Good and Bad Points of Poster Design
Good and Bad Poster Design
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Good and Bad Poster Design
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Learning goal
I can identify strong and weak features of poster design and explain how they affect communication.
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What makes a poster easy to notice and understand?
Use this as a prior-knowledge activation. Likely responses: colour, title, images, font, layout, contrast, simplicity, space. Briefly connect student ideas to the lesson goal of judging good and bad design choices.
What a poster must do
A poster is designed to communicate a message quickly and clearly.
Good poster design helps the viewer notice the main idea at once.
Poor poster design makes the message harder to find, read or remember.
Open with the everyday experience of seeing posters in corridors, shops, public spaces or online. Emphasise that poster design is not only about decoration; it is about communication.
Purpose and audience
A good poster matches its purpose
It is designed for a clear audience
The style, language and images fit the message
In ICT, keep the focus on communication design choices rather than fine art analysis. You can give simple examples such as a school event poster, a safety poster or an advertising poster.
Purpose and audience
A bad poster feels confusing because it does not know who it is for
Font is difficult to read
Too many images
In ICT, keep the focus on communication design choices rather than fine art analysis. You can give simple examples such as a school event poster, a safety poster or an advertising poster.
Good Poster Design
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Layout
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Clear layout - a layout that guides the eye
1
The most important information stands out first
2
Related details are grouped together
Space is used carefully so the page is not cluttered
3
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Visual hierarchy
Title should be easiest to spot
Key details should come next
Small print should be least dominant
Size, bold text and position create order
Images are clear
You may point out that visual hierarchy means the viewer does not read everything equally. The design tells them what to notice first, second and third.
Visual hierarchy
Title should be easiest to spot
Key details should come next
Small print should be least dominant
Size, bold text and position create order
Images are clear
You may point out that visual hierarchy means the viewer does not read everything equally. The design tells them what to notice first, second and third.
Visual hierarchy
Title should be easiest to spot
Key details should come next
Small print should be least dominant
Size, bold text and position create order
Images are clear
You may point out that visual hierarchy means the viewer does not read everything equally. The design tells them what to notice first, second and third.
Visual hierarchy
Title should be easiest to spot
Key details should come next
Small print should be least dominant
Size, bold text and position create order
Images are clear
You may point out that visual hierarchy means the viewer does not read everything equally. The design tells them what to notice first, second and third.
Visual hierarchy
Title should be easiest to spot
Key details should come next
Small print should be least dominant
Size, bold text and position create order
Images are clear
You may point out that visual hierarchy means the viewer does not read everything equally. The design tells them what to notice first, second and third.
Text
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Text that works
Good poster text is:
short and direct
easy to read from a distance
focused on key information
written in suitable language for the audience
Too much text is a common weakness in poster design.
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Which feature creates a clear visual hierarchy on a poster?
Everything same size
Title stands out first
Lots of small print
Details placed randomly
Checks understanding from slides on clear layout, visual hierarchy and text. Distractors reflect common weak designs: equal emphasis, overload, and disorder.
Complete the summary
A poster should communicate a message quickly and clearly. A good layout guides the eye, and the title should usually be the easiest part to spot. Good poster text is short and direct rather than overcrowded with information.
All blanks come directly from the first teaching block: purpose, layout and hierarchy.
Font choice
Good fonts are readable and consistent
One or two fonts are usually enough
Large headings improve visibility
Bad font choices include styles that are tiny, over-decorative or mixed without control
A useful misconception to challenge is that more fonts make a design more interesting. Usually they reduce clarity and weaken the overall look.
Why are one or two fonts usually enough on a poster?
They add more detail
They improve clarity
They hide weak images
They fill empty space
Targets the misconception named in the deck: more fonts do not usually make a design stronger; they reduce clarity and consistency.
Colour choices
Colour can attract attention and support meaning.
Good contrast makes text easy to read
A limited colour scheme looks organised
Colours can create mood or highlight key points
Poor colour choices can clash or make text disappear into the background.
You can mention accessibility briefly here: contrast matters not only for style, but also for readability.
Complete the design advice
Good poster design uses colour and images carefully. Strong contrast makes text easier to read, while a limited colour scheme keeps the design organised. Relevant images support the message, and white space can improve focus instead of being wasted.
Echoes the exact ideas from slides 8 to 10: contrast, limited scheme, relevant images, and white space.
Images and graphics
Good images support the message
They should be relevant, clear and good quality
Graphics can help explain information quickly
Bad images distract, confuse or look pixelated
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Balance and space
A strong poster does not need to fill every empty area.
White space can improve focus
Balanced placement makes the design feel stable
Crowding every section reduces impact
Space is part of the design, not wasted room.
Students often think adding more elements always improves a poster. Stress that leaving space can make the important content stronger.
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Common weaknesses
Bad posters often include:
too much information
weak contrast
inconsistent fonts
poor image quality
no clear order of importance
decoration that distracts from the message
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When design choices help
Good poster design works because each choice supports communication:
layout helps the eye move
text keeps the message brief
colour improves visibility
images add meaning
This slide resolves the central question by linking design features back to communication. Keep the emphasis on function over personal taste.
Which poster weakness causes the most trouble for viewers?
Expected elements: too much information, weak contrast, inconsistent fonts, poor image quality, no clear order of importance, distracting decoration. Accept any one weakness with a valid explanation of how it makes communication less clear, less readable or less memorable.
What is one thing you will remember about poster design?
Reflection only. Encourage students to name one concrete idea, such as contrast, hierarchy, audience, white space or font choice, and why it stood out to them.
What part of judging posters still feels hardest?
Reflection only. Students might mention judging contrast, choosing images, using space, or deciding what should stand out first.
Glossary
audience - the group of people a poster is designed for
contrast - the difference between colours or tones that makes content stand out
font - a style of text used in a design
layout - the arrangement of text, images and space on a page
visual hierarchy - the order in which design elements attract attention
white space - empty space used to improve clarity and balance
poster design - planning and creating a poster to communicate a message
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Good Points
Bad Points
Good and Bad Design
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How are you feeling about poster design?
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