referred to as a CTA,
might be more implicit or it can be really obvious.
Look at these examples. Can you find the CTA?
According to the Gutenberg Principle,
there is a general path the eye travels when looking at a design.
Following the path of the letter Z, a poster can be designed this way.
Here, the striking imagery and word "Italy" capture the attention
and the eyes are then drawn to the right down to the bottom left and across.
Here's another example.
The hierarchy of the poster follows the Z pattern
and explains why logos often appear in the lower right corner much like a full stop.
The F pattern follows a similar even more simple path.
The hierarchy in this layout is fairly classic.
From the most important to the least, top to bottom,
Z and F rules apply to Western languages
relating to the way a viewer reads information
are there patterns that apply to your language, they might be flipped.
Consider what is the best possible way to communicate the message.
Perhaps a beautiful, large image with the barest amount of text
or should the focus be on a bold statement in just text form.
Maybe the focus should be on a graphic or color.
Next, limit fonts. Rather than choosing a different font for every line,
work with versions of the same font.
Or limit the design to 2 contrasting fonts
like a Serif and Sans Serif or a bold and a light font.
Being selective will look more professional.
It can be tempting to squeeze everything into a poster design.
After all, it's a big empty space.
But stick to the essentials and use white space effectively.
Text, a striking visual element, and a clear call to action
will make your poster much more appealing and easy to understand.