1. Effective Poster Design

2. What makes a good poster?

3. You’re ready to make a poster.
The inspiration is flowing and you have
a deadline to meet.
But wait! Don’t start without reviewing
these important poster design tips…

4. The User Comes First
Before you even begin designing, ask yourself –
What is the purpose of this poster?
&
For whom am I designing it?
Am I selling something? Am I educating people?
Am I promoting something? Who is my audience
and what do I want them to get out of this?

5. Reduce Clutter
Ideally, you want your poster design to have one single feature
item, that stands out and grabs the viewer’s attention.
If your design has too many colors, too many textures or just too
much “stuff,” that’s not going to happen.
Instead, look at your design and ask yourself.
What is the focus? Is it clear? Does it stand out?

7. Use Text Sparingly
A poster is all about grabbing someone’s
attention
Rely on graphics
If you need to use text, do so sparingly and be
sure to integrate it into the graphic itself.

8. Think Big
Your design has to be big and so does your resolution.
Taking a 20 x 20 pixel .gif of your logo and blowing it up
to 200 x 200 inches just doesn’t work.
Work with large images

9. Make the poster easy to read…
Select a background color that is not too intense.
Use clear, simple graphics, pictures & text.
Readability is how easily the ideas flow visually.

10. Use a simple phrase
so people can remember it
The phrase should be
capitalized.
It’s about awareness.
Detailed information can be
added with smaller letters.
People tend to read the
biggest and the top first.

11. Know the target audience
Knowing your audience is very important.
If the target audience is the 10-15 age group, the
poster needs to be designed with a “kid” look.
If the target audience is older teen or adults use artistic
elements and creative typefaces.

12. Music Poster Examples

13. Poster Analysis
(15 minutes)
Small group or pairs
Find a poster design you find interesting
Use the Graphic Organizer to record information
about the poster design
Copy a jpeg of it to Mr. S flash drive
Report findings to class

14. Questions