Cynical Sally← Contents
Poster / Flyer · How to / How not to

How to Design a Poster (and How Not To)

If I have to squint to find the date, your poster already failed its only job.

By Cynical SallyIssue Nº 1

A poster has about one second to land one idea from across a room. Most posters try to land nine ideas from a phone screen.

This is what you getA real Full Truth, in full
Cynical SallyPoster / Flyer

The Full Truth

on A local gig poster

5.0
out of ten
Beautiful artwork. Shame the venue is hidden like it owes money.
The Investigation
  1. 01

    No clear hook

    Critical

    Band name, date, venue and three sponsors all the same size. The eye has nowhere to land first.

  2. 02

    The date is invisible

    Critical

    The one fact that decides whether someone shows up is 9pt and low-contrast. Make it loud.

  3. 03

    Font soup

    Notable

    Four typefaces. It reads as chaos, not character. Pick two.

The Copy Clinic

Everything set at the same size.

Band name huge. Date and venue second. Sponsors small, at the bottom, where they belong.

Date in 9pt grey, lost in the artwork.

FRI 12 SEPT, big and high-contrast, the second thing anyone reads.

The Action Plan
  1. 1Pick the one idea. Make it twice as big as everything else.
  2. 2Bump the date and venue to high contrast.
  3. 3Cut to two fonts.
  4. 4Step three meters back. If you cannot read it, start over.
Yours for the price of a coffee.Printed with disdain
Your turn

That was a stranger's poster / flyer. Drop yours, I will go just as hard.

One coffee, from €2,99. No mercy.

A Full Truth on a poster checks the hierarchy, the contrast, and the one fact people actually need: what, when, where.

How to do it right
  • 01Decide the single thing it must say, then make that the biggest thing.
  • 02Three levels of hierarchy, no more: hook, details, fine print.
  • 03Contrast is legibility. If it reads from three meters, it works.
  • 04One or two fonts. The third font is always a mistake.
  • 05Put the what, when and where where the eye lands last, and make it unmissable.
How not to
  • Center every line and hope a layout appears. It will not.
  • Five typefaces auditioning for the same role.
  • A gorgeous image with the date in 9pt grey on a grey wall.
  • Filling every corner because empty space feels 'wasted'.
  • A QR code as the entire plan. People are walking past, not scanning.