Presentation on Poster Design, January 2014, MITDUSP January 15, 2014 duspviz@mit.edu Presenter: Michael Foster (@mjfoster83) Contributors to this presentation and content include Michael Foster (@mjfoster83), Chris Rhie (@chris_rhie), and Annemarie Gray (@annemariegray).

1. 7 Habits of Highly
Effective Designers
IAP 2014
January 15, 2014
Department of Urban Studies and Planning

2. WORKSHOP GOALS
•
•
•
•
Present a simple set of principles to follow for novice designers
Outline a set problems and gotchas in poster design
Provide common guidelines for poster designers to fall back on
Establish a workflow for creating simple and effective event posters

3. WORKSHOP GOALS
• Designing posters is a huge part of organizing and promoting an event
• Effective design can be lasting and powerful
• You have to know the rules before you can break them

4. A bit about me…
Mike Foster
GIS/Data Viz/Graphics Specialist
DUSP MIT
• Eight Years experience in the GIS and Design field
• Specialization in Geodesign, Cartography, and Data
Analysis
• B.S. Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison (2006)
• M.S. Geographic Information Science, University of Minnesota
(2010)
• Graduate Minor: Computer Science
• Thesis topics:
• GIS and Graphic Interoperability
• Accuracy Assessment Methods for Volunteered
Geographic Information
• Spatial Database Design and Implementation
• Certified GIS Professional (2013)

5. “It is not about how much information there is, but rather how effectively it is
arranged.”
-Edward Tufte

6. What is Graphic Design?
The art of communication, stylizing, and problem solving
through type and image.
Functional and utility-driven. Composition is of high importance.

7. Basic Elements
Typography and Font
Textual Content
Color and Hue
Page Layout and Balance
Manipulation of Image

8. Urban Planning Graphics

9. Urban Planning Graphics

10. Urban Planning Graphics

11. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
• MBTA Map Competition
• Graphs and charts
• Websites

12. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

13. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

14. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

15. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

16. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

17. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

18. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

19. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

20. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

21. Less is always more
• When in doubt, keep it simple
• The effective use of negative space is a hallmark of good design – design
the negative space just as you would the positive space. Ask yourself:
“What elements can I remove or simplify and still retain my message?” Pare
it down to the essentials.
• For repetitive information, remember the “rule of small multiples.”

25. Be hierarchical.
• Communicate the relative importance of data through variations in size,
weight, and intensity. You should be able to squint and clearly understand a
hierarchy of your composition.

28. Good design has CRAP.
• It’s okay if you have a lot to fit.
• Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity: use these principles to
allow your audience to easily follow the connections between your ideas
and the message of the poster.

32. Just two fonts.
• Good design can be achieved with just one or two fonts. As a general rule,
sans serif fonts work well for titles, headers, and electronic media. Serif
fonts work well for body text in print media. The most useful fonts have
many weights to choose from.

35. Magic number twelve.
• The human mind looks for natural proportions of 2, 3, and 4. As the least
common denominator, 12 is an extremely useful number for column layout,
and it’s also a good point size multiple for fonts (12 pt, 24 pt, 36 pt, etc). A
good rule of thumb is that a column of text should be about 60 characters
wide for your eyes to easily follow.
• Use no smaller than 12 pt font on your poster, and make your titles and
headings very large, 60+pt.

37. Imitate. (But don’t
copy.)
• Beg, borrow – but don’t steal – ideas for beautiful posters and graphics from
experienced designers.

40. Be color conscious.
• Like a well-written paragraph, each graphic should have a singular
message. Use color to unify your message and highlight differences.

42. Tips for Design
Lets put the pencil to the paper (or the mouse to the screen!)
Specifically tailored to DUSP Event Posters

43. Components of a Poster
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Event Name
Time/Date
Location
Image/Graphic
Abstract
Contact Information

44. Remove noise
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Event Name
Time/Date
Location/Address
Flashy Image
Abstract
Contact Information
Get these components on your poster, skip items that don’t have
meaning. They are what is known in the design world as “noise”.

45. Size Matters…
Most common DUSP Poster Sizes
8.5 inch X 11 inch (Letter)
11 inch X 17 inch (Tabloid)
These sizes will work best for posting around DUSP
Smaller will get lost, larger take up too much room

46. Orientation Matters…
Portrait
Landscape

47. Layout Matters…
Alignment is important
(and professional)
Recommendation
Organize your poster with a
grid
Photography “The rule of thirds”

48. Layout Matters…
Create a template.
You can reuse an
effective poster over
and over, changing
the elements.

49. The Grid

50. The Margin
Make your margins consistent.
Approximately ½ inch around the
top and sides.

51. Visual Center of the Page
The visual center of your page is
NOT the same as the geometric
center.
Visual center is slightly above the
geometric center

52. Bold and Contrasting Colors
Use BOLD and CONTRASTING
colors.
Dark text on a light backgrounds.
Light text on dark backgrounds.
Should hold up to non-color
printing.

53. Pick a Palette
Find known and established
color ramps and palettes.
http://kuler.adobe.com
http://macwright.org/d3-curvy
http://tristen.ca/hcl-picker
See handout

54. Design at Size
Design your Poster at the size of
your final product.
Set settings in your design
software to the desired size of
your final output.

55. Design at Size
Design your Poster at the size of
your final product.
Prevents pixilation of images,
allows for proper sizing of text to
maximize legibility

56. Image Selection
Sometimes you don’t have a
choice…
Book Cover
Pre-chosen Event Logo

57. Bold and Beautiful
But often you do…
Choose images that are:
Bold
Relevant
Colorful
Indicative

58. Let the Image Guide You
Use the image, beautiful pictures
have a built in layout for you.
Place text in areas with least
amount of noise and largest
blocks of bold colors
TRANSIT IN BOSTON
A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
THURS JAN 18, 9PM, ROOM 9-450

59. Resources
http://www.flickr.com
http://commons.wikimedia.org
See handout
Copyrighted Images:
When in doubt, cite your source.

60. Image Guidelines
Use the largest image possible
that you can find.
Know your pixel size.
Letter size =
1275 pixels by 1650 pixels
Try to choose no smaller than
this.

61. Font Selection

62. Sans Serif Favorites
• Can be used anywhere, good for headers and titles
Arial
Calibri
Eurostile
Franklin Gothic
Gill Sans
Helvetica
Lucida Sans
Swiss 721 Condensed
Swiss 721 Black
Condensed
Verdana

63. Serif Favorites
• Good for bodies, abstracts, and content
Cambria
Baskerville
Garamond
Times New Roman

64. Non-Favorites
• Use sparingly, by that, I mean probably never.
Brush Script
Comic Sans

65. Font Size
• Title/Main content: 48-60pt+
• Supplemental text: 24-36pt
• Abstract/Body: 18-24pt
• Stay big. Use no smaller than 12!

66. Poster Digestion
• Should be able to get main gist of
poster in seconds
• < 15 seconds
• Most viewers will see it in passing
• More in waiting area
• Less in hallway

67. Lots of Software Available
• Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator
• GIMP/Inkscape
• Microsoft Powerpoint/Paint
The tool does not make your graphic, you do.
Use the tools you have!

68. End.
• We just covered a lot
• Questions/Comments/Complaints
Special thanks to Chris Rhie and Annemarie
Gray