Posters convey messages in a matter of seconds.
For over a century, posters have been promoting events and businesses around the world.
But in order for a poster to work, it must grab the audience's attention
and be informative at the same time.
Let's explore how to do both in Canva.
Look for inspiration by browsing hundreds of poster templates on almost any theme.
Search from the home page, filter templates by color, layout, or style.
Templates help you visualize design possibilities.
And with Canva, it's really easy to customize them.
Before starting the design, consider your brand and audience.
What would grab these audiences' attention?
Good posters grab attention and give just enough information
to know how to find out more.
With these things in mind, you can define your message
and get busy personalizing the template.
First, let's double-click to change the text.
Style text using the toolbar above, you want to give
lots of thought to the font you choose.
You can use Sans Serif fonts for a more youthful or modern look.
Serif fonts give a more serious, classic design.
And use a script font if you're going for a more elegant style.
Text layout is also important.
Make sure to create visual hierarchy to bring attention to your focal points.
In most cases, big headlines or bright colors will effectively grab the viewer's attention.
Determine where you want them to look next.
What's the last thing you want them to see?
Or in other words, remember, is it the logo or a call to action?
Images are used to enhance the poster's message and visually capture attention.
Let's add in an image to our design.
With Canva, you have access to over a million professional, quality stock photos and graphics.
Canva's library is carefully curated so they're sure to look good whether in print or on screen.
Click Elements and use the search to narrow your results.
Let's search for a photo. Once you've found the perfect image,
drag and drop to add to or replace in your design.
Want to use your own media? Upload your own images in the Uploads tab.
To move an element, click and drag to adjust its position.
Remember, you also can crop or flip images here.
Change the layer position by moving elements forward or backward
or edit the transparency like this.
Color can create energy, elicit a mood, attract the eye, and unifies elements.
Your color palette should match your brand personality and the poster idea.
To edit a color, select an element.
One or more color tiles will appear in the toolbar above.
Click the color tile to select one of your document colors.
To choose a different color, click the rainbow tile to use the color picker.
You can even add a specific hex number here.
Sometimes, you already have the vision and you need something completely custom-made.
It's a good practice to sketch a rough outline of your poster on paper
before you start creating the final design in Canva.
It doesn't need to be perfect or full size, but getting your thoughts down quickly
will mean you have a clear direction to follow.
We call these thumbnails and the idea is you can quickly draw and redraw
until you have something you are happy with.
Once you have a direction, create a new design here.
Search for a poster and choose your poster dimension
or click the + button to add custom dimensions.
A new blank design will open to size.
Now, it's time to start bringing your vision to life.
The background of your design could be a color or image.
To change a background color, click the page background.
A multi-colored tile will appear in the toolbar,
select a color tile or add a custom color.
Different colors tell different stories.
What colors best suit your design?
If you prefer a background image, select an image from the image library
or upload your own, right-click on the image and select replace background.
Click the background image to edit using the toolbar above.
Instead of using your image or graphic as a background,
make it the center of attention by placing it in a grid or frame.
Click Elements and find Frames. Click See all to display all the options available.
Add a frame to your design, then drag your image in it.
Adjust the frame size or use the crop tool to edit your image's size
and position inside the frame.
Grids allow different frame layouts handy if you have more than one image you want to show.
There are many, many layout options to choose from,
but remember most times, less is more.
If your poster is overloaded with too many pictures or elements,
it may be confusing to your audience.
Time to add text. Press the T on your keyboard and a text box will appear, ready to type into.
Your font choice will have a huge impact on your design.
A good font pairing will not only look good,
but also achieve balance helping with hierarchy.
Use one of Canva's preset font combinations here.
Click to add a set to your design.
Finally, change any of your elements or text colors by clicking
on the element you want to edit and using the toolbar above the editor.
Practice makes the master. So keep experimenting.
And you'll soon be producing punchy poster designs in no time.