Essential Elements of a Graphic Design Poster
Table of Contents
Graphic design posters have been a conventional means of promotion for decades and more. Starting from movie posters during the advent of theatres to the 3D posters now- you know them all. A poster is a simple means for creating recognition and hype among people for anything.
For instance, a movie poster is released every month before the movie to build anticipation. It works the same for business posters. They are the cost-friendly methods of promoting a business.
Find out from our cost calculator!
Many companies often unleash new products and find posters as an effective tool to advertise their products or services. Also, some attractive offers and discounts are communicated through these graphic design posters. Small businesses that are looking to cut costs on marketing use posters to grab the audience’s attention.
The standard sizes are 8.5 by 11-inch letters and 11 by 17 inches, and 22 inches by 34 inches. They are commonly designed with a vertical orientation, but even horizontal ones are also being created according to needs.
There is no specific protocol for poster design. They can be either cluttered or straightforward. But too many fonts, colors, and images can confuse the viewers. An experienced designer preferably uses a few elements so that the viewers will have a direct focus on the message.
With Eye-catching Posters
Check out the perfect guide for promotional posters design.
The real power of a poster is to create awareness on an issue or communicate a brand’s message and entice the people to invest in its products or services. This power can be gauged from some inspirational poster designs that fascinate us with their creativity.
After you gain some inspiration, you are ready to create one on your own. But before the inspiration part, let us take a look at these essential elements.
Graphic Design Poster Elements
- Font
- Creating a Balanced Design
- Color
- The contrast in poster design
- Poster design hierarchy
- Shapes
- Grids & proximity
Font
A poster’s typography is an essential element that is always overlooked many times while designing a poster. Whether you are using a curly, wavy, or rigid font, make sure it is clear enough to convey the message you are looking to convey. However, it may tempt you to pick multiple fonts and play with your creativity.
Before that, it is crucial to consider how it relays your message. Ideally, it is best to choose 2 or 3 fonts for your total design.
The title can have a display typeface font like creative or Sans Serif fonts. And the fonts used for the body should be Serif fonts because they are easily readable. All the fonts should be different from each other to be easily distinguishable. Also, it creates a unified design when done correctly.
For a formal event, a combination of Serif and Sans serif font can be used. It creates visual diversity and won’t sound too casual.
Creating a Balanced Design
When you are designing a poster, make sure it looks balanced with a cohesive look. When it doesn’t look well-balanced, the viewers might feel a sense of discomfort while looking at your design. The balance can be created in two different ways: Symmetric and asymmetric.
In a symmetrical layout, similar designs are composed in an identical way on either side of the vertical axis. This gives a mirror image result. This is a perfect layout for formal event posters.
In an asymmetric layout, balance is brought by a disproportionate arrangement of elements. An asymmetric layout could often consist of large objects on one side, balanced by a small object on another side.
These designs are more challenging and complex as the visual weight of each, and everything should be considered before designing them.
The asymmetric ones appear more casual than the symmetric ones, and they are regarded as excellent poster design ideas for rock band concerts, museums, etc.
The asymmetric ones appear more casual than the symmetric ones, and they are regarded as excellent poster design ideas for rock band concerts, museums, etc.
You can have a look at social media graphic design for more inspiration.
Color
Whoever be your audience, color is an important language that is universally applauded and can communicate many things. It doesn’t matter if you’re using colors to bring a specific meaning or just for creating an attractive background. Colors do convey different meanings and imply certain things based on the culture you are in.
The following list contains the psychological implications of various colors in western culture.
Black: Elegant, mysterious, ominous, sober, sophisticated
Blue: Calming, honesty, cool, reliable, sad
Brown: Earthy, organic, rich, flavorful
Green: Natural, growth, financial wealth
Orange: Hot, active, tangy, childlike, gregarious
Purple: Regal, majestic, creative, futuristic
Red: Stimulating, exciting, dangerous, aggressive, sexy
White: Pure, innocent, clean
Yellow: Sunlight, citrus, imaginative, cheerful, cowardly
Apart from specific color-coding, colors are also considered as a unifying element. When you doubt what colors to use, find a harmonious color palette that consists of monochromatic colors, combinations based on complements, analogous color combo, and triad color schemes.
Monochromatic colors
They are limited to tints and shades of a single color. When applying monochromatic colors, it is essential to consider the meanings of the colors in a specific culture and how they will impact your message.
Complementary color combinations
These are the colors opposite in the color wheel like red and green or blue and orange. This can be an intense combination that can be considered when a brash, surprising effect is needed. Moreover, combining complementary colors that are muted by changing their saturation value can result in a harmonious palette.
Split complementary color combination
When you take two complementary colors, but for one of them, you take the colors on either side instead of the color itself. For example, you could take green, red-orange, or red-purple. These combinations are usually found in children’s books and materials.
Analogous color combinations
They are colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel. Few combinations are yellow, green and blue, blue, purple, and red or yellow, orange, and red. These combinations look good together.
If you want an emphasis on a single color, you can change the saturation value accordingly.
The contrast in poster design
Another essential element in designing a poster is contrast. This is achieved by placing two elements in opposing ways. This draws the eye to your design and creates a focal point. The elements to include for creating a contrast are colors, lines, size, and negative spacing.
Poster design hierarchy
The hierarchy should be incorporated into your design to create a focal point. A visual hierarchy implies the presentation of all the elements in a way that it shows importance. Thus, it provides a direction for your eyes to move (from the most important to least important)
Shapes
They create a path for the eye as it scans the poster. It also emphasizes the important information in the poster. You can use a large rectangle behind the title or a mountain triangle to point the eye towards the headline.
Softer shapes like curves, circles, and lines can create a relaxed mood.
Grids & proximity
An essential part of designing a poster is placing a grid. They are considered as tools for organizing space, text, and other abstract elements set in design. They bring a structure to the design and provide graphic designers with an order, efficiency, and consistency.
Now we come to the most incredible poster for your inspiration.
Zag designed a creative yet meaningful poster for the British Stammering Association to improve the public’s understanding of the condition. The poster is designed around the phrase ‘I stammer’ which is stressed at places representing the various pauses that occur in designs.
These places are curated with thoughts and frustrations that run on the mind of someone who stammers during these moments. The aim is to correct the misconception that people stammer because they are nervous.
