F.O.C.U.S. on Posters Tips for Making Successful Posters By Phillip Martin

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n Focus on these five key points for better posters. The first key is... n F n O n C n U n S

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n Focus on these five key points for better posters. The first key is... n Fonts n O n C n U n S

Fonts n The choice of fonts, or lettering, is very important. If you look at ads in magazines, you’ll see that they rarely use more than three fonts or sizes. Often, they use one font but in two or three sizes.

Fonts n If an ad uses all capital letters, it is always a simple font.

Wow! Onefont,butinmorethanonesize

Fonts n You will almost never see an ad with rainbow lettering.

Fonts It may be It may be attractive but attractive but it is harder to it is harder to read than solid read than solid colors on words.

Fonts n You will almost never see an ad with rainbow lettering. n You almost never see an ad that has every other word in a different color.

Fonts n You will almost never see an ad with rainbow lettering. n You almost never see an ad that has every other word in a different color. n Most lettering in ads goes left to right; not going in spirals, up-and-down, or diagonally.

Fonts What is good with the fonts on this poster? What could have done better? Find out on to the next slide.

Fonts n And, most important of all, when you draw your own letters, use a ruler. If you use only capital letters, draw two lines. If you also make lower case letters, use three lines.

Fonts n Don’t press hard with the pencil when you draw the lines. You will later need to erase them.

Wow ! These letters were made with a ruler. The accent bubble for the “O” is also great!

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n For successful posters, you must also focus on... n Fonts n Oops! Take Time Cutting! n C n U n S

Oops! Take Time Cutting! n When cutting out objects to glue to a poster, plan ahead. If you want them to be square, measure with a ruler or use a cutting board for perfect squares.

Oops! The design is GREAT, but the edges of the yellow boxes are not square.

Oops! Take Time Cutting! n If the object is not square, take time to carefully cut.

Oops! Great border! Lots of good information! But, smooth cut edges instead of jagged ones are better.

Oops! Take Time Cutting! n When adding a border, be sure all sides are equal.

Oops! A round border around the graph is very clever, but also very hard to cut evenly.

Wow! Great poster design! The black trim could be more evenly cut, but what a great poster!

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n For successful posters, don’t forget about... n Fonts n Oops! Take Time Cutting! n Careful Gluing n U n S

Careful Gluing n Use glue sparingly. You want to use enough to properly hold your papers in place. But, you don’t want to use so much glue that it leaks out on the front.

Wow!

Careful Gluing n This poster is so beautiful! Lots of cats were individually cut out. However, the text and pictures were not secure.

Careful Gluing n Keep your hands clean and glue-free.

Careful Gluing n Keep your hands clean and glue-free. n Be careful in placing pieces on the poster so that they aren’t accidentally crooked.

Careful Gluing n Keep your hands clean and glue-free. n Be careful in placing pieces on the poster so that they aren’t accidentally crooked. Beautiful Borders but the text is crooked. Great illustrations,with a good layout, but this box is crooked.

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n For successful posters, you must also consider the... n Fonts n Oops! Take Time Cutting! n Careful Gluing n Use of Color n S

Use of Color n Look at ads in magazines. Many kids’ posters have too many colors with the lettering. As a rule, use no more than three colors with all the lettering. Two is even better.

Use of Color n Look at ads in magazines. Many kids’ posters have too many colors with the lettering. As a rule, use no more than three colors with all the lettering. Two is even better. n It’s hard to get better than the slide on the next page. Only two colors were used for all the lettering.

Use of Color n Look at ads in magazines. Many kids’ posters have too many colors with the lettering. As a rule, use no more than three colors with all the lettering. Two is even better.

Use of Color n Remember contrast is important. Don’t use dark letters on dark paper or light letters on light paper. The lettering needs emphasis to be easily read.

The green letters are very easy to read, but other letters are almost impossible to see. The green letters are very easy to read, but some letters are almost impossible to see.

Color, Cut carefully, Quality, Everything! Color, Cut Carefully, Contrast, Everything! Color, Contrast, Carefully Cut -- Everything!

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n For successful posters, finally, you must... n Fonts n Oops! Take Time Cutting! n Careful Gluing n Use of Color n Stress for Success

Stress for Success n Some posters look like they are Where’s Waldo ads. There is so much clutter you don’t know where to look. Like any ad in a magazine, a poster needs something emphasized, something stressed. It is usually the title and / or a piece of art.

Stress for Success Science fair posters need to have a lot of information. There is no way around that. But, for other posters, less is more. Less wording and information makes for a more attractive poster.

Stress for Success n This band-aid project is a clever idea for a poster. But, there is so much information! Stress the title or art for success.

Stress for Success n Some ads stress the title. It’s the first thing you see. Other ads emphasize the artwork to grab your attention. Other ads balance between the two.

Stress for Success No doubt about it. You are supposed to see the star first.

Stress for Success n Almost no ads focus on the written text. It’s important, but when it comes to writing on a poster, remember less is more.

Stress for Success This poster is filled with lots of good information. But, most people will not take the time to read all of it.

F.O.C.U.S. Review n Now that you have “F.O.C.U.S.ed” on steps for making a good poster, look at these examples made by students. What have they done well? What could they have improved upon?

Example 1

n Wow! Clever lettering on title

Example 1 n Wow! Clever lettering on title n Wow! Ruler used for careful lettering.

Example 1 n Wow! Clever lettering on title n Wow! Ruler used for careful lettering. n Wow! Neat blue trim around text.

Example 1 n Wow! Clever lettering on title n Wow! Ruler used for careful lettering. n Wow! Neat blue trim around text. n Oops! A larger illustration would make this poster more attractive.

Example 1 n Wow! Clever lettering on title n Wow! Ruler used for careful lettering. n Wow! Neat blue trim around text. n Oops! A larger illustration would make this poster more attractive. n Oops! Although the information is important, less is more.

Example 2

n Wow! Easy to read font, so using all capital letters is no problem to read.

Example 2 n Wow! Easy to read font, so using all capital letters is no problem to read. n Wow! Only one font, in different sizes, is used.

Example 2 n Wow! Easy to read font, so using all capital letters is no problem to read. n Wow! Only one font, in different sizes, is used. n Wow! Only two colors used for fonts.

Example 2 n Wow! Easy to read font, so using all capital letters is no problem to read. n Wow! Only one font, in different sizes, is used. n Wow! Only two colors used for fonts. n Wow! An evenly cut blue border around the text.

Example 3

n Wow! Very neatly assembled.

Example 3 n Wow! Very neatly assembled. n Wow! Careful hand lettering.

Example 3 n Wow! Very neatly assembled. n Wow! Careful hand lettering. n Wow! Cotton adds interesting appeal.

Example 3 n Wow! Very neatly assembled. n Wow! Careful hand lettering. n Wow! Cotton adds interesting appeal. n Wow! Attractive trim around text.

Example 3 n Wow! Very neatly assembled. n Wow! Careful hand lettering. n Wow! Cotton adds interesting appeal. n Wow! Attractive trim around text. n Wow! Excellent coloring of artwork.

Example 3 n Wow! Very neatly assembled. n Wow! Careful hand lettering. n Wow! Cotton adds interesting appeal. n Wow! Attractive trim around text. n Wow! Excellent coloring of artwork. n Oops! One large illustration works better than several small ones.

Example 4

n Wow! Beautiful lettering!

Example 4 n Wow! Beautiful lettering! n Wow! Creative border matching the theme of the project.

Example 4 n Wow! Beautiful lettering! n Wow! Creative border matching the theme of the project. n Wow! Large title and central illustration to capture attention.

Example 4 n Wow! Beautiful lettering! n Wow! Creative border matching the theme of the project. n Wow! Large title and central illustration to capture attention. n Oops! Text should be carefully trimmed.

Example 4 n Wow! Beautiful lettering! n Wow! Creative border matching the theme of the project. n Wow! Large title and central illustration to capture attention. n Oops! Text should be carefully trimmed. n Oops! Non-Science fair projects should have fewer illustrations.

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n Now that you know how to F.O.C.U.S. on good posters-making tips, you can have much more attractive displays.

F.O.C.U.S. on Posters n Now that you know how to F.O.C.U.S. on good poster-making tips, you can have much more attractive displays. n And remember, these suggestions are also good for ads, brochures, book covers, bulletin boards, report cover pages, menus, programs, post cards, banners, and a whole lot more!

Special thanks! n I’d like to thank my students at the Antwerp International School in Antwerp, Belgium. All these photos were taken from their posters and science fair projects.