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A route

I want to make a poster.

From a photo or a blank page to a file the printer accepts. 11 guides, about 62 minutes in total, in the order that gets you there.

The route, in order

  1. The whole job in one page: size, resolution, bleed, colour, export and the printer checklist.How to prepare a poster for printSet the document to the final poster size at 300 dpi, add 3 mm of bleed on every side, keep text and logos at least 5 mm inside the trim, use photos that are at least as many pixels wide as the poster itself, and export a PDF at final size. Tell the printer the file is RGB and includes bleed, and ask for a proof. The rest of this page gives you the numbers, the reasons and the checks.Beginner10 minDesign craft
  2. Nine rules with numbers: type size for the distance, three sizes, one focal point, the two tests.Poster design rules that work from across a roomA poster is seen from a distance, for a few seconds, by someone who was not looking for it. Everything follows from that. One message, not three. Type sized for the distance: capitals about 10 mm tall for every 3 m the reader stands away, and the headline two to three times that. Three sizes of type, each clearly bigger than the next. One focal point that wins by a wide margin. Margins and a grid so it looks placed, not dropped. Two colours and a neutral. Details in reading order: what, when, where, how to get in. Then two tests: squint at it, and shrink it to the size of your phone. If the headline and the date survive both, it works.Beginner6 minDesign craft
  3. Five parts in a fixed order for the flyer version of the job.Flyer design that works: structure before decorationDecide the structure before any decoration. A flyer that works has five parts in this order: a headline that says what it is, one image that shows it, three facts (when, where, how much), one call to action (book, visit, call), and contact details. Put them on an A5 at 300 dpi with 3 mm bleed and a 5 mm safe margin, in two type sizes plus small print. If a reader can say what it is, when, and what to do after two seconds, the flyer works; the decoration is what makes them pick it up.Beginner2 minDesign craft
  4. Five ways to make a poster from type, shape and colour when there is no image.Design a poster with no photoMake the type the image. Most of the posters people remember are words, colour and a shape, not a photograph. Five approaches that work every time: the headline as the picture (one word so big it touches the edges), shape blocks (two or three flat shapes that carry the composition), a colour field with grain (a gradient, texture and small type), a pattern from one element (a word or shape repeated until it becomes texture), and type on a path (a circle or curve that gives flat words movement). Pick one. Keep the palette to two colours and a neutral, keep the details small and aligned, and leave real empty space; a type poster fails by being timid, not by being plain.Beginner6 minDesign craft
  5. The same job done step by step in the Editor, from a photo to a print-ready PDF.Make an event poster from a photo to a print-ready PDFBuild an 18 × 24 inch event poster in the Editor: cut the subject out so it stands in front of the headline, tone the background down, set the details in order and export a 300 dpi PDF.Intermediate7 minWorkflows
  6. Why one focal point and a grid make a poster read from across a room.Lay out a page with a grid, space and a clear focal pointUse columns, margins and a spacing scale, align to fewer edges, give the page one focal point and control the order people read in.Beginner5 minDesign craft
  7. Hierarchy, size and spacing: the difference between a poster and a notice.Set type that reads wellHierarchy, pairing, size, measure, leading and tracking: the numbers that make text easy to read, and where to set each one in Voidcanvas.Beginner5 minDesign craft
  8. The classic gig-poster treatment, with a live example.How to make a halftone portraitA halftone turns a photo into dots on a grid: dark areas get large dots that merge, light areas get small ones or none. To make a good halftone portrait, start with a high-contrast black and white photo on a plain background, choose a dot size that suits where it will be seen (fine for screens, coarse for print and posters), set the contrast so the shadows fill in without swallowing the face, then recolour the dots with a blend mode. Below is a working halftone; move the sliders and watch what each one does.Beginner7 minEffects
  9. The check to run before it goes to the printer.Why your printed design looks blurryA print looks blurry for one of three reasons: a photo was enlarged past what its pixels can support, the document was set up at screen size (1080 px, 1920 px, 72 dpi) and then printed much larger, or the file was exported small or as a heavy JPG. Check in one minute: divide the design's pixel width by its printed width in inches. Under 150 and everything prints soft; 300 is what a printer wants for anything read up close. Then fix the cause: replace or shrink the photo, rebuild at the print size, or export a PDF or PNG at full size.Beginner7 minDesign craft
  10. The dpi by size and viewing distance, with the pixel table.What dpi a poster should be, by size and viewing distanceMatch the dpi to the viewing distance. 300 dpi for anything read at arm's length (flyers, A4 and A3 posters on a notice board). 150 dpi for posters read from a metre or two (A2, A1, A0 on a wall, 18 × 24 in and larger). 100 dpi or less for banners and billboards, and ask the printer. The number is pixels divided by inches, so an A2 poster at 150 dpi is 2480 × 3508 px, which is the same file as an A4 at 300. Above about A2, 300 dpi makes a very large file that adds nothing you can see from where people stand.Beginner4 minDesign craft
  11. Exactly what the Editor puts in a PDF and how the page size is decided.Export for print: PDF, dpi and bleedHow the Editor's PDF works, which sizes print at 300 dpi, how to add bleed yourself, and what to ask your printer.Intermediate3 minEditor

Questions people ask

What size should a poster be?

A3 (297 × 420 mm) for notice boards and shop windows, A2 or 18 × 24 in for walls. At 300 dpi an A3 poster is 3508 × 4961 px before bleed.

Can I make a poster without a photo?

Yes. Type, one strong colour and a shape or a halftone texture carry a poster on their own, and often read better from a distance than a photo does.