What have you learnt about communication through the development of your poster
In the process of developing the poster, I have learnt a number of things, in relation to the field of communication. First, is that communication is gradually becoming fundamental human right and which should be accorded to each and every individual regardless of his/her age or social standing. I have also discovered that there are many countries out there in which the right to communicate is not treated as a right, with most of the citizens being subjected to extreme blocks by the government, whenever they decide to air their dissatisfaction with how the state is conducting its affairs. Finally, I have also learnt that the more developed countries of the world can play a critical role in ensuring that this basic right is treated with the kind of respect it deserves in all countries. This can be achieved by pushing the agenda through institutions such as the United Nations and the African Unions among others and helping develop the appropriate infrastructure.
How you went about designing the poster. What strategy and procedures did you use?
In designing this poster, I had to make sure that the message I needed delivered got to the intended audience in full. However, I also knew that it was important to make it visually attractive, such that individuals could be compelled to look at it even without prompting. In this regard, I first had to find photographs to use in the poster. The photos I chose captured the message I wanted to highlight in the poster, in a way that the viewer could relate to the message, even without having to read the text below the picture.
Using the design software Photoshop, I lay out the basic dimensions of the poster. With the background well set, I took the photographs and positioned them properly on the page. Next, I needed a title that represented the message I wanted on the poster. After trying out a number of word combinations, I settled on Let’s Help Bridge The Gap, which I found appropriate because it was short enough to reduce clutter on the poster, but also adequate enough to summarize everything the poster bore.
To make the title significant, I used a substantially bigger font, and different color from what I had planned to use in the main body of the poster. Having set the picture, the title and the background in place, it was time to put in the main message. I laid out a text box, immediately below the picture, and typed in everything I wanted to reach the target audience. After a little tweaking I found out that setting the text in columns made it much easier to read that having it presented as one whole block. I therefore presented in columns. The last line of the message was set out in one straight line and in a shouting font, with its main purpose being to give the final position on the issue.
Why you have designed this poster in the way that you have
I chose to design the poster in this way because I already knew that the target audience comprised individuals who had a high-standing in society. These are individuals who have little time to spare in the day for things like posters. As such, I had to ensure that a high level of professionalism was presented, in a bid to get them to stop, read the message and take it home with them. My main aim was to persuade them to see things from my perspective and for this to be achieved I had to first ensure that I could grab their attention for a substantial amount of time.
Upon reflection what improvements would you make in designing the poster, and also the poster itself
In retrospect, I think I used a lot of words trying to get the message across. I have come to the realization that for a poster, even a message-poster, information is usually best conveyed using very few words. In this regard, the next time I tackle such a project, I will see to it that I use a limited number of words, so that I do not have to contend with losing the primary objective on account of being too wordy. I would also make sure that I make the main photograph bigger and if need be, use more thumbnail photos to reinforce the message.