Posters are an excellent way to put your marketing chops to work for your business, no matter if it’s a product, service, person or event you are marketing. We’re all familiar with posters for concerts, movies, theater and other popular entertainment events but don’t forget about billboards, subway ads and other types of big design posters that work to catch people’s eyes and insert a message into their minds. It’s important to get high quality poster prints and also to have a great poster design. Here are some things to keep in mind when designing your posters that will boost your marketing strategies.
1. Consider where your poster will be hanging
Will your poster be on display in a public area, like a trade show or business office? Or will it be hanging in your retail windows or somewhere else? When you’re designing your poster, make sure to take this into consideration as it might be competing with other surroundings and other posters, in which case you’ll want to take extra measures to make sure it stands out.
2. Simplify your information
Posters aren’t meant for people to stare at and peruse tons of information. They should be quick, eye-popping statements or images that get a message across immediately. You have a very short amount of time to communicate your message so don’t bog it down with a bunch of info they can find when they visit your website. Keep it very clean.
3. Embrace white space
When printing posters, many companies are tempted to fill the space from corner to corner. This isn’t always the most effective use of space. Consider Oreo’s new highly effective ad campaign. One word and their recognizable product says more than any amount of text or jam-packed poster could have done.
4. Narrow down your fonts
Don’t overdo it with different typefaces unless you are doing a “Lock-Up” Type design. In most cases, it’s best to stick with only one or two typefaces so that your content doesn’t get too complicated and difficult to read. Remember to take a step back from your design during the process to ask yourself “Can I read this?” Try your best to convey the information clearly and to get rid of any elements that aren’t helping to push the message to the forefront of the design.
Remember, the message of the poster should be the number one purpose of the design. In terms of poster advertising, the methods that worked back in the 1800s still apply today – keep it short, simple and straightforward and you’ll get the most traction from your marketing posters.