Poster Making
Senior 3 · Fine Arts
Poster Making
Lesson 1 of 4
20 min
A driver in a national park sees the poster below for a few seconds as the car goes past. In that time the poster has to stop the driver, tell them something and change what they do. It uses one picture, a deer and its fawn caught in the headlights, and four large words. Everything else is small. Before the designers drew anything, they had to answer three questions: who will see this, what one thing must they understand, and what should they do next? Answering those questions is called campaign discovery, and it is the first stage of every good poster.
Definition
Poster: a large printed or digital notice that combines an image and a few words to inform or persuade people at a glance.
Campaign: a planned set of messages, often several posters and other media, working towards one goal.
Target audience: the particular group of people a poster is designed to reach.
Key message: the one idea the audience must understand. A slogan is that idea in a short, memorable phrase.
Call to action: the words that tell the audience exactly what to do, for example "Register by Friday at the school office".
Design brief: a short written plan that sets out a design job: its purpose, audience, message and practical limits.
A poster that tries to speak to everyone usually speaks to no one. Describe your audience as exactly as you can:
Find out, don't guess. Ask five members of your audience two or three short questions, and look at the place where the poster will hang: the light, the distance, and what else is on the wall.
Figure 1 shows the narrowing process. A topic such as "hygiene" is too broad to design. Find the real problem, choose the audience it affects, and then write a key message of one idea in a few words, followed by a precise call to action. A good key message is:
| Appeal | How it works | Example headline | Take care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emotion | makes the viewer feel care, pride or concern | "Protect the little ones" | keep it honest, not manipulative |
| Fact or reason | gives a clear reason or benefit | "Soap removes germs your eyes can't see" | use only facts you can check |
| Belonging | shows that others like the viewer already do it | "S2 B has read 100 books. Has your class?" | the claim must be true |
| Warning | shows the danger of not acting | "Don't kill our wild life" | avoid shocking or graphic images |
| Brief heading | Example (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| Client | School health club |
| Purpose | persuade pupils to wash hands with soap after using the toilet |
| Audience | pupils aged 9–15; read Kinyarwanda and English |
| Key message | "Soap saves lives" |
| Call to action | "Wash with soap at the tap by the toilets" |
| Where shown | corridor outside the toilets; seen from 3–5 m while walking |
| Size and format | A3 portrait, printed in colour; a phone version for the school group chat |
| Must include | club name; no photographs of identifiable pupils without permission |
| Deadline | two weeks |
Worked example 1: sharpening a vague idea
Mutoni's club says: "Make a poster about the environment." Turn this into a message and a call to action.
Problem. She observes that plastic bottles are thrown behind the classrooms.
Audience. Pupils who buy drinks at break time.
Key message. "Bottles belong in the bin" (five words, one idea, active).
Call to action. "Use the blue bins by the canteen."
The topic "environment" is still behind the poster, but the poster itself now asks for one clear action in one place.
Worked example 2: choosing between two slogans
For a reading campaign aimed at S1 pupils, Keza has two slogans: (A) "Reading is very important for the development of every student"; (B) "Ten pages a day. Start today."
Length. A has eleven words; B has six, and can be read in about three seconds.
Action. A states an opinion; B tells the reader exactly what to do and when.
Verdict. B is the stronger slogan for a corridor poster. A could appear in small text, as a reason, if there is room.
<em>What Makes A Good Design Brief?</em>, from Gareth David Studio. Listen for the questions a designer asks before starting, and compare them with the brief headings in this lesson.
Warning
Too many messages. A poster that lists five rules gets none of them read. Choose one; make a series of posters for the rest.
Respect and permission. Never use photos of real people, especially children, without their (and their parents') permission, and never make fun of a group in your audience.
Tip
Who, what, do. Who is it for? What one idea must they get? What should they do next? If you can't answer all three in one sentence each, you are not ready to design.
Practice
Define target audience and call to action.
Why does a corridor poster need a shorter headline than a poster in a clinic waiting room?
Name the four appeals in this lesson and give one example headline for a road-safety campaign that uses one of them.
Rewrite this headline as a sharp key message: "It is necessary for all of us to think about saving water in our daily lives."
A poster about a school football match gives the date but not the time or place. Which part of the brief was missed, and why does it matter?
Look at the deer poster. Who is its audience, what is its key message, and which appeal does it use?
Brief task. Choose a real need at your school or in your community. Interview five members of the audience and write a full design brief using the headings in this lesson.
1. The target audience is the particular group a poster is designed to reach; the call to action tells them exactly what to do.
2. People walking past see it for only about three seconds, so the message must be read at a glance; people waiting have time to read more.
3. Emotion, fact or reason, belonging, warning. Example (warning): "Phone in hand, life in danger".
4. For example: "Turn off the tap" or "Every drop counts. Close the tap."
5. The call to action and the "must include" details. Without time and place, the audience cannot act on the message.
6. Drivers in national parks; drive carefully so you don't kill wild animals; a warning appeal, supported by emotion (the mother and fawn).
7. Check: all brief headings filled; the audience described exactly; one key message; a precise call to action; notes from five interviews.
Think of a poster you have seen this month, at school, in a shop or by the road. Can you remember its message? If not, what do you think went wrong at the discovery stage?
Sources and credits
