Graphic & Brand Design

Poster Design

Design Posters That Stop People From Across the Room

12 lessons4 modules10h 0m durationbeginner level

Instructor: StretchLearn Faculty

About this course

A poster is the hardest format in graphic design to fake: there is one surface, no scrolling, no second page, and it has to win attention at distance and reward a closer look. This course teaches the working poster pipeline - choosing a format and grid, building a single deliberate focal point, setting a type scale that creates instant hierarchy, driving a poster with a limited color system, and exporting correctly for an offset printer or a backlit screen. By the end you will have designed three finished posters in distinct directions - typographic, image-led, and grid-system - each delivered as a print-ready PDF and a screen-optimized export.

Curriculum

Module 1: What a Poster Has to Do: Format, Distance, and the Single Idea3 lessons

The Poster as a Format: One Surface, Two DistancesPreview45m
Formats, Sizes, and Resolution for Print and Screen🔒50m
From Brief to a Single Idea🔒45m

Module 2: Composition: Grids, Hierarchy, and Negative Space3 lessons

The Grid: Margins, Columns, and a Baseline🔒50m
Focal Point and Visual Hierarchy🔒50m
Balance, the Rule of Thirds, and Negative Space🔒50m

Module 3: Type and Color: The Poster's Voice3 lessons

Type Hierarchy, Scale, and Pairing🔒55m
Color Systems, Harmony, and Contrast🔒55m
Image and Illustration: Integrating Visuals With Type🔒50m

Module 4: Style, Production, and Delivery3 lessons

Poster Styles and Design Movements to Borrow From🔒50m
Print Production: Bleed, CMYK, and Press-Ready Files🔒50m
Digital Export, Mockups, and Presentation🔒50m