A short presentation on effective poster design and structure with examples and think-out questions (no answers given - but if anyone emails me at mr.jaime.aiu@gmail then....

1. The Effective Poster
The Promotion Poster
The Information Poster
The Education Poster

2. PART 1: To catch attention and to spread a message
THE PROMOTION POSTER

3. An Effective Poster
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Has one message
Is visual
Shows a story
Is effective
Is interesting
Has one main element
Shows a clear starting point

4. One Message
• A poster has only one message.
–What is your message?

5. • This poster
has one
major
message.
• Is the
message
visual clear
to you?

6. • This poster
has one
major
message.
• Is the
message
visual clear
to you?

7. Visual
• Big visual, large text
• Very few text
–A visual message is understood faster
than a textual message.
• What is your visual?

8. • This poster
has one
major visual
element.
• Is the
meaning of
the visual
element
clear to
you?

9. • This poster
has one
major visual
element.
• Is the
meaning of
the visual
element
clear to
you?

10. • This poster
uses words to
create one
major visual
message.
• What is the
visual
message?

11. Shows a Story
• The three parts of a story are
– beginning – the problem situation
• The doer of the action
• The receiver of the action
• The problem to be solved
– turning point – a change in the situation
• The action that is done to solve the problem
• The resulting change or non-change
– end – the resulting situation
• Can be a projected or desired result, or an actual result
• Can be a change (or no change) in the doer, the receiver,
or in the situation

12. • This poster
contains story
elements:
beginning,
middle,
ending, result.
• What story
elements can
you identify?

13. • This poster contains story elements:
beginning, middle, ending, result.
• What story elements can you identify?

14. Effective
Three elements of a poster’s effectiveness:
• clarity of the message – the poster is designed
according to the target receiver’s ability to
understand the message
• acceptability of the message – the poster is
designed so that the target receiver will be
willing to accept and understand the message
• relevance of the message – the poster is
designed so that the target receiver can see how
the message meets an urgent or important need;
even better if the need is that of the receiver

15. This design is most attractive to what culture? Most familiar or acceptable to what culture?

16. NOT UNIVERSALLY
ACCEPTABLE
This is an example of
a poster that tells a
story, uses effective
visuals and text, but
may not be
acceptable in some
cultures or situations.

17. Interesting
Three elements how a poster can catch
and then hold attention:
• accessibility – the message is easy for
the target receiver to understand
• relevance – the message is personally
meaningful to the target receiver
• novelty – the target receiver sees
something new or attention-catching in
the message

18. • This poster
contains
elements of
interest: easy
to understand,
meets reader
needs, catches
attention.
• What elements
do you see?

19. • This poster
contains
elements of
interest: easy
to understand,
meets reader
needs, catches
attention.
• What elements
do you see?

20. One Dominant Element
A poster is designed with one major
element:
• size – the poster may have one largest
image (if there are many images) or
largest symbols (out of many symbols)
• position – the main element is located
on a central position, or a higher position
in the poster
What’s your main element?

21. • This poster
contains one
dominant
element due
to size or
positioning.
• What is the
major
element due
to?

22. • This poster
contains one
dominant
element due
to size or
positioning.
• What is the
major
element due
to?

23. NO DOMINANT ELEMENT. The text is on top but small. The visuals are large, but
there are two items of the same size.

24. Clear Start
A poster has clear start and end points:
• natural start point – according to culture
– some cultures begin reading on the left, some on the
right
– some cultures begin reading from the top, others
from the bottom
• designed start point – according to you
– the main element can be a start point
– arrows or numbers can show the start point
– The design can show change, progression, or action

25. • This poster
shows a
starting point
of movement.
• How do you
know where
the
movement
starts and
ends?

26. • This poster
shows a
starting point
and direction.
• What visual
element is
used to show
direction,
starting, and
ending?

27. PART 2: To spread a message + give details
THE INFORMATION POSTER

28. Tip
• The best information posters use elements
that are used in creating a promotion poster.

29. • This poster contains one visual message.
• What is the visual message?

30. • This poster contains one main visual.
• What is the main visual?

31. • This
poster
contains
one
dominant
visual
element.
• What is
it?

32. PART 5: To show how to do something
THE INSTRUCTION POSTER

33. Tip
• The best education posters use elements that
are used in creating a promotion poster.

34. • This education poster uses story elements.
• How can this poster be improved?

35. PART 5: Now That You Know
TEST YOURSELF

36. • How can this poster be improved?

37. • Knowing
the
mistakes of
others can
help you
avoid those
mistakes.
• How can
this poster
be more
effective?

38. • Knowing the
mistakes of
others can
help you
avoid those
mistakes.
• How can this
poster be
more
effective?

39. • Knowing the
mistakes of
others can help
you avoid those
mistakes.
• How can this
poster be more
effective?

40. • Knowing the
mistakes of
others can
help you
avoid those
mistakes.
• How can this
poster be
more
effective?

41. That’s all.
Thank you.

42. To get lost is to learn the way.
~ African proverb