The document provides instructions for designers invited to participate in Design Fest International 2014. Each designer will be given a booth to showcase and promote their work. To be selected, designers must create an award-winning promotional poster that is 18x24 inches, uses four colors, and showcases their talents, skills, aesthetic, and work. The poster should catch attention from a distance but also provide clear details up close through effective use of design elements like color, layout, and typography. Designers should include contact information, details on their work, and a memorable message to engage viewers. A process is outlined that involves brainstorming graphics, making thumbnails, getting peer feedback, and creating the final poster.

1. unit 2 – promote you and your work at “Design Fest”

2.  Prompt: You have been
invited to Design Fest
International 2014
 Design Fest is an international
Festival of Independent Design. It
is where fiercely independent
creatives compete with one
another, introduce themselves to
new markets and consumers,
and expose their creative talent
and design aesthetic to national
and global audiences.
 Each designer is awarded a
“space” at Design Fest. This
space consists of a table, booth
an backboard.
 Designers showcase their work
and meet & greet with
prospective clients and firms.

3.  To be selected a designer and host your booth…
 You must design an award winning poster showcasing your talents, skills, knowledge
and aesthetic
▪ A good poster tells a story
▪ A good poster SHOWS not TELLS
▪ A good poster does not require the reader to dig deep or study the image and layout

4.  Posters
 a poster is a piece of printed paper designed
to be attached to a wall or vertical surface
and includes both textual and graphic
elements
 History
 Posters, in the form of placards and posted
bills, have been used since earliest times,
primarily for advertising and announcements.
 Purely textual posters have a long history: they
advertised the plays of Shakespeare and
made citizens aware of government
proclamations for centuries.
 The great revolution in posters was the
development of printing techniques that
allowed for cheap mass production and
printing, including notably the technique
lithography which was invented in 1796 by
the German Alois Senefelder.
 The invention of lithography was soon
followed by chromolithography, which
allowed for mass editions of posters illustrated
in vibrant colours to be printed.

5.  Your poster should:
 Posters are meant to exist in a public space and catch a viewers
attention from across the room but also communicate to the
viewer up close
▪ It’s message and meaning should be clear to the viewer
▪ Pay special attention to the following: color schemes, contrast, shapes, lines,
layout, scale, balance, positive and negative space, and typography
▪ Your poster should communicate detailed information about you, the artist,
and promote your work
▪ Your poster should not look like an image with type slapped on it
▪ Composition is key!

6.  Your poster should:
 Print Size: 18” x 24” (vertical or horizontal)
 Four Colors – limit yourself to a four color palette
 Illustrator for the main design, Photoshop for
enhancements or final touch ups (be mindful of
resolution and quality when using Photoshop)

7.  The steps of the design
process:
 Brainstorm: think of at least four or
five graphics that you would like
to collage/compose to promote
what you know
▪ Graphics: a graphic images
combine symbols, words and icons
to represent an idea
▪ Look for ways to make each of
these stand out but also tie in with
the set to create unity
 Create at least four thumbnails
planning the layout of your poster

8.  Peer Review:
 Share your thumbnails with your peers
 Choose the best thumbnail
 Make changes based on peer suggestions
 Get instructor approval of your design

9.  Create Your Poster:
 Copy you need to include:
▪ Name and contact information
▪ Name, phone number, web address, blog address etc.
▪ What you do (what kind of art, your skills, your knowledge)
▪ Why you do it (why do you make art? Why do use your style?)
 Memorable Moment:
▪ Include something that makes you memorable and stand out!
▪ Create a message, slogan or other tagline to get people to read your
promotional poster