22 min read

Planning a Poster

Analyse the brief, list and rank the content, sketch thumbnails, and set up the format — before opening Photoshop.

Step 1 — Analyse the Brief

Questions to answer from the brief
Questions to answer from the brief

Write every piece of text, then sort it into level 1 (hook), level 2 (act on it) and level 3 (supporting), as in the Visual Hierarchy lesson. Cut anything that does not help the purpose.

Draw three to six tiny sketches (thumbnails) of different layouts on paper — just boxes and lines. Try the image at the top, on the left, or filling the background. Pick the strongest and draw it larger. Sketching takes minutes and saves hours in Photoshop.

The chosen layout, showing the order of information and the print areas.

Practice

Why do printed posters need bleed?

Step 1 — Analyse the Brief

Questions to answer from the brief
Questions to answer from the brief

Step 3 — Sketch Thumbnails

Draw three to six tiny sketches (thumbnails) of different layouts on paper — just boxes and lines. Try the image at the top, on the left, or filling the background. Pick the strongest and draw it larger. Sketching takes minutes and saves hours in Photoshop.

The chosen layout, showing the order of information and the print areas.

Step 4 — Decide the Technical Format

Practice

Why do printed posters need bleed?