Michaela StephensPoster ResearchI conducted some research to find out what features of promotional posters being used at the moment were particularly successful – interesting the target audience, and made them relevant to the music industry. Since the target audience of our show were the attendees, predominantly parents, of the November Festival, I researched previous school show posters and tried to incorporate elements of these into my design. Below are some of the designs that I found; I have annotated them to show which elements I think would be a valuable feature to include in the design of my poster. I have also highlighted my criticisms of the poster, so I know how to improve mine.

Some of the essential details of the event, such as the date and time, are lost in the design.

Understandable and detailed directions to the venue maximise the amount of attendees.

A sophisticated design adds interest to the poster and makes it eye-catching.

A clear list of what to expect at the show, and shows there is something for everyone to enjoy.

The title lettering is very bold and is the first thing you see, yet it fits with the colour scheme of the poster and is in a tasteful font.

The title immediately specifies what the event is, and is very definite. It contrasts from the dark background making it distinct on the page.

The time and date are bold and, again, contrast in white to the dark background colour.The images are both elegant and relevant to the theme of the show, and give a mature feel to the event. This is emphasized by the deep purple/plum colour used as a background. The coloured background also gives a

All the required information (except instructions on reaching the venue) is present on the poster and, since the text gradually gets smaller and less bold, it causes people to look at the poster for longer. Despite having the positive effect of prolonging the

amount of time people would look at the poster, the increasingly small text would not be visible from a distance, which, on occasion, would be the case.

At the top of the poster, it instantaneously states where the event will take place, however, doesn’t specify instructions on how to get there.

The title is easily the largest and most prominent thing on stage, and so immediately invites the target audience – jazz lovers – to read the poster. The blocks in the background are colourful and eye-catching, again, inviting people to read.

The sub-title is again a bold feature and is the second thing you see on the poster, an effect which I'm sure was desired. It follows the same colour scheme to the blocks behind the

The music note images are relevant to the musical theme of the show, as do the blocks behind the title, which perhaps symbolise the keys of a trumpet, a very common and possibly the most significant instrument in jazz music.

After looking at numerous posters used by other schools to promote their shows, I have found many repetitive features which will be essential for our poster. Things such as the date and venue of the show will need to be prominent in the design, and the name of the show will have to be easily seen. We could also include images that relate to the ‘Shining Stars’ theme of the show, and the whole thing will need to be bold and eye-catching. All the required information will have to appear on the poster but does not necessarily need to be as bold as the name, date etc, but should ideally be visible from a distance. Below are three drafts for the posters to promote our show, on which I have tried to incorporate these features. I have annotated each one to show the reasons why I designed it the way it is, and how I developed the same idea on the next.

Poster Design 1

Poster Design 2

All the required information appears on the poster, but, similarly to the previous poster, the small text would not be visible to people viewing from a distance.

The grey block behind the smaller text, despite having the positive effect of making said text be of greater prominence on the page, doesn’t automatically flow within the design, almost looking like it should be there. However the alteration in the colour of the background would prove this block

All required information appears on the poster, including a brief description of the location of the venue. These details, though, such as the contact details and location, may not be visible

The striped design is vibrant and eye-catching, but can also distract from the text in places where it overlaps. To solve this problem, the text could be in a contrasting colour, thus making it visible over the stripes. This however would prove defective if the background colour were to remain white. To solve this a darker background colour must be chosen, though, this may have the positive effect

The star images are relevant to and highlight the theme of the show. They could, however be a more frequent occurrence on the poster.

The font used is bold and the first thing to be seen on the page.

The star images are relevant to and highlight the theme of the show. The effect of having them in alternative dimensions makes them look artistic and creative and makes them stand out on the page.

The background colour being something other than white improves the visibility of the text, yet not to such an extent to make it completely perceptible from a distance. This is perhaps because of the light shade of blue used in some of the text, a problem which is overcome on occasion with the darker blue outline on some of the information. To have this effect on all the text, though, would cause the poster to look

Poster Design 3

Final Design

This is my final design for the poster which will form part of our show’s promotional pack.

Although all the required information is present on the poster, it is not all visible, particularly the contact details and location, as it is too dark/too small. To solve this problem, the text could be put into a lighter colour to make the text visible from a distance.

The star images are relevant to the ‘Shining Stars’ theme of the show, and do not divert from the boldness of the title as they fit with the colour scheme.

The striped design is vibrant and eye-catching, and no longer distracts from the text in places where it overlaps due to the block white contrast the text has been put in. This have proved to be effective mainly because of the way in which it contrasts with the dark background colour, in a way in which it

I have used a colour scheme similar to that of the schools to make it relevant. These colours are vibrant and will catch the eye of our target audience.

The text is bold and contrasts from the dark background. This gives a greater impact and intrigues our target

I have tried to improve the visibility of the smaller details by making them a darker colour, so that they should stand out. I thought these details were essential as, with them, our target audience would be able to find out more information concerning the event for themselves on the website or facebook page, but also