How to Make a Poster: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

A good poster should be clean and simple. It needs to grab attention and communicate your message clearly before a reader loses interest and walks away. Yet you may find that it’s easier said than done to create a well-balanced poster.

We’ve taken it upon ourselves to make it easier for you to design a poster. We have some tips to help you design a poster that people actually notice. The main factors you need to consider are choosing the right size, planning your layout, picking suitable fonts, placing images, adapting colors, and selecting materials. We’ll also give you a few insights about print details that you might not think about until it’s too late.

Step 1. Define Your Poster’s Purpose and Audience

The first step to designing a poster is defining what purpose it’ll serve. Once you have that in mind, it’ll make it much easier for you to design it later on.

Who Will See It, and From How Far Away?

Picture the poster on the actual wall where it will hang, not on your monitor. Someone walking down a school or office hallway might stop a foot or two in front of it. A driver passing your storefront sees it from across the street, often for only a second.

The audience changes things, too. A student checking a campus noticeboard is often more careful than a shopper glancing at a shop window. So a style that works for one may fall flat with the other. Before you start designing, work out who will be looking and where they’ll be standing. Then be honest about how long they’ll look. Usually it’s just a few seconds.

What’s the One Thing You Want Them to Remember?

A poster has limited real estate to work with. It doesn’t have room to give people every little detail.

That’s why you need to choose the message that’s going to hook your prospects and reel them into your premises.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re promoting a sale, relaying an event date, advertising a new location, launching a new product, or just building brand reputation.

The fine print on your poster should help reinforce the main message, not drown it out.

Now, put this principle to the test. If someone only had two seconds to look at your poster and remember something, what would you want it to be?

That test will help you determine whether your message works, or you should redesign.

Take this as an example: “Summer Sale: 30% Off All Shoes” communicates your offer perfectly. It’s straight to the point. It shows what you’re selling, how much of a discount you’re providing, and what the occasion is.

“Something Special Is Waiting for You” is the exact opposite. It’s vague. People will have to figure out what is waiting for them, where, and when, and what they have to do to get it.

Your headline doesn’t need to say everything; just enough for people to understand.

What’s Your Poster’s Purpose?

Your poster’s goal determines which piece of information needs to be front and center.

If you’re announcing a sale, make the offer or discount easy to see.

Promote an event by relaying the date, time, location, and possibly the entrance fee.

Building brand awareness by designing several posters all using the same fonts. Stick to the same color palette of primary and secondary brand colors, too. People need to recognize your brand just by glancing at the visuals in front of them.

What’s the Best Tone for Your Messaging?

Your tone should transcend your choice of words.

Colors, fonts, images, and overall layout all influence how a poster feels. A specific audience also guides your choices.

You might use bright colors and a type of a comic sans font for a kids’ bake sale.

You certainly wouldn’t do that for a seminar announcement. That would probably call for something more professional.

Think about how you want the poster to feel, then create the design to support it.

Step 2. Choose the Right Size for Your Poster

Visualize the poster you want to create. Imagine it hanging where you want it to be. Imagine the information you want to include on it. Is the size you were thinking of going to be big enough? Is it going to be too big? Don’t limit yourself to what you see on screen; reality is often quite different.

Plan your content, and set the size for your poster accordingly to avoid any unwanted issues once it’s printed.

Consider Common Poster Sizes

Here are a few standard sizes to start with:

18” x 24” or 24” x 36” is a practical choice for many indoor displays. Both are large enough for people to notice and read easily from within a couple of feet.

Think of Viewing Distance When Determining the Size

A poster that looks large on your laptop may turn out to be small on the wall. So, the farther away people stand, the larger the key text needs to be.

One common signage guideline states that every inch of letter height allows for visibility from a distance of 10 feet. Let’s say, if people need to read your headline from a distance of 20 feet, you need letters that are at least two inches tall. For example, an 11” x 17” poster works well for close-up viewing, while 18 x 24 inches is a good fit for many indoor spaces. For larger walls or areas where people will stand farther away, 24 x 36 inches or larger gives your headline more room to stand out.

Think of that as a starting point, not a strict rule. You can always go larger.

The foolproof solution would be to visit the display area before finalizing the file. Look at the wall from the same distance you expect people to naturally be standing at. This will help you determine the size you need more accurately.

You might also be able to use an AR sizing tool on your phone to see how big a poster would actually look on the wall while you’re there.

Choose an Orientation

A portrait or vertical poster is a natural fit for many event announcements and designs built around a person or a tall image.

A landscape or horizontal poster gives a wide photo more room and can work well when the text sits beside the image.

Let the space and the content guide you. A portrait poster is better suited in a narrow hallway, while a landscape design looks better above a wide counter.

Size Elements by Importance

Once you’ve chosen the overall size, think about the size of everything inside it.

Your headline should usually get the most attention. The main image or offer follows, with details such as dates, locations, and contact information in a supporting role.

If every element is the same size, the viewer has no idea where to look first. A little difference in scale gives the poster a natural order.

Step 3. Sketch Your Layout Before You Design

If you’re learning how to make your own poster, don’t feel like you need to jump straight into design software. Grab a piece of paper and sketch it out first.

Draw a rectangle in the same proportions as your poster, and roughly mark where the headline, image, and other information might go. Try two or three versions. This can help you visualize your ideas and decide whether they actually work.

Use the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds divides your poster into nine equal sections. Two horizontal and two vertical lines create natural spots to place your main elements. It is a simple way to make a layout feel more balanced.

The four points where those lines meet are natural places for important elements.

You don’t have to position everything on those points. Centered layouts can work really well, especially for a formal or symmetrical design.

Still, if your design feels a little flat and you can’t figure out why, moving the main element away from the center and toward one of those points can help.

Balance the Text and White Space

White space is simply the empty space around your content. It isn’t wasted space.

When every corner contains a word, shape, or image, the viewer has to work harder to figure out where to look.

You can create more balance by leaving space around your headline, keeping similar elements grouped together, and avoiding the urge to fill every empty corner. Images and text don’t need to touch the edges to make the poster feel full.

If the layout feels crowded, resist the urge to make every font smaller. You can cut words that aren’t doing useful work. A shorter message is often easier to notice and remember.

Step 4. Choose Fonts People Can Actually Read

A beautiful font doesn’t help much if nobody can read it from across the room. Typography is one of those things that can look fine on a computer and completely fall apart once the poster is printed.

Prioritize Readability

Simple sans-serif typefaces are usually suitable choices for headlines due to their legibility at a distance. Serif typefaces are also suitable choices and may be better choices if you want a more traditional look, as long as the individual serifs are not too thin.

Script and other decorative fonts should be used carefully. They are effective in small amounts, like for individual words or word elements, but headlines in decorative script fonts may be difficult to read.

You don’t need more than two typefaces. One typeface for headings and one for body text is enough.

Match the Overall Tone

Rounded fonts are commonly featured on posters for an informal effect. Thin, condensed fonts on posters have a modern or professional effect. Adding a serif font to a poster design creates a classic effect.

As we mentioned earlier, if the graphic design of the poster is meant to be welcoming and the font is businesslike, you might consider using a different font.

Consider the Spacing Between Letters

Letter spacing, or tracking, influences the readability of a headline. Line spacing, or leading, influences the readability of a headline.

Letters that are too close together may overlap from a distance. Uppercase letters may need more space between them.

For body text, leave space between lines. Don’t leave too much space between lines for body text, as this can make the text hard to read.

Step 5. Choose Your Colors

People on the go notice colors before they read your message. It sets the mood, but it also has a very practical job: making sure the text can actually be seen.

Think of Color Psychology

Specific colors elicit certain emotions. Red connects to urgency or energy. Blue is associated with trust and calm. Green represents nature or growth. Yellow draws attention.

These associations aren’t universal, though. Culture and context can change how a person perceives a color, so use them as a starting point rather than a strict formula.

For a closer look at how color can affect signage, see our guide to the psychology of colors in signage.

Provide High Contrast

Contrast is just as important, if not more so than choosing a particular color.

Dark lettering on a light background, or the opposite, makes your message easy to read.

Gray text on beige is almost always a terrible idea (depending on the shade of gray). It’s hard enough to see on screen, and even more so on a poster a few feet away.

A neat trick is to look at the design in grayscale or shrink it on your screen. If the text is no longer visible, you need to improve contrast.

Don’t Use Too Many Colors

Two or three colors are enough. Pick a primary color, a secondary color, and a font color. Adding more isn’t wrong per se, but too many can make the poster feel overbearing.

Incorporate Brand Colors

For a business poster, your preset palette can help tie the design to your identity. You don’t need to use every color you have. Choose one or two key shades and build around them. And always prioritize readability.

Step 6. Add High-Quality Images and Graphics

A picture is worth a thousand words, or at least that’s how the saying goes. A good image can communicate, in a second, what would take an entire paragraph to explain. A bad image, on the other hand, can make the whole poster look cheap.

Pixelated photos and outdated clip art are obvious examples of bad imagery. A less obvious problem is a high-quality image that’s too small for the actual print.

Match Image Resolution to Print Size

An image can look perfectly sharp on your laptop and turn blurry when it’s printed on a 24” x 36” poster.

Whenever you submit a file you want to print, make sure the resolution is no less than 300 DPI when the file is adjusted for print size.

150 DPI files may be enough for very large posters that people will see from a distance, but why rely on luck when you can guarantee success yourself?

Check the image’s pixel dimensions before building your entire design around it. If the file is too small, find a larger version instead of stretching it.

Authentic Visuals or Stock Images

Use real photos of your product, team, location, or event whenever you can.

Stock photography has its place, for example, when you need an abstract image, a background, or something you can’t photograph yourself.

Just choose images that don’t feel overly staged, and make sure the license allows for commercial printing.

Keep Graphics Relevant to Your Message

If an image helps explain the message or creates the right mood, keep it. If it’s only there because the corner looked empty, you can let it go.

Leave Breathing Room Around Images

Don’t push images right against the text or edges unless that’s part of the design. Leave a clear gap between each image and the text around it, and keep a little space between the image and the poster’s edges.

Related elements can be grouped together while leaving more space between separate sections. This will help the layout feel organized rather than crowded.

Not sure where to start with the layout? Our online designer provides you with a platform to upload your images, arrange your content, and see how everything looks before ordering.

Step 7. Write a Clear Call to Action

Once the poster has caught your audience’s attention, it needs to tell them what to do next.

Keep It Short and Direct

A good call to action doesn’t need a paragraph.

“Visit us this Saturday” gets the point across much faster than “We would love for you to consider stopping by our location this weekend.”

If you can say it in four words, don’t use ten, and if you can say it in two, don’t use four.

Make It Visually Distinct

Your call to action shouldn’t disappear into the rest of the poster.

Make it pop out. Give it a distinct color, maybe a button-like shape, a bolder font than the rest of your text, anything that draws attention towards it.

The exact course of action depends on the overall design, but people should be able to find it without inspecting every inch of your poster with a magnifying glass.

Sample CTA Phrasing by Poster Type

The wording depends on what you’re asking people to do:

Draw some inspiration from these examples and add your style to match your brand voice.

Include a Way to Act Immediately

Make the next step easy.

A QR code that leads people to a booking page is a good roadmap that doesn’t require much effort on their part. A short URL or a phone number large enough to read from a few feet away does the trick, too.

Don’t bet on people remembering a long web address, because they won’t.

If you’re using a QR code, use your phone to scan it from the distance where most people would. Try it with more than one phone before you send the file to print.

Step 8. Choose Your Material and Printing Method

The same design can look quite different depending on what you print it on. Where the poster will be used should help you define what material you use.

Paper vs. Vinyl vs. Foam Board

For a short-term indoor display, paper can handle the job. It works well indoors, for event announcements, promotions, menus, and notices. It holds up pretty well as a temporary outdoor display in sheltered areas, too.

It’s affordable, lightweight, and easy to swap out. Paper posters are a practical choice for when you don’t need a more durable material.

Vinyl can take more punishment. It’s more resistant to moisture and sunlight, plus it handles everyday wear and tear better. It’s more efficient when you need to keep your poster up longer or if it needs to handle tougher conditions.

Foam board posters give your print a sturdy but lightweight backing. They’re a good choice for indoor displays. You can place them on easels at trade shows, presentations, and events, or use them on counters, shelves, and other flat surfaces in retail spaces, restaurants, and bars. They also work well as menus, welcome signs, promotional displays, and informational posters where you want a more polished look.

Matte vs. Glossy Finish

The finish can change how your poster looks quite a bit.

A glossy finish brings out the color and makes photos look more vibrant. But there’s a catch. It’s called glare. If you’re setting your poster up under bright lights or near a window, the glossy finish will reflect light and make parts of the design hard to see.

Matte finishes remedy that issue. They eliminate glare and give the poster a softer look. That works especially well for text-heavy designs or brightly lit spaces.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Posters

Where you want to hang your poster plays no lesser part in your choice of material and finish.

An indoor poster doesn’t have much to handle. Outdoors, though, it’ll be exposed to sunlight, rain, wind, and changing temperatures.

Regular paper isn’t built for all of that.

Opt for a material and finish that can handle the outdoor conditions if that’s where your poster will be. Even weather-resistant materials aren’t completely immune to sunlight. Prolonged exposure can cause colors to fade.

Print-at-Home vs. Professional Printing

A home or office printer can handle small posters, and normally, ones that don’t exceed the thickness or size of your regular A4 letterhead.

Once you start going larger, though, things get trickier. Most home printers can’t handle large formats, and you’ll be very limited in terms of compatible materials.

Professional printing gives you access to larger sizes, more consistent color, and materials that aren’t practical to print at home.

Step 9. Review and Refine Your Poster if Needed

Don’t send the file to print the second you think you’re finished.

You’ve probably been looking at the design for long enough that your eyes have started skipping things you’d normally notice. Step away for a while if you can, then come back to it.

Start with the squint test. Look at the poster from across the room, or squint at your screen until the smaller details disappear. Can you still see the headline? Is there an obvious path for your eye to follow?

If everything turns into one big blur, the hierarchy probably needs some work.

Another useful test is to show the poster to someone who hasn’t seen it before. Give them five seconds, then take it away. Ask what they remember.

If they remember the wrong thing, or can’t tell you what the poster was about, that’s useful information.

And then, proofread. Check dates, times, phone numbers, URLs, names, and every other detail. Read the text out loud if you can. Reading it backward is another old trick because it stops your brain from automatically filling in words.

A typo on your laptop is annoying. A typo on 200 printed posters is expensive.

Step 10. Prepare and Order Your Poster

The design is done. Now comes the part that makes sure the printed version actually looks like the one you approved on screen.

Convert to CMYK Color Mode

Screens use light to create color through an RGB color system. Printers, on the other hand, use a CMYK color system to mix ink and print more accurate colors.

Because your screens employ an RGB color system, some of the bright blues and greens you see may look less intense in print.

Our advice is: submit a print-ready CMYK file. This ensures that the printer matches the colors that you want.

Our guide to RGB vs. CMYK goes into more detail about the difference and why it matters for printing.

Export as a Print-Ready File

A high-res PDF is usually your safest bet for printing.

You’ll also want to add a bleed, a tiny extra margin (about 0.125”) extending past the trim line so you don’t end up with awkward borders if the cut is slightly off.

Keep key text and logos within a safe area, about a quarter inch inside the edge, so that nothing important gets cropped out.

Last but not least, remember to outline or embed your fonts so they look exactly as intended when printed.

Order a Proof Before Bulk Printing

A tiny mistake on your design is going to end up costing you a lot if you place a bulk order. Imagine printing 500 menus that say “Sevice” instead of “Service.” Quite the embarrassment.

Ask for a proof before confirming your order. Or even better, print an actual physical sample. Seeing the actual printed poster can reveal things your monitor can’t. Maybe the colors look different. Maybe the text isn’t as easy to read from a distance as you thought. Or maybe the finish catches more light than you expected.

A proof or a sample may cost extra, but it’s much cheaper than discovering a problem after the whole order is printed.

Get Your Posters Printed with Square Signs

A good poster doesn’t have to be complicated. Start by figuring out who you’re talking to and what you want them to remember. From there, choose a size that fits the space, keep the layout easy to follow, and don’t overload it with text or design elements.

Then take care of the practical stuff: the image quality, material, finish, color mode, bleed, and final proof.

When you’re ready to print, Square Signs offers options for everything from a single event poster to a larger retail order. You can explore the full range on our website, or start putting your design together in the online designer.