Ask The Expert: Design

Ask The Expert is a series from Laura Murray Public Relations that calls upon the expertise of arts and marketing specialists to provide insight and wisdom – to all industry professionals that read our blog – on how we can do what we do better. No matter what stage of our career, we are always keen to grow and hone our craft from those in the know.

For this edition of Ask The Expert, we spoke with two designers who are masters at understanding the needs, and distilling the personality of arts organizations into eye-catching marketing materials – be it a performance poster, rack card, or season brochure. We posed the question: What are three considerations when designing a poster for an arts-related event or performance?

Jeff_PinderJeff Pinder

Principal / Director, Burst Creative Group

01. Audience

Once we have received and reviewed the Project Brief from the client, we begin with very thorough research to gain a greater understanding of the target audience and discover the tone for the design. Once the research has been collected, we begin the brainstorming phase, which will assist us on the choice of typography, imagery & colours.

02. Typography

Typography is the most important element in a poster design because it plays the role in whether or not the target audience can understand your message. When choosing a typeface or typefaces we MUST be certain that it is easy to read up close and also from a distance. Hierarchy must also be considered; key points in the text such as the title, slogan, time and location should be larger in size compared to the rest of the text. We want the target audience to read the key points, as they will most likely have a short period of time to read the entire text.

03. Colour & Imagery

Colour is a very powerful tool when used with your brand colours as the target audience will instantly recognize who you are. We try to avoid colours that will compete for the audience’s attention as colour can have an affect on our emotions and feelings. As for imagery, placement is extremely important; you do not want to create visual tension or legibility issues when a line of text collides with the imagery.

Derek Von EssenDerek von Essen

Derek von Essen Creative

1. The who/what/where/when rule applies as much to the content of your poster as it does to the target audience you hope to reach. And you’ve only got that audience for mere seconds before the opportunity passes you [them] by. Make it count.

2. Cut through the visual clutter and over-stimuli of the street, and create something that’ll be seen by passersby. An Arts audience is not only accepting, but usually have a high tolerance for creative work that pushes boundaries. Composition, balance, focus, colour, imagery, typography… all aid in communicating.

3. Create a static visual piece to represent the energy one would feel from a live performance. A designer needs to be familiar—sometimes immersed in their subject to achieve that. A good fit is incomparable!

 

Categories: MPMG