Your Checklist for Effective Poster Design

Last updated on January 20, 2019

A major part of any local marketing strategy should include customer communication. There are many forms this communication can take, such as flyers, brochures, or digital. Another communication tool to consider is a poster. A poster can advertise an upcoming event, promotion, product, service, or a special sale. To be effective, a poster should grab the reader’s attention, make an offer highlighting the benefits and motivate action.

Use Posters to:

• Draw attention to your company or event.
• Reach a large audience.
• Provide long term advertising in a public space.

Communication Strategy

A poster is usually fairly large and can be professionally printed. When you decide to add a poster to your marketing strategy, you should consider some basic questions first.

• Decide what the primary purpose of your promotional piece.
• What unique benefit, or value, can you offer to your customers?
• Consider secondary benefits. What other key benefits will customers receive from your services?
• Who is your target audience?
• What response are you hoping to elicit from your customers, such as:
  • Visit your website.
  • Attend your function.
  • Call for information.
  • What impression do you want your prospects to have of your company and promotion?

Poster Components

When you design effective Advertising Poster, consider the available space and plan your poster carefully, if your poster is too cluttered, you’ll miss your audience. Make the most of the space to get your message across in the best way possible.

Headline

Your headline is the opportunity to grab your customer’s attention. If your headline is too wordy, or cramped, you run the risk of missing your target audience altogether. Your headline should contain about 5 to 15 words. Design your headline to promote customer benefits, which affect the reader on an emotional level.

Body Copy

The body of your poster is the opportunity to communicate your objective, build a compelling argument, and include strong facts. As a rule, it’s better to have one or two strong statements to avoid muddying the message.

Justify

Left justify your copy. There is little as distracting as trying to make sense copy that is all centered. To keep the balance intact, center your headlines and headers only. This will help your reader’s eyes move seamlessly from one section to another.

Subheadings

You can consider using subheadings, or bulleted lists to break up a sea of type. Subheading and bullets can highlight a number of ideas quickly. They can be used to establish balance and contrast to enhance your copy.

Grammar

Grammar and spelling are critical. The last thing you want is to do is diminish your customer’s attention with mistakes that distract from your overall message. Consider asking others to read your copy to ensure the gets across unfiltered.

Signature

Your copy should include your company’s signature. Include your company’s logo, and contact information, such as:

• Physical address
• Email address
• Phone Number
• Website
• Social Media accounts
• QR code for smartphone users

Fonts and Type

Because your poster should be visible from far-away, use big, clear fonts that are easy to read. Test the readability by hanging your poster several feet away. When planning the type for your poster, consider the following points:

• To avoid confusion, limit yourself to no more than four fonts on your poster.
• Limit your poster to no more than three font sizes.
  • Make your heading text should be twice as large as the copy
  • Subheadings should be half the size of headers
  • Copy should be the smallest font.
  • The size of your poster will dictate the size of font. Remember, the goal is to be legible from several feet away.
  • Use Upper and Lower case text to make your headline more readable. If the font size is too similar, it may blur at a distance.

Color and graphics

To make your poster pop, consider adding graphics or bright colors. Select colors that complement your message.

Poster Printing

Consider partnering with a local print services company to assist you with printing your poster. From Houston to Tampa, print services companies can assist you with the design, poster printing, and bring your vision to life.

Materials

Most poster printers can provide a number of material options for your poster. Some materials to consider are:

• Foamcore
• Gatorboard
• Vinyl banner
• Coroplast

Overall, a well-designed poster can highlight your product, or event, to compel your prospects to seek further information. When designing your poster, work with a local marketing services company to assist with your poster printing needs.