I need help creating some posters. I have no idea what I'm doing.
November 4, 2013 9:26 AM Subscribe
I'm volunteering for a local organization and we're putting on an outdoor gear swap in a few weeks. Somehow I have been tasked with creating a couple of posters to publicize the event. I don't know the best way to go about doing this. While I feel I have a pretty good eye for graphic design, I'm not sure about the best software to use for creating posters or how to find good images to include. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Software: what do you have? I'll bet you have MS PowerPoint, which is a piece of cake to make a reasonably good poster in. If you have InDesign or Photoshop then they can be better, but not if you haven't used them before. PowerPoint is ridiculously easy to use if you're used to MS Word.
Images: have you discovered the delight of Google Images? That'd be my starting point for relevant images. Do a general search then try something more specific. For example, "outdoor camping gear" returns some good clear images!
Have fun :)
posted by greenish at 9:38 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Images: have you discovered the delight of Google Images? That'd be my starting point for relevant images. Do a general search then try something more specific. For example, "outdoor camping gear" returns some good clear images!
Have fun :)
posted by greenish at 9:38 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
I would use personally use Adobe InDesign, but it's pricey. I find it a lot easier to work with for print layout than Illustrator. However you usually need to use Illustrator or Photoshop to play around with the images first.
Depending on what you're looking for, Vecteezy has some useful free vector graphics. My go-to for affordable (but not free) royalty-free stock images is iStockPhoto. Always search for a coupon code first.
If you just need something basic to make a flyer to run off on a copier, then Microsoft Publisher is also probably fine. It's basically Word with some basic layout features. It's a little fussy and it doesn't like to convert to PDF easily but it works just fine.
posted by radioamy at 9:44 AM on November 4, 2013
Depending on what you're looking for, Vecteezy has some useful free vector graphics. My go-to for affordable (but not free) royalty-free stock images is iStockPhoto. Always search for a coupon code first.
If you just need something basic to make a flyer to run off on a copier, then Microsoft Publisher is also probably fine. It's basically Word with some basic layout features. It's a little fussy and it doesn't like to convert to PDF easily but it works just fine.
posted by radioamy at 9:44 AM on November 4, 2013
If you don't already know enough about Adobe to be comfortable with it, go to PowerPoint.
Are you making big posters, or just 8.5x11 printouts for plastering around the area? Go to page setup (in old powerpoint, that's under the "File" menu, in new version, under "Design" tab) and set the paper dimensions.
First step, type all the words the poster needs to have. Event name, group name, location, date and time; a phone number and website for more info. Possibly a blurb that explains what a "gear swap" is (open to public? cash sale? bring items beforehand? items donated afterwards?)
Choose a font (possibly two fonts, but no more than that) and spread your words out on the page. If your group has a logo, include that. Now you know how much space you have to fill with non-text stuff.
Image search is your friend. Look at results for "outdoor gear swap" to see what other groups' posters look like. Look at results for "outdoor gear" and "[x] clip art" (where x = kayak, camping, outdoors gear), for images to put on your poster. Be careful about copy/pasting professional images, especially if your group is large and has a significant web presence, or if you suspect these posters may have a longer lifetime than just from now till your event. You don't want to get yelled at for copyright infringement.
Consider contrast, and whether the images you're choosing print out okay in greyscale. One frequent means of publicity is to email the flyer to your membership, who then print it out and tack it up in places they go to, but if this requires access to a color printer, that's not so great.
Basically, just make something. Don't steal images, and make the information clearly readable, and your poster is a technical success. Anything more than that is just gravy, and can be added by whoever gets this job for next year's sale.
posted by aimedwander at 10:09 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Are you making big posters, or just 8.5x11 printouts for plastering around the area? Go to page setup (in old powerpoint, that's under the "File" menu, in new version, under "Design" tab) and set the paper dimensions.
First step, type all the words the poster needs to have. Event name, group name, location, date and time; a phone number and website for more info. Possibly a blurb that explains what a "gear swap" is (open to public? cash sale? bring items beforehand? items donated afterwards?)
Choose a font (possibly two fonts, but no more than that) and spread your words out on the page. If your group has a logo, include that. Now you know how much space you have to fill with non-text stuff.
Image search is your friend. Look at results for "outdoor gear swap" to see what other groups' posters look like. Look at results for "outdoor gear" and "[x] clip art" (where x = kayak, camping, outdoors gear), for images to put on your poster. Be careful about copy/pasting professional images, especially if your group is large and has a significant web presence, or if you suspect these posters may have a longer lifetime than just from now till your event. You don't want to get yelled at for copyright infringement.
Consider contrast, and whether the images you're choosing print out okay in greyscale. One frequent means of publicity is to email the flyer to your membership, who then print it out and tack it up in places they go to, but if this requires access to a color printer, that's not so great.
Basically, just make something. Don't steal images, and make the information clearly readable, and your poster is a technical success. Anything more than that is just gravy, and can be added by whoever gets this job for next year's sale.
posted by aimedwander at 10:09 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Microsoft Publisher is what I use for work invitations, posters, post cards, et cetera. There are a lot of templates you can use in Publisher.
If you have Microsoft Office but not Publisher, PowerPoint will work as others have suggested.
posted by stompadour at 10:27 AM on November 4, 2013
If you have Microsoft Office but not Publisher, PowerPoint will work as others have suggested.
posted by stompadour at 10:27 AM on November 4, 2013
You can try http://www.postermywall.com as well. It has a free online poster designer thingy. You may find it easier to start with an existing poster template and then modify it to suit you needs.
posted by Kabanos at 10:47 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Kabanos at 10:47 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Licensing images from Shutterstock or Pond5 might be a better bet than hoping your Google Images choices aren't copyrighted. Or search for Public Domain sites.
posted by Ideefixe at 10:54 AM on November 4, 2013
posted by Ideefixe at 10:54 AM on November 4, 2013
For images, you can go to Flickr and search for images that have been uploaded with CC licenses, or look on the Wikimedia Commons site.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:24 PM on November 4, 2013
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:24 PM on November 4, 2013
Here are some examples from Flickr, found by search various terms + CC license, like so: hiking boots.
Click on the licensing info toward the bottom right corner under the picture; many require attribution:
hiking boots, on feet
hiking boots, b/w
tent in the woods
kayaking 1
kayaking 2
kayaks on a beach
kayak on a white background
paddles
bike fork
bike
bike helmets
snowboarding helmet and goggles
gear on a couch
gear on the floor
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:23 PM on November 4, 2013
Click on the licensing info toward the bottom right corner under the picture; many require attribution:
hiking boots, on feet
hiking boots, b/w
tent in the woods
kayaking 1
kayaking 2
kayaks on a beach
kayak on a white background
paddles
bike fork
bike
bike helmets
snowboarding helmet and goggles
gear on a couch
gear on the floor
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:23 PM on November 4, 2013
In order of preference, I would probably make it in:
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Microsoft Word
But that's because of my familiarity with those programs. (Word can be surprisingly flexible if you know it intimately well.) I would say that of Adobe CS software, Photoshop seems to be the easiest entry point for my students. InDesign is meant for print documents, I just personally don't use it for one- or two-page documents and I'm not as familiar with it as I probably should be.
posted by vegartanipla at 10:04 PM on November 4, 2013
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Microsoft Word
But that's because of my familiarity with those programs. (Word can be surprisingly flexible if you know it intimately well.) I would say that of Adobe CS software, Photoshop seems to be the easiest entry point for my students. InDesign is meant for print documents, I just personally don't use it for one- or two-page documents and I'm not as familiar with it as I probably should be.
posted by vegartanipla at 10:04 PM on November 4, 2013
Oh, and for images I'd use copyright and attribution free (the latter is important to dig out) images. Library of Congress and similar government photos are good for that; a lot of those can be found at Flickr Commons and Wikimedia Commons amongst other places. You want the copyright license to be either public domain or no known copyright restrictions.
posted by vegartanipla at 10:08 PM on November 4, 2013
posted by vegartanipla at 10:08 PM on November 4, 2013
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posted by Thorzdad at 9:38 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]