01. Use colour to create energy, elicit a mood and attract the eye.

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Colour is one aspect of the design that’s wide open. Colours will create energy, elicit a mood and attract the eye. Depending on the poster subject, the colors will be bold, subtle or romantic... go all out with colour.

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02. Experiment with typography

So much can be conveyed in an event poster from just from the fonts. Show seriousness with a bold sans serif, enhance elegance with an italic serif or express playfulness or fun with a loose handwritten font. When selecting fonts, choose at least two — One for the headline. One for body copy.

To create greater impact, experiment with typography and two combined fonts... 

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03. Create visual hierarchy

Posters should grab attention and be a quick read. Rank information in order of importance. If you’re considering minimal words the go for a bold, simple graphic or photo. If on the other hand you have lots of information (band names etc), have the type be your focus. Think about a big headline and group information into chunks.

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04. Create a point of focus

Get into the studio and begin to capture the subject either in or out of focus to give more weight to the text and idea. You could crop a photo tight to show the most important feature. This will create drama or to lead the eye around the page.

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05. Play with layering to create depth and dimension

Layering images, colors and words creates depth and dimension. It sucks you into the little world created on the board.

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06. Emphasize elements to create energy and drama. 

When you use exciting, exhilarating photos, illustration and even fonts, you’ll create a serious impact and most definitely get a reaction from the viewer. They’ll draw them in by the emotion and energy. 

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07. Ensure your composition is balanced

Using symmetry, centering and repetition creates balance for the eye. You can balance colors, weight of graphics, amount of text or a mix of them. Balance doesn’t mean the poster has to be perfectly centered. Is doesn’t mean that to be symmetrical it has to be the same on each half. It means that one side isn’t heavier, it doesn’t contain all of the information or all of the graphics.

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08. Design your poster to evoke emotion. This will make people more likely to share and engage with it. 

A single word or image can evoke great emotion – love, anger, sadness. A photo of a woman crying or The word “fire.” The viewer gets emotional and needs to know more. What will you evoke?

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09. Design for your audience

You have to know your audience before you attempt to promote or sell to them ( Who are you aiming your poster at?).  

 

This Black Keys poster is sure to attract their rock fans for a beach side concert.

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10. Remove unnecessary elements. Say more with less. 

Sometimes, less is more. It intrigues the viewer. A single word or dramatic image can communicate so much more than lots of words or intricate photos or illustrations. Don’t add extra graphics or words just for the sake of adding more.