Despite being invented in the mid-15th century, posters are still one of the most important parts of a promoter’s toolkit. That’s because they’re so versatile. They can be posted on a street corner just as well as an Instagram ad, and they catch your viewers attention while giving them the facts too.
So then how do you make a good poster? It’s surprisingly simple (no lithography required) but there are a few tools and tricks that will make the process easier, like using an online JPG to PDF converter so your posters print out properly and without losing their quality.
Want some more practical tips to help elevate your digital poster design projects? Here’s the 101 on how to create high-resolution posters and flyers online.
Outline The Goals Behind Your Designs
Before you jump into colours and cropping, you need to drill down on what exactly you want your poster to do. This could be raising awareness for an issue, promoting a product, or inviting people to an event.
These are the 3 main poster types: ‘Infographic’, ‘Event’, and ‘Marketing’, which we’ll cover in more detail below.
But beyond that, consider what you want your viewers to do with the poster information. Should they visit your site for more info? Buy tickets? Pre-order your product? Or share the details with their friends? This specific piece of data– a link, QR code, or call to action – is what you’ll centre your poster around and draw the most attention to.
Different Types Of Posters
Infographic Poster
An infographic poster aims to educate on a topic, and tends to be the most information-dense type of poster. Because of this, the topic must be eye-catching and powerful to draw and keep attention. You also want to minimise reading-time, so use icons and graphics as much as possible. Finally, highlight the major insights – the stats that are most memorable and the key messages you want readers to take away.
Event Poster
The event poster tends to have the least information of the poster types, which means they can be the most eye-catching. Your primary image should be bold and eye-catching, and reflect what the event will be like. Your title should be easily read from afar. Aside from that, you only need to mention the event time, location, and a call to action – “Buy now!” or “Be there!”.
Marketing Poster
Marketing a product or service with a poster can be the trickiest to execute. You need to carefully where you’ll put your posters up to maximise their visibility to your target audience. For example, a local plumber would want to pin their posters at the nearby shopping centre. Besides that, focus on the main value that your product provides, then let the viewer consider the price and other features.
How To Design A Poster Online
Half of designing a poster lies in the planning. So beyond the dragging and dropping, we’ve listed 10 important things to consider before you even open your poster program of choice.
1. Choose Your Target Audience
First you want to consider who specifically is your target audience – how old are they, what’s popular with their group, how much do they already want what you offer? This will help you brainstorm ideas to catch their attention.
2. Decide The Poster Size
If you’re printing out posters or flyers for display, you need to decide what size and shape of paper you’ll be using – A4, A3, or even postcard size. Then, consider the social media that your audience uses most. For example, Facebook and Linkedin have the oldest average user age. Each social media platform is best suited to a different image aspect ratio, so remember to design around these.
3. Select Your Program & Template
You can find plenty of free (or partly free) tools to design posters and flyers, such as the Adobe Express app. Select a template that best suits the feel and layout of your piece to get you started, and from there you can personalise it to create your own unique layout.
4. Pick Your Colours
If you already have brand colours, use them to associate the poster with your company. You can also use colours to draw emotional associations; otherwise known as colour theory. A vital component when considering the psychology behind UX design, colour theory can be used to elicit tailored responses from your audience. For example, bright red exudes passion or danger, while a cool blue may instil trust and calm. It’s best to choose three to four colours that gel with the feeling you’re trying to present without overwhelming your poster design.
5. Add The Title & Details
Since people read from top to bottom, add your most eye-catching detail at the top. This will either be your main image or your title or headline. Then, add the secondary info and details going down in order of importance.
6. Add A Call-to-Action (CTA)
The last thing your viewer should look at is your Call To Action. This tends to belong in the bottom half of your image. After you’ve drawn them in with the big title and exciting images or info, capitalise on their attention with info on where to call, what to look up, or even better; a QR code that takes them there directly.
7. Consider Font Styles
Font size and style tells your viewers what to look at first. Your title or slogan are always top of this heap, but aside from making secondary info smaller, you should also make the typeface simpler. For example, “Arial” font is easier to read than “Times New Roman” so you’ll keep a casual viewer’s attention better with the former.
8. Less Words, More Pictures
If you have a statistic, use a bar graph, if you’re selling cake, post a photo. People are not actively looking for posters to read, so you have minimal time to keep their focus. Images are read and understood much quicker and easier than text, so keep it to the bare facts and key points.
9. Be Quality Conscious
Big print needs a high-resolution image to match. Otherwise it’ll come out looking cheap and pixelated. The same goes for the paper you use, and the images you choose. Whatever quantity of posters you decide to distribute, ensure you have the quality to match.
10. Download & Export in the Right Format
Don’t save your poster in .jpg, or in your program’s unique filetype, as these formats may not be compatible with everywhere you want to share it. Use .png for socials and .pdf for printing physical copies.
Conclusion
In this guide, we’ve given you a step-by-step of how to create compelling, high-resolution posters and flyers online.
Of course, poster design is an art that’ll take time to perfect, so don’t lose heart if your first try doesn’t turn out like you imagined. One trick to help you is to take inspiration from other posters that draw your attention well, then use their tricks for yourself.
Otherwise, try ‘guerilla’ marketing tactics; hand out cupcakes with your flyers, or hold a giveaway, so there is something more enticing to go alongside the posters you’re sharing.
