YOUR POSTER

Your poster is a means of VISUAL COMMUNICATION. Think of it as a paper reduced to

its essence, using images more than words. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

The purpose of your poster is to INFORM your audience {other poster types announce,
invite or advertise}.

Ask yourself:
• Who is the intended audience?
• What is your main message?
• What is your desired outcome?
• What is the HIERARCHY of information? i.e., what’s most important? What’s less important? What’s
least important, and do you really need to include it? Less is More.
• How will you illustrate your ideas? Graphs and images can tell a lot. Don’t use too much text.
Think visual. Think big -- you have a huge canvas to work with.
• How are you going to grab the viewer’s attention? Shock and awe? A lot of white space? Word
art? Wild colors? Be creative.
• How can people find out more about your project? Include a website or other sources.

Remember:
• Keep it simple
• Order is our friend. Chaos is confusing. Use a grid.
• Color is wonderful.

Good resources:
Elbowroomdesign.com
Designreviver.com/inspiration/30-inspiring-poster-designs
Informationisbeautiful.net
designobserver.com
visualizing.org
Books by Edward Tufte, also www.edwardtufte.com

How-to:
• Sketch out your poster first, using pencil and paper
• Use PowerPoint, Indesign, Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator or Presentation in Open Office
• Have someone else proofread for typos, errors, suggestions.
• Lotus Graphics in Brattleboro will print 36 x 30” laminated posters. They require
a hi-res pdf (at least 300 dpi at 18 x 15”).

You know you have acheived perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add,
but when you have nothing more to take away.” -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery