Creating eye-catching and memorable posters is an important skill for university students. Posters are commonly used to promote events, share research, or spread awareness about causes. However, with hundreds of posters competing for attention across campus, it can be challenging to make yours stand out. Using basic design principles can help your posters grab attention and get your message across more effectively. Follow these tips to create university posters that are impossible to ignore.
Use Repetition to Create Unity
Repeating visual elements is an easy way to make your poster look polished and cohesive. You can take inspiration from repetition in art and stick to one or two complementary colours throughout the poster. This creates a sense of unity that draws the viewer’s eye across the entire poster. You can repeat colours in headlines, borders, background shades, graphics elements, and more.
In addition to colour, repeating other design elements like shapes, lines, or graphic patterns can further unify your poster. For instance, use the same style of bold headline at the top, subtitles in the body content, and footer text at the bottom. Or utilise identical squares, circles, or lines to contain bits of information across the poster.
Take the repetition one step further by using a visual motif. This is an element like a logo, icon, or graphic shape that appears repeatedly on the poster. If you’re advertising an event, create an engaging visual icon that conveys the event theme. Allow this motif to pop up multiple times across the poster – it will create visual continuity and help reinforce your key message.
Guide the Eye with Hierarchy
An amateur poster simply slaps text and graphics elements down thoughtlessly. A professional poster carefully guides the viewer’s eyes from the most important elements to least important. This is achieved by establishing hierarchy.
Use font size, colour contrast, and placement to denote hierarchy. For instance, the largest and most centrally placed text should be the main headline conveying your key message. Supporting subheadings can be medium-sized and spread across the middle of the poster. Detailed body text should be the smallest size, as it contains supplementary information.
Also, use visual weight to create a hierarchy. Larger, bolder graphics elements will attract more attention than smaller, lighter ones. Make sure your most important graphics or photos are given priority. For example, a large central image that aligns with your main headline will draw immediate focus.
Strategic use of whitespace also contributes to hierarchy. Don’t overcrowd the poster or pack it densely with text and graphics. Allow breathing room around the most important elements so they stand out clearly.
To summarise, you need to carefully control the information hierarchy across your poster to progressively walk the viewer from most important to least important.
Use Contrasting Elements
Contrast is an important design principle that can make your poster content stand out. Contrast simply means using opposite elements together to create visual interest. There are a few easy ways to incorporate contrast:
- Use complementary colours like blue and orange or red and green
- Combine different shapes, like squares with circles
- Vary text formatting between bold, italics, underlined
- Mix photographic and graphic elements
- Blend serif and sans-serif fonts
Don’t go overboard with too much contrasting stimulation. But using strategic contrast between colours, fonts, shapes, or graphics will make your poster layout more dynamic. It draws attention to key elements you want viewers to notice.
Simplify and Organise Information
University posters are often promoting complex ideas or events. You have a lot you want to communicate to your audience. However, an overloaded poster with tiny text and cluttered graphics will be ignored. Simplification and organisation are essential.
Prioritise the 2-3 most important pieces of information you want to convey. These should be prominently featured through large text, contrasting colours, and strategic placement. Remove any non-essential info and graphics that aren’t needed.
Organise your content into logical sections or columns to break up large blocks of text. Use bullet points, numbered lists, charts, or graphs to display information clearly. White space should be used liberally around and between content areas. Following the basic principle – less is more – will increase visual clarity and retention.
Creating posters for the chaotic university environment requires strategy. Make your posters shine by incorporating strong design principles like repetition, hierarchy, strategic contrast, and simplified organisation. Keep the layout clean and organised with ample whitespace. If you apply these tips, your posters are sure to stand out on campus and achieve maximum impact. With a well-designed, professional poster, your event, research, or cause will get the visibility it deserves.
