A poster is a visual presentation of information and is used to communicate an idea or to attract attention.

Before you starts to sketch out a design,it is crucial to select the correct paper size. Make sure you know the dimensions of the space available. Material usage will largely depends on where the poster will be hung,whether its outdoor or indoor. Secondly,consider how far away the reader/viewer will be when they are looking at the poster –will your poster be on the back of a toilet door perhaps in which case you will have a fairly focus audience! or on the other hand,if it needs to attract attention from afar then you will need to give greater consideration to the layout and font sizes.

Next consider your message. Are you simply trying to communicate information,stimulate further conversation,advertise your services or demonstrate your capabilities. Don’t try and do too much –pick one theme and stick to it. An effective posters ones that engage with the audience,capture a moment of their life and thereby instigate a reaction. You could do this by posing a question,using emotions to either make them laugh,smile,empathise or sympathise,or create something so shocking they will look back twice. Another method which may be use is creating a series of posters that tells a story over time therefore building a relationship with your audience.

Getting the headline right is one of the most important parts of the poster. Don’t go for anything too long otherwise it won’t be memorable –in fact one word headlines can be the most dramatic. Alternatively you may use images to convey your messages. As the old saying goes –a picture paints a thousand words. Thus it is important that you have the right balance between the colour combinations,images usage and typography. For an example,red on blue doesn’t work well and red and green in close proximity could cause problems for people with colour blindness. Make sure your fonts are clearly legible on the colourbackground  from a distance. Remember no one is really looking for your poster or the information it contains so you need to go out of your way to make it eye-catching and obvious !

Don’t cram your poster with too much information –less is definitely more:background space is as much part of the poster design as the content itself. It is ok to leave some white space. Infact,incorporate those white spaces as part of your design.Prioritise the information on the poster so that the most important information makes the most impact either by font,size or colour and then work your way down in order of importance. Consider using arrows or other symbols to direct the eye to the next piece of information.