- For 20 years,
people have told me, "Nobody makes posters anymore."
Oddly, in that time, I designed dozens.
I made some as limited editions to be collected,
others, pretty cheaply and pasted on construction walls
or bus shelters, and more as invitations to events.
So yes, people still need posters.
What makes a poster good?
Some people say it must have a presence,
others talk about bold graphic elements,
and others say the good ones are always simple.
The answers here are the same as suggesting
there is only one way to design a book.
There are many ways to make a poster successful,
but the end goal is always the same;
to get the viewer's attention and impart a message.
Let's agree on this premise.
Good posters are memorable,
strong, and stand out in a cluttered environment.
Bad posters are forgettable,
bland, and lost in the environment.
Creating something memorable
is tied to creating emotional resonance.
Emotions create stronger memories.
Think about the moments in life you recall easily.
Thanksgiving at your grandparent's house,
or the day your dad tried to teach you to drive.
Heightened emotion is the connective tissue.
If I want the viewer to remember something,
I better make sure the content has some power.
If the content is rows of text and tiny photographs,
I'm simply creating an oversized brochure.
The poster must distill the idea into a compelling visual.
Often, a client will want to put every piece of information
on the poster.
It's your job as a designer
to guide them back to the intent;
to get the viewer's attention
and entice them to take action.
A website or brochure
are good places for dense information, not a poster.
Strong visuals are almost always bold.
They may be simple or complex,
but they stand out and get attention.
I cover the compositional skills here, deeper,
in my course on layout and composition.
Scale is critical.
Big should be significant, and small should be small.
If all the elements are the same size,
the poster loses power.
Contrast is also significant.
Contrasting solid colors like black and white,
primary colors, or purposefully overbearing colors,
stand out.
Even if the subject matter is classical and conservative,
the contrast must be aggressive.
And finally, one good trick is the human face.
It's the first thing we recognize as a baby.
We can discern the identity of an individual
in a sea of a thousand faces.
People look for a face and work to determine who it is.
Use this to your advantage.
It's why almost every magazine cover is a big face.
Posters aren't easy.
They require a sense of rigor
and simplifying to the core idea.
But posters are one of the most fun projects to do,
and is one of the items we create
that may end up framed, in a living room.