Creative Event Poster Design Ideas

Creative event poster design ideas aren't difficult to come by when you know where to look for inspiration. When you're hosting or marketing an event, it is critical that your event posters capture the imagination of your customer base and motivates your target audience to take action – whether it is to attend the event directly, purchase tickets, or pre-register at an established location or online. The best way to do that is with creative event poster design, of course, and the following will help lend ideas to that end.

Zoom in on detail

If your event covers a well-known subject area, you can create an event poster design that zooms in for a close-up of one specific attribute. For example, a poster for a rockabilly music festival might feature a close-up shot of the cut out from a hollow body guitar. Or, a garden club competition poster might have the background of a zoomed-in tulip or carrot. No matter your subject area, you can probably find a close-up image that will be meaningful and relevant to your event's target audience.

Cartoonize it

Another great way to highlight any subject matter is to cartoonize it. This is where you essentially draw and color your event posters as a cartoon or comic. The technique might seem a natural fit for Comic Con, but it can work for just about any type of event. Consider the dramatic masterpieces you could illustrate for football games, business conferences, and fashion exhibitions and more!

Capture passion

Perhaps the most powerful creative event poster design idea you can employ is to capture the passion of your event attendees. The sexy look of a model, the hopeful look of a first date, the anticipation and celebration of a proposal, the exultation of a victory – all of these can be capture in essence through objects or in fact by snapshots of facial expressions that allow true emotion to bleed through. If your event poster designs can accomplish this, you'll connect with customers and boost attendance.

Go big and bold, yet simple

Every graphic designer has heard the advice of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid), but few mediums allow you to take that to the extreme as much as creative event poster design ideas. A single word or phrase, boldly printed in black against a bright yellow background, will be noticed. A simple shape or series of similar shapes with a short, small, enigmatic phrase between them can excite and motivate response. Never be afraid to simplify your design; in fact, if you make it too complicated it will give readers headaches, but if it is simple your readers will never be confused about your message.

Shock and awe

Last but certainly not least, you can command attention for your event with a creative event poster design that has the “shock and awe” factor. Greenpeace and PETA have earned notoriety for their graphic posters, and whether one agrees with the organizations' message or not the fact that they get attention can't be disputed.