Capturing the Imagination
Once you capture the imagination, your next step is to hold it hostage against the “ransom” of a ticket purchased for your event. Okay, that’s a tongue-in-cheek explanation of what “capture the imagination” means as a phrase, but you get the idea. When you have someone’s imagination in your grip, you’re likely to influence their action.
Believe it or not, something as simple as a poster can capture the imagination of those you’re trying to reach, and that even if said poster isn’t physically printed and distributed. Granted, that’s the main idea, but in a digital sense, you can plaster that poster across the world.
A well-designed image properly edited through varying modern software can do much to raise awareness and stimulate interest in whatever you’re advertising with said purchase. Following we’ll explore a few ways you can assure your poster is attractive enough to arrest the attention of viewers and draw them to your cause; be it commercial or personal.
Colors, Colors, Colors
Today’s color palettes are wider and more intense than ever. Digital options make bright neon colors and psychedelic pastels easy to acquire and apply. This is an unprecedented modern phenomenon that has really begun to change how we see things in the last thirty years. Look at a modern CGI film, and look at Toy Story. They didn’t have the “trippy” palette in the 90s.
Accordingly, what you want to do is design a poster that includes some of the amazing new colors available owing to technological advancement. On a subconscious level, the coloration of your poster will do much to define how interesting it is to the viewer. Just look at any poster for a new “Marvel” movie and you’ll see the truth of this.
How Visible is the Poster?
One of the biggest complaints critics have brought to the table concerning the film Dune, and 2022’s The Batman is that both films are just too dark. It’s hard to see anything, and that’s actually a cinema trend right now. Even though these are top-of-the-line “A-List” productions, unless you turn the settings on your screen up, it can be hard to see anything.
Whatever you do with your poster, you need to be sure pertinent information is properly visible. Some of that information will be textual, some of that information is going to be purely pictorial. Whichever info is most important is that which you need to emphasize in the poster itself. To that end, you might want to pay careful attention to what shadow does to an image.
Sometimes light on the picture when printed physically will be impacted by shadows inherent to the image. Sometimes you can even see the issue in the digital photo. You can remove shadow from photos a lot easier than you may have realized using options like the Facetune app. A good idea is to make a “shadow check” part of the poster production process.
The Actual Subject Matter of the Poster
You need to match subject matter, shadow, and color to the capability of production associated with your project. If you can’t make a high-dollar poster using available editing software, then get a really good picture and put the text in the right spot on the poster such that it’s readable.
You want something evocative and intriguing; a picture or image that’s been generated digitally which invites the viewer to stand and regard it for a moment.
Look at the posters for Star Wars, and Disney films generally. Now apply what you learn from those posters to your band poster, your business poster, the flyer for your group therapy business, or whatever you’re advertising.
Prime Imagination Fodder
You’re a lot more likely to capture someone’s imagination if you’re strategic about choosing subject matter for your poster, you assure shadows don’t impact the ability of your poster to communicate a given message, and you’ve got engaging colors.
Now granted, you’ve got to properly combine these elements for best results. A maelstrom of color without shadows silhouetting some psychedelic junkyard likely won’t do you any favors—unless, of course, your poster is advertising a psychedelic junkyard, like the Forevertron in Wisconsin. Look at what works from A-list producers, and apply those lessons as you can.
