Tips and Tricks in Designing Posters

Tips and Tricks in Designing Posters

Drs Peter McClenaghan & Fredy Valenzuela

Key elements of poster design:

  • Simple, clear message/s
  • Good layout that keeps interest through the page
  • Effective use of images, diagrams, models and graphics.
  • Simple, effective use of colour.

BEFORE YOU START

  • PLAN PLAN PLAN - use a pen and scrap paper to plan it out before you even go near a computer!
  • Clearly identify your audience.
  • Get together everything - pictures, text, logos, approvals, etc
  • Why a poster? Is it the best way to communicate this message to this audience?
  • Think of your timelines - design, editing, output, printing, approval, postage/travel.
  • What size is the display space?
  • Who can give you feedback on it?
  • Remember this is a poster, not a handout or brochure - you have a short period of time to capture attention and convey your message. It needs to attract people from a distance and stand out from the rest.
  • How can you effectively use the space around your poster - handouts, business cards, etc.

IDENTIFY YOUR KEY MESSAGE

  • Brainstorm with colleagues to pick out the key messages - be really clear what this is.
  • Identify a hierarchy of messages - the main point and what’s essential to back up this point. (This is similar to the funneling that you use in writing a press release.)

DESIGNING THE POSTER

  • Rough it up on paper before you take it to the screen.
  • What is the best/most appropriate way to communicate the message - eg text, cartoons, etc.
  • Minimise text
  • Use only graphics that are appropriate to the key message
  • When preparing it on screen, keep the page size small (25-50% of actual size) as it keeps the fiel size smaller and is easier on your computer - just check that scaling up will be OK on the printer.  

LAYOUT

  • Keep it simple.
  •  Use layout to help the reader to navigate along the page.
  • Balance - so it looks OK, neat, ‘right’

          - turn it upside down, if it still looks OK it’s probably balanced OK!

  • Using a grid can help with layout - Line up text boxes/pictures, etc along a grid pattern.
  • 1-2 elements (eg a photo) that break over the grid pattern can add interest.
  • In most cultures, we read top Left to bottom Right - put the key info there and try to have a logic flow of the poster ’story’ along those lines.
  •  Think about the height of poster boards place key points in the main level of eye contact.  Avoid putting too much at the bottom.
  • Have lots of ‘white space’ (which can actually be any colour - just blank area) eg a large border area on one side
  • Background pictures - be careful - it can be OK if the picture has lots of ‘white space’ ie a large area of solid colour; otherwise avoid them.
  • Offset graphics can be good - eg top R and bottom L.
  • Link the picture/graph and its associated text in a column.
  • Headings can be placed in the centre of a poster BUT it really needs to stand out - elements in the corners need not to overshadow it - tends not to work on a ‘busy’ poster; along the top is usually best.
  • If you have lots of authors and affiliations/funders - think of putting much of this at the bottom of the poster - perhaps together with further contact details - rather than cluttering the title area.

TEXT

  • Minimise text so the key message stands out!
  • Communicate critical points in main body of poster.
  • Draft and edit your text before you design the poster.
  • Ensure language matches the target audience.
  • If you really need to include extra text (eg explanatory, stuff for people who want to read further) - it helps to put this in a coloured text box that visually separates it a bit - generally along the bottom.
  •  Text centering - OK for titles but not text blocks (align these)

 Use 1-2 fonts only

  • Use Sans serif fonts (eg Arial, Tahoma, etc)
  • Keep Serif fonts (Times, etc) only for arty stuff like poems or quotes
  • Avoid unusual fonts as the printer may not recognise them.
  • Min. 15 mm space between columns
  • Max. 7-10 words per line
  • Space between lines
  • If you really want to put a lot of text into your poster, think about printing that full text ‘poster’ as a handout and then designing a more visual style poster to use as the actual poster. 

COLOURS

  • Colour wheels are helpful - choose one colour (and the various shades of that) and then use the opposite colour on the colour wheel as your contrast colour.  Yep that means you really only use 2 colours! shades of 1 + the contrast.
  • Dark Blue or Black with white is the most readable
  • Avoid low contrast colours - eg white and yellow
  • Match colour to the topic and photos
  • Some colours vary more than others in printing - eg oranges tend to print brownish; turquoise variable
  • Screen colours are RGB and print colours are usually CMYK - unless being photographically produced which is RGB. 

PRINTING, MOVING & STORING

  • All printers vary - know your printer and find out details - and allow plenty of time.
  • Check that the software you are using will ‘talk’ to the printer.
  • If your poster is gloss laminated (which most are) - always roll it up WITH THE IMAGE ON THE OUTSIDE - this way any bubbles that form in the laminate will more likely be on the back of your poster.
  • If you don’t have access to a large printer or cash for printing               many colour copy shops can do an A0 photocopy or you can print it on 2 A3 pages and join them (touch up with a nikko pen along the join); or design and print in separate tiles (eg A4 or A3) and place in a set (these are also easy for transport).
  • Laminate or celloglaze - matt or glossy
  • Block mount, framing, backlit, etc