A bad poster design can stop your project from getting noticed—or might get it noticed for the wrong reasons.
Whether you’re promoting an event, a movie, or a political cause, posters are an easy way to spread your message around town. But your message will only be received if you know how to create a professional, high-quality poster design.
When creating a poster, turn to these six essential tips to create a design that wows.
Go Big and Bold
When making a poster, it’s essential to use big, bold designs and typeface in order to get noticed.
Make sure the text is easy to read, even from far away. Most people won’t stop to squint to read your poster.
Dominant images or icons should also be easy to see and understand. Choose no more than three main objects (including text, such as the poster headline) to highlight, and make sure these objects are big and bold.
Find Inspiration
If you’re new to creating posters, find poster ideas and inspiration online to help you brainstorm.
You can browse thousands of professional posters, such as famous movie posters, to inspire your creation.
Use Templates
Poster templates take the guesswork out of poster design, especially if you’re not a trained designer.
Try a beginner-friendly poster maker with templates to help you start your design. You can then customize colors, images, and other elements to make it anything but cookie-cutter.
Use Contrasting Colors
When creating your poster, try to go for contrasting colors to make certain objects pop.
A poster that has a single-color scheme, such as different shades of blue, may drown out important text or pictures. Instead, try combining contrasting colors like black and white, red and blue, or green and purple. You can also pair white with almost any dark color or black with any light color for the same effect.
Keep It Simple
Good poster design requires grabbing attention and communicating your message quickly. And in order to do this, you must have a simple poster.
Too much visual clutter is too tiring on the eyes and may only propel people away from your poster. Consider what elements are essential, and minimize or eliminate the rest.
Add a Call to Action
Every type of poster from advertisements to concert posters should inspire people to take action. Include this action on your poster to make it clear for viewers.
If you’re promoting an event, list the place and date with information on how to get tickets. If you’re selling a product, share the website or store where it can be bought.
Make sure to keep the call to action simple yet obvious so people know exactly what step to take next.
Top Tips for Creating a Poster
If you’re creating a poster, it’s important to create a design that attracts attention and has a clear message. Use these six essential tips to make a strong impact on your poster.
For more marketing tips and ideas, check out our latest business articles!