Poster Design and Visual Composition
A great poster stops people in their tracks.
About this course
A great poster stops people in their tracks. This three-day advanced course is for designers who already know Photoshop and Illustrator and want to create bold, polished compositions that hold attention and communicate instantly.
You will develop concepts, build layered composites with advanced masking and blending, craft vector graphics and expressive type, and grade colour for a consistent mood. Each stage is guided and critiqued, and you finish with a print-ready poster that shows your best work.
What you'll learn
- Develop strong poster concepts that communicate a single clear idea
- Compose complex layouts with deliberate hierarchy, depth and movement
- Combine photographs seamlessly using advanced masking and blending in Photoshop
- Create precise vector elements and expressive typography in Illustrator
- Move artwork efficiently between Photoshop and Illustrator
- Apply colour grading and lighting effects for a consistent mood
- Prepare large-format files correctly for print and for digital display
Curriculum
- What makes a poster work
- Concept before execution
- Analysing strong compositions
- Hierarchy, scale and contrast
- Depth and layering
- Movement and the path of the eye
- Breaking the grid with purpose
- Interpreting a brief
- Sketching and rough layouts
- Choosing a visual metaphor
- Advanced selections and masks
- Blend modes and layer styles
- Matching light, perspective and colour
- Non-destructive workflows with Smart Objects
- Colour grading with adjustment layers
- Lighting and shadow effects
- Creating texture and mood
- Precise shapes and paths
- Gradients and blends
- Patterns and graphic elements
- Type as image
- Custom type treatments
- Integrating Arabic and Latin type
- Balancing text and imagery
- Moving assets between Photoshop and Illustrator
- Linked versus embedded files
- Final assembly
- Large-format print preparation
- Colour profiles, bleed and resolution
- Exporting for screens and social media
- Critique and final revisions
Who it's for
For experienced designers and creative professionals who use Photoshop and Illustrator and want to raise the quality of their composition work.
Before you start
- Confident working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator
- A solid grasp of design principles, colour and typography
Part of these Alalamia diplomas
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