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5 design tips for the digital poster of your dreams

BY READERS DIGEST

16th Nov 2021 Art & Theatre

5 design tips for the digital poster of your dreams
A digital poster for your business is a way for you to show the world who you are and what you have to offer. With the right use of text, colours, and images, you can tell a story about your brand and bring in new customers.
With over 4 billion people on the Internet right now, it’s almost impossible not to find your target audience online. Your digital poster can add an extra oomph to your social media pages and your website. It can also grab your audience’s attention if done right.
To make this happen, you have to know your audience. Who are they?  What do they like? What do they dislike? What are they looking for? And how can you fill that gap?
Once you have what you need, use it to design an effective and well-rounded poster. To help you with this, we’ve compiled a list of foolproof poster design strategies that will work for you every time.

1. Make sure your poster contains all your key information

Sure, a digital poster needs to be exciting and visually appealing to gather attention. But all of that is for nothing if you’ve forgotten to add the information you actually need your target audience to see. So before we dive into other design strategies, it’s important that you make a note of this.
Some key elements to include are:
  • Your logo
  • Your brand name
  • Your tagline (if you have one)
  • Your purpose - this can be a sale announcement, an event invite, you name it
  • Date, time, and location (if applicable)
  • Links - to your website or social media
To make things easier for yourself, use a template. Sites like PosterMyWall have a brilliant poster maker that allows you to customize different templates according to your preference. What’s more, making your own digital poster online will also save you money on hiring a graphic designer. The site has templates for everything from music posters to sale posters, so you’ll be in good hands.
Poster.png

2. Experiment with colours

The more striking the colours on your digital poster are, the more it will stand out. So don’t be afraid to play around with different colour combinations until you land on the right one.
Remember that people are visual creatures. More than text, they’ll be attracted to the colours that they see on the poster. Imagine someone’s scrolling across their online feed, and suddenly they come across a flash of bright red or yellow. They’ll stop and look at the poster. Only then will they notice the text. So the colours are what reel people in.
"Remember that people are visual creatures"
Colours also have the power to make people feel a certain way. Bright colours make people feel happy or excited. Dark tones like blues and grays make people feel moody. So you can use colours to influence your audience’s emotions. It’s a concept called colour psychology, and it’s truly fascinating.
Make sure not to overwhelm your viewer with colours though. Too many colours can be a headache. Stick to two or three at most, and use them wisely. Use colour to fill in your border and outline your images. Or to accentuate important text.
Finally, make sure to use contrasting colours together. The right colour combination can do wonders for your digital poster. These are some popular colour combinations you can work with:
  • Blue and yellow
  • Pink and blue
  • Yellow and purple
  • Green and white
  • Green and yellow

3. Don’t neglect the font

The font is the style or graphical representation of the text - it can have varying weights, colours, and designs. To that end, fonts are more powerful than you might think. The right font can bring in more attention and communicate your message more clearly. Don’t overwhelm your poster with ten different fonts, though. Ideally, your poster should have no more than two different font types.
Sans Serif fonts typically work best on digital posters because they’re more striking than their Serif counterparts. Here are some fonts that are always winners:
  • Arial
  • Verdana
  • Helvetica
  • Calibri
  • Tahoma
As far as the font size is concerned, the rule is the same: no more than two different font sizes. You don’t want your poster to look like a giant word jumble. Earlier in the first point, we talked about purpose. The purpose of your poster should ideally be most prominent so give it a bigger font size.

4. Always add a call to action

The call to action is an instruction you give to your viewer - “this is what you should do now that you’ve seen this poster”. Do you want them to visit your website? Sign up for tickets? Go to your store? Whatever it is, communicate it to them clearly.
Don’t give people the chance to stop and think about what they should do now. Nine times out of ten, they’re just going to go back to whatever they were doing before they saw your poster. So, nudge them in the direction you want.
"A call to action creates a sense of urgency that’s like pulling people out of their seats"
A call to action creates a sense of urgency that’s like pulling people out of their seats. Some examples that we see all the time include “Shop now!”, “Avail your discount now!”, or “Check out our website for more!”. As you can see, the phrasing is very active and urgent.
Add your call to action button at the bottom of the digital poster. This way, the viewer will have a chance to look through all the other elements before making the decision to follow through on the instruction.

5. Focus on your brand

Last but not the least, maintain consistency. This is very important for establishing your brand. The goal is to make the viewer recognize your digital poster even before they get a chance to skim through it. This way, if they have positive preconceived notions attached to your brand, they’ll pop up in their minds immediately and the viewer will approach the poster with a better mindset.
"Maintaining consistency is very important for establishing your brand"
This explains why some companies choose to rebrand with new colours and logos if they’re hit with bad PR. The new image alone is often able to wipe the biases people might have about the company. It can be like getting a blank slate for the company to work on.
So make sure to use similar colours, tone of voice, logo, and images whenever you make each digital poster.

Final thoughts

A good digital poster can make or break your brand. So invest in the right online tools and strategies to create something truly unique and eye-catching. Remember, it’s as much about the colours and fonts as it is about the text. And of course, your brand should be loud and clear throughout the poster.
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