School events are a lot of fun, but they also involve a lot of preparation and organisation. We want many people to know about the event and attend it. While speaking to others is one way of spreading the word, posters, invitation cards, and online messages are also commonly used to share event details.

A poster or invitation card should not only look attractive but also make the information easy to remember.

Posters can also be used to remind people about important topics, such as road safety, personal safety, cleanliness, nutrition and hygiene, good habits, school rules, and so on.

A well-designed poster can positively influence a person’s thoughts and behaviour.
This chapter introduces you to some basic design principles that will help you create an effective poster on a chosen topic. These principles will guide you in improving the visual appeal and impact of your design.

Posters carry messages that inform and create awareness. They use a mix of visuals and words to catch our attention and communicate important messages quickly and effectively.

Look at the posters on this page.

• Identify the common elements used in the different posters.
• What helps you easily get the main message on each poster?
• What is the first thing that catches your attention in each poster? Why do you see it first?

Posters convey information effectively in just a few words. The arrangement of text and images in a poster is based on design principles. These principles help us make effective designing decisions.

Emphasis is a design principle that gives importance to one part more than others. It helps the viewer focus on the main message the visual and text convey.

• Identify the visual or text in the poster that is emphasised.
• How has it been emphasised?
• You may notice the following:
• Its size is big.
• Its colour is bright or attractive as compared to other parts of the poster.
• It is highlighted or underlined. How does emphasis help this poster?

The Order of Importance is another design principle. For example, in a newspaper the text is printed in different sizes. The main headlines are large and bold so that they are read first. Less important matters are presented in smaller sizes.

In a poster about a missing pet, more space is used for the photograph of the pet. The next important detail might be the word ‘missing’. Both of these would quickly draw the viewers’ attention to the main topic. Other details like the owner’s contact information are necessary but may be given less importance and therefore less space.

Relook at any poster carefully and identify the Order of Importance among its elements.

Use the principles of emphasis and hierarchy to create your poster.

Design principles are not only used in posters but also in advertisements.

✑ Gather old newspapers or magazines and cut out small advertisements and paste them here. Observe the emphasis and order of importance in the design and mark them. ✀

Assessment

Teacher’s observations:

Summative Assessment