4.1(a) In the picture

To design a poster that will sharpen the group’s message and publicise the campaign.

Paper and pens of different colours, if possible some poster examples and at least an hour. It would be useful to have access to a digital camera and a computer.

Now you have a detailed campaign plan, you need to create publicity that focuses specifically on what you want to see changed. A good place to start is by designing and producing a poster about your campaign. For a poster to work, it has to be catchy, focused, easy to understand and memorable. Working on a poster will help you capture the most important things you want to communicate to others. This is not an art competition. It is about your ideas and your message. You can worry about how to produce the posters later.

a) First, as a whole group, look at any posters you’ve brought and talk about and note what makes a good one. What makes it catchy? Who’s it trying to reach? What age group is it targeting? Is it trying to sell you something, or promote a cause? If it’s selling something, what’s its message? How much text is there? How are pictures used?

b) Get into small groups and start work on your own poster. Let your imagination run riot. Get all the ideas out in the open. What’s your campaign about? What’s your main message? What do you want people to do? How do they contact you? You need to think of slogans, colours and designs and then bring all three together. That takes some serious creativity!

c) Come back together and share what you’ve done. Are there a number of similar poster ideas? If so, are these the best ones to take forward into your final version? Perhaps there’s one particularly unusual or stimulating idea you want to use. Make sure it gets the message across though. What other information do you need? Contact details are a must. What about website links? Do a mock up together of what you want where on your final poster.

Before you commit to a final version, stop and think through some practicalities you may have explored in activity 3.2(c) Resourcing The Plan. Has a local business offered to help, or will the youth project chip in? Do you need to raise money yourselves? Much can be done at low cost with computer, scanner, printer and photocopier. Later in this unit, you develop a communication strategy that will help you decide how best to use the posters, the quality and quantity you need.