11 Tips For A Creative Poster Design - Designhill (2024)

Last updated on January 30th, 2024

Posters were a conventional medium to convey information to the target audience. But in the modern days, posters have been turned into an effective marketing strategy that grabs the attention of people towards the event related to the business. A creative poster design for products or services, prices, and other business developments can even convert viewers into potential buyers.

Posters are now a cost-effective medium for promoting a business. Many marketers launch poster campaign to advertise their newly introduced products or services. They also announce some attractive price reductions using a poster.

Since small businesses look for cutting their costs on advertising and marketing, posters are their favorite tool to grab the customers’ attention.

One of the key elements in designing of a poster is their different sizes. Poster designs come in a wide variety of design sizes. But common sizes are 8.5 by 11-inch letter and 11 by 17 inches, and 22 inches by 34 inches.

There are also larger formats in 24 by 36 inches. While posters are commonly designed with a vertical orientation, they are also designed horizontally or vertically.

Posters can be cluttered or straightforward. If too many colors, fonts, images or animated figures are involved in conveying information or message, it confuses the viewers. But an experienced designer prefers only a few elements so that the viewers can focus on the message.

The power of posters in generating awareness on an issue or conveying a brand message and luring the audience into buying products or services is immense.

This can be gauged from some inspirational poster designs that amaze us with their creative skills. After you have some inspiration to do something creative, you are ready to design a poster that stands out.

Here Are Some Essential Tips You Should Consider When Designing A Poster

01. It Should Be Readable From A Distance

Posters are visible from a fair distance because of their large sizes. But the information they convey should also be readable from a reasonable distance. People do not care to come too close of a poster to read it. Not many of them will read a poster in fine prints.

The text is displayed in a poster design in three distinct layers. At the top, there is a headline in bold letters. It is readable from a distance because of the larger fonts. Opt for a readable but interesting typeface that draws attention.

The second level of text is the details. Give the primary information and the message of your poster. But provide the details in the font size that is half of the main headline.

Or, if you want to use a larger scale, make sure that it is distinctly separated from the headline. Other details that are of minor importance can go at the bottom of the poster in smaller fonts.

02. Create Some Contrast

People do not have the time these days to pay close attention to the things around them. Their attention time is shorter today than ever before.

They do not care to see a poster closely unless its design compels them to do so. But if there are some elements of contrast, it will catch their eye when they glance at your poster.

Contrast makes us see the things instantly as there is a big difference between the two elements catches the eye especially if someone is creating movie poster using movie poster maker. So, you can use dark and light colors. Pure black and pure white offer the ultimate contrast colors values. You can also try incorporating dark text against a light background.

So, rather than using a monotone color palette, you should prefer colors that appear distinctly different. Similarly, use typefaces of various sizes that people can see easily from a distance.

In fact, contrast can be achieved in a lot of ways by a poster designer. It can be ensured with color intensity, with shape by putting organic against geometric and edges against corners. You can also experiment with scale vs. size when thinking of contrast as an impressive design element.

A contrast of spacing and white space can also draw the attention. Other techniques include contrast with repetition and patterns, position and orientation, proximity and separation, font combination, and complex and simple features.

03. Consider The Location

One of the things that need to be considered while creating a poster is the location. Know where the poster will be located. But many factors such as the size of the poster and visual clutter are included in deciding on the location.

People should be able to see your call to action. It is an essential factor. For example, if your poster is to hang on a green wall, you may want to use a contrasting color scheme.

You should explicitly tell the designer, whose graphic design services you use, about the location where the poster will appear. It may be a physical site or an online site. The designer will consider the location and design the poster accordingly.

04. Stand Out

Your poster will be published online or displayed on a bulletin board. Many other posters are already there in these places. Your poster will, therefore, be competing hard to grab the attention of people.

To compete for the audience’s attention, your poster must stand out. It should be a spectacular visual. When people pass by the poster, they should have a more in-depth look to read the content. If that does not happen, then the design needs improvement.

A professional graphic designer should create your poster with new concepts and unique use of colors and typefaces. The idea here is to make it look unique so that people can read your content and the message.

05. Make It Scalable

Most poster designs are meant for print projects, which require you to create mini posters as well. Remember that your client will be using the poster in various places to extract maximum advantages from both the online and offline platforms.

It would be good if you can create different versions of your poster using a poster template. The design should be such that it looks equally effective in its mini version.

When an image in the poster is scaled down, it should still look good enough to be shared on social media. Even when the poster design is scaled down to the size of a postcard, each detail must be clearly visible.

06. Use A Big Image

One of the essential tricks to catch the eye is to incorporate one big image that they can see from a reasonable distance. You can choose an illustration or text, a photo or a big image.

You should consider a close-up of faces or design elements, illustrations, scenes, and even novelty typography. But you should select a visual carefully.

A big and imposing picture in the middle or top of the poster will not only catch the eye, but it will also help in driving the customers. The big image will linger on in the memory of the viewers for a long time, which is helpful in building your brand identity as well.

07. Make Good Use Of Space

Space is a key element in graphic designs. In posters, the use of space is even more important because people look at it from a greater distance. It would be advisable to use greater spacing between elements when designing a poster.

An advantage of extra spacing is that it enhances visual impact dramatically. It will also make your poster easily readable.

You can use extra space between individual letters and between lines of text. You can also give more space between different types like text and images. Interior margins of the canvas are also the place where you should think of providing a lot of space.

08. Pay Attention To Call-To-Action

Call to action is the reason for making people read your poster. In the end, you would like them to visit an event, buy your products or services, be part of a campaign, registration deadlines, buying tickets, discounts, and so on.

You need to give them a call to take the action you want. Therefore, a call to action slogan or line at the end or middle of a poster is necessary to design. Remember that the CTA is an integral part of any advertisem*nt design, and your poster is also an ad that you paste on walls or post online.

In a creative poster design, the call-to-action is usually a piece of information about an event or a contact point. Some posters have modern elements like QR codes as a call-to-action.

09. Explore Typography

Typography is another key element that can make your poster look outstanding. But make sure that the use of typography is unique. One of the characteristics of typefaces is that they add some personality to designs especailly when you create custom logos.

Remember that while colors evoke emotions, typography gives a personality to the design. It is to be noted that some of the best posters are those made with colors and typefaces only with no use of illustrations and images.

Make sure that you follow the typography principles. Do not use many fonts at one location in the poster. However, you should experiment with typefaces by making them bigger, broader, bolder etc. This is the way to set the tone for your project. Use the typeface that appropriately represents the mood of the event.

For example, if you need to show some seriousness regarding an event, use a bold sans serif. But if you wish to enhance elegance, use an italic serif. You can give your poster some playfulness or fun by using a loose handwritten font.

When thinking of picking the right fonts, ensure that you use one for the headline and the other for the body copy. Such difference in the fonts will allow for a much-needed contrast for easy reading of the content.

10. Consider Printing Techniques

Different printing technique matters a lot in poster designing. There are printing techniques like screen printing, letterpress, use of a UV layer or foiling that you can try out. These are high-end techniques that prestigious projects use.

You should talk to your printer before setting out for a creative poster design. The printer should be able to make the prints of the poster size you require. Your budgetary considerations also can be a factor in picking a printing technique.

11. Enjoy Designing

Poster design is the place where the designers can experiment a lot and have fun. This is the design through which you can entertain the viewers with illustrations, funny images, cartoons, vintage elements, loud colors and typography and other elements. You have plenty of crazy things to do with the design.

So, try something that others that is unique and memorable. Use your imagination to come out with a design that stands out.

Catch the eye of the viewers from a distance with your unique poster. If you are not sure of which idea will be great for your poster, you can think of lending the job to Designhill, which is a leading platform for creating a wide range of cool designs.

Just launch your design contest with this site, and you get many unique design ideas from dozens of designers from across the world. You can pick a winning design at an affordable price in a short period.

Conclusion

Creative poster design is the one that can convey a message to its audience in a unique way. The use of colors, typefaces, images, illustrations, etc. elements must stand out. The other factors such as scalability and readability of your poster should also be considered.

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