Poster Composition and Layout

Whenyourereadytocompose,orlayout,yourposter,thisisthetimetopulloutasketchpadandpenciland
haveyournotesaboutspecificelementsathand.Whileyoucantryoutvariouscompositionsonyour
computer,thesketchingmethodisactuallyfasterandmoreproductive.Makethumbnails,orminiature
layoutswhereyoucanfitanumberoflayoutsonapageandbegintocomparethemtoeachother.
Thefirstthingyouneedtoconsideristhepostersize.Whilesomeorganisationsusuallywilldefinethe
postersizeforyou,insomeinstancesyoumightbefreetoroamamongsomestandardprintsizes.Youneed
toconsiderwhowillprinttheposterandwhethertheymighthavesomerestrictionsaswell.
Someprinthouseswontprintanythingabove24x36.Otherprinthouseshavemadeaspecialtyoutofthe
largermoviepostersizes,upto50x76.

Thelayoutforaposteratanygivensizecanbehorizontalorvertical,andsometimessquare.Thehorizontal
stylewaspopularduringthemidtwentiethcenturyanditwasrevivedrecently,asitmimicsaTVormovie
screen.Theverticalchoiceismorepopular,asitcanbepostedjustaboutanywhere,fromsupportslike
bulletinboardstotelephonepoles.Additionally,theverticallayoutiseasiertoreadfortherushingpasser
by.

Thefollowinglayoutoptionspertaintoverticallayouts,butyoucanalsotranslatethemtohorizontallayouts
asneeded,andyoucanalsotranslatethemtolargerorsmallersizes.

NOTE:Onemainreasonwhyyouwouldwanttoworkinvectorgraphicsforaposterdesignisthatyoucanworksmall,
therebysavingcomputerresources.Onceyouvefinalizedthedesignyoucanenlargethepiecetofitthedimensions.
Besuretokeepthedimensionsproportionalwhenyouworkatareducedsize,otherwiseyoullmessupyourdesign
whenyouenlargeittothecorrectdimensions.Remembertomakesurethatanybitmaps(photosetc)areofasizeand
qualitythatsuitsthefinaloutput.

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Grid Layout
TheGridLayoutissimilartoatablelayoutinWebdesign.Thisiswhereyoudividethegroundintoequally
sizedrectanglesorsquares.Theseblocksandtheirtangentpointsrepresentareaswhereyouwanttoplace
yourelements.Forexample,asimplequadrantlayoutcanhelpyoutocentrethepointofinterestandthen
youcanaddotherelementsthatcreateamoreasymmetricallayout:

Thepostertotheleftshowsthetwomoviestarsplacedequidistantfromthemiddleverticalline.Theyre
alsobothfacingtowardthecentrelineatabouta45degreeangle.Thisangleechoestheskyabovethe
horizontallineandthebowlingalleylanesbelowthathorizontalline.Allthedarkerelementsinthiscasea
bowlingalleyareplacedbelowthehorizontalline,andthelightestelementinthisposterawhitelight
isplacedbehindJohnGoodmanexactlyonthathorizontalhalfwaypoint.
Thepostertotherightdisplaysthestarsinacirclethatsymbolizesagolfcoursehole.Theyreplacedsmack
dabinthemiddleofthisposter,andotherelementsareplacedalmostequallybothaboveandbelowthe
horizontalline.Theonlyelementsthatdenythisposterasymmetricallayoutarethegolfflagandthe
landscapethatsevidentabovethehorizontalline.
Anotherwaytousethequadrantswouldbetoplaceoneormoreelementswithinoneorallfourquadrants.
Thislayouthasbeenusedoftentorepresentthefourseasons.
Amorecomplicatedgridlayoutwoulddividethequadrantevenfurther:

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Thetwoexamplesshownaboveareexamplesofamorecomplexgridlayout.Notethatthetypeinboth
imagesisalittlelargerorsetalittleabovethegridlinespace.TheACDCheading,forexample,extendsdown
beyondthetopmostgridlineandtheimagesaremoreorlesscentredalongthegridlinesratherthansitting
rightontopofthem.
IntheGreenDayposter,thetitleisalittleabovecentreandthisisagoodpractice.Ifthetitlewasdeadon
centre,thetitlewouldlooklikeitwasfallingoffthepage,oritwouldmakethetophalfoftheposterlook
topheavy.And,whiletheimagesinthisposterarentsittingperfectlyonthegridlines,thegridprovidesa
guideastohowtheelementscouldbeplaced.Studythispostertoseehowtheimagesliealongthegrid
lines,andhowtheelementsalsofallwithincertaingridspaces.

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Rule of Thirds Layout

Theruleofthirdsrepresentsarefinedandclassicgridlayout.Thisrulestatesthatanimagecanbedivided
intonineequalpartsbytwoequallyspacedhorizontallinesandtwoequallyspacedverticallines.Thefour
pointsformedbytheintersectionsoftheselinescanbeusedtofocusonyourmainelements,ortheboxes
formedbythelinescanprovidethespacesforyourelements:

Herewehavebothacurrentandavintagepostertoshowthatthislayouthasbeenusedforalongtime.In
thepostertotheleft,thefacesofthestarsareplacedwithintherectanglescreatedbythegridlines.The
fourthface,theskull,issplitalmostinhalfbythebottomhorizontalline.NoticethatDepsfaceplacementis
similartotheACDCheadlinehisfaceextendsdownbeyondthetopmosthorizontalline.Thissizeadds
balancetotheoveralllayoutandmakesDepsfaceprominentamongalltheelements.
TheVoguelayoutiscreatedexactlyalongtheruleofthirdsgridlines.Thetopandbottomgridsfitwithinand
acrossthetopandbottomrectangles.Theyellowcladfigureisalmostcentredalongtheleftverticalgrid
line,andheractivitylookingatherselfinamirroriscontainedwithinthetwotopmiddlerectangles.

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Circular or Oval Layout

Thislayouttakestheviewerseyearoundthepicture,anditoftenuseselementsthatareyouguessedit
circular.But,sincetheposterisoftenrectangular,thecircleisoftenanoval.

Intheposterattopleft,thetypealongthetopfollowsthecircularlayoutandmimicstheshapeofthe
hamburger.Often,theposterthatcontainsacircularlayoutusestypealongahorizontalstraightlineatthe
bottom.Intheposterattopright,theelementsarecontainedwithinacircleandwithinanoval.

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The Z Layout
TheZlayoutisapopulardesignlayoutborrowedfromadvertising.Inmostprintadvertisements,the
elementsthatmustbeincludedintheadaretheheadlineandthecompanynameandthelogo.These
elementsareoftenplacedatthetopandbottomofanad,wherethelogoprovidesastoppingpointforthe
eyeandleadsitbackintothepage.ThinkZorro.

ThetwomoviepostersaboveshowtheZlayout.Bothcontainheadlinesthatleadtheeyefromlefttoright
acrossthetopoftheposter.IntheHarryPotterpostertoleft,thediagonallinethatleadstheeyetothe
bottomleftoftheposterismoredifficulttodiscernthanthediagonallinecreatedbyClarkGableandVivien
LeighintheGoneWiththeWindposter,butthelineisthereinthediagonalshadows.Thedesignerforthe
PotterpostercreatedenoughofadiagonalshadowlinetoleadtheeyefrombottomrightbackintoHarry
Potterssilhouettedimage.Brilliant.
Inbothposters,thebottomoftheZisusedforpertinentmovieinformation.

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Horizon Line Layout

Thislayout,whiletoutedbysomeasavalidlayout,usuallyfollowsagrid.ThetwopostersthatIusedas
examplesinthequadrantgridlayout,forinstance,provideperfectsamplestovalidatethisreasoning:

Thehorizonlineintheposterattopleftisjustbeneaththehorizontalgrid.Intherightposter,thehorizon
linelieshalfwaybetweenthehorizontalgridandthetopoftheposter.AlthoughtheHorizonLinelayoutis
somewhatmoot,youcanuseittocreateanasymmetricaldesigninanotherwisesymmetricallayout.

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Perspective Layout, or Vanishing Point Layout

Thistypeoflayoutusesperspectivetocreateafocalpointforaspecificelement.Youcanplacethat
importantelementinoneofthreeplaces:1)infrontoforatthevanishingpoint;2)usetheelementsto
createtheperspective;3)oppositethevanishingpoint.Thislayoutcanhelpyoutoalsodefinethe
importanceofvariouselementswithinyourposter,asseenintheexamplesbelow:

Thetwopostersaboveshowthemainelement,theface,infrontofthevanishingpoint.

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SpidermanandEragonhavebecomepartoftheperspective.Spidermanisplacedonaonepointperspective
angle,andthefolksinEragonhavebeenusedtocreateatwopointperspectiveangle.

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InthisfamousBeatlesposter,theBeatleshavebeenplacedattheoppositeendofthevanishingpoint.
AlthoughthepointwastomakeallBeatlesmembersequalwithequalsizeandspacing,severalelements
createJohnLennonasthefocalpointifnottheleadershiprole.First,hesinfrontofthegroup;secondly,he
wearswhite,whichmakeshimstandout.

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Combo Layouts
Youmighthavenoticedasyoulookedatthelayoutsabovethatsomepostersfitintomorethanone
compositionalrule.Thisisahabitthatmanygraphicdesignersdeveloptohelpthemdeterminewhereto
placeelementswhenallelsefails.

Forinstance,thePiratesoftheCaribbeanpostercouldalsobedefinedasacircularlayout.TheDeluxe
HamburgerpostercouldalsofitintotheVanishingPoint,orPerspectiveLayout.TheVoguelayoutcould
alsobedefinedbyasimplegrid.

Asyoubegintoplaceelementsinyourposter,seeifyourlayoutcanfittwoormorecompositionalrules.If
so,thenyouvecreatedamorecomplexandpleasinglayoutfortheviewerasyouplaceelementsin
positionsthatdemandmoreorlessattention.

Conclusion
Theelementsandprinciplesofdesignarepartandparcelofyourposterdesign.Line,shape,direction,size
(ofyourelements),texture,colour,value,balance,repetition,contrast,harmony,andunityaresomeofthe
mostimportanttoolsthatyoucanusetocreateyourposterdesign.

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