poster design kira jones oral communication instructor [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Poster Design
How do you make the visual elements of your document get your message across? The visual presentation of a text affects our
opinion about the topic and the person who created the text.
Poster Design
The First thing we notice about visual texts is how they look.
The Second, we notice if the message is accessible and easy to understand.
Third, we might actually read the text if we are still interested.
Poster Design
Creators of visual texts must consider the PURPOSE for which they are produced, the AUDIENCE for which they are intended, and the CONTEXT in which they will be seen.
The purpose of the visual elements of a document is to aid in clearly presenting the message.
Poster Design
Effective visual presentation of texts basically comes about because of attractive and easy to read FONTS, ARRANGEMENT AND BALANCE, CONTRAST, And if COLOR is used, pleasing color
combinations.
Fonts
Serif fonts such as Times New Roman or Garamond
look business-like. Those which are not too pleasing to the eye are courier and STENCIL.
Fonts
San Serif fonts A san serif font has clean lines that can reduce
clutter in a document, especially documents that are complex.
This font is often considered less formal.EX: Arial Black, Comic Sans
Yet, they are often used in heading and titles that need to be read quickly.
Fonts
Regardless the font that is chosen for your poster, it should be consistently used throughout the document.
2-3 fonts may be used, but more than three can become confusing.
Fonts
Font size and conventions such as bold, Underline, or Italics can make important parts of the message stand out.
Font Size
12pt Font
14pt Font
16 pt Font
18pt Font
20 pt Font
24pt Font
32 pt Font
Font Size
When choosing a font size, remember: your audience should be able to read your
poster from 6-12 feet away.Use a larger font size (NOT 12pt) under
pictures/graphs.
Format for Poster
Four Examples
Arrangement and Balance
Information can be condensed into shorter sentences, bulleted, and/or numbered.
Information should build logically to a conclusion, moving left to right and from top to bottom.
Remember: Units of text don’t carry the visual weight that
graphics and charts do. SPACING IS KEY.
Headings and “Captions”
Headings Use creative headings that draw your audience
in. If possible move away from traditional headings
such as: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results.
Headings and “Captions”
“Captions” Thinks of your accompanying text as a
“newspaper caption.” More people look at photos/visual images and read the caption, than read large bodies of text.
Captions should state what the figure is and also draw a small conclusion from each figure.
Contrast/Color Combinations
Background Colors Darker/cooler text on lighter/warmer backgrounds are
easier to readBut lighter/warmer text on Darker/cooler may create a
richer effect.Avoid busy backgrounds!
Darker (black, dark blue, dark green) or more intense colors (red, fuchsia, royal blue) weigh more than lighter colors (pale yellow, light blue, light green, white). Important when choosing titles, headings, graphics and
backgrounds.
Contrast/Color Combinations
Pleasing combinations Light tan background, dark gray text, dark red highlights. Dark blue background, white text, light yellow
highlights. Light yellow background, dark blue text, dark orange
highlights. Dark green background, white text, gold highlights.
Printer Instructions
Refer to handout (can also be found online).
Technical Paper Exercise