25 Poster Ideas, Templates, and Tips for Creative Inspiration

Today, posters come in different forms – from bold advertising types to minimalist posters.

You’ve probably created a few of them yourself but need design ideas to get you going. Perhaps you’re still struggling with your first poster design idea.

Whichever category you fall into, this poster creation guide is for you.

This article is a compilation of the most creative poster design and ideas. You’ll also find poster templates to get you up to speed.

Unleash your inner artist and take inspiration from these creative poster ideas! Want to give one of these ideas your own spin? Take our AI-powered poster maker for a test run. It’ll create a poster based on your prompt in seconds – all for free.

• Wait, what are poster templates?
• Poster ideas for school projects
• Poster ideas for businesses
• Poster ideas for internal communications
• Motivational poster ideas
• Poster ideas for events
• What should I make my poster about?
• How can I make my poster look attractive?

Some days, you’re excited to get started immediately on a creative poster design. And on other days, you just sit in front of your phone or computer, blank and without ideas.

The difference between both days is an inspiration.

Whether you’re creating business advertisement posters, school or social event posters, motivationals, or social media ads, inspiration is what gets you going.

It gives you enough creative ideas to work with and helps you arrange design elements for an excellent poster design.

Remember that you can get inspiration from several channels (more on that later). 

Like an AI that writes for you when ideas are thin, a poster template represents one of your surest means of ideas and inspiration. 

You don’t have to make posters from scratch using a poster template.

Instead, you can use the same layout template and only replace the content as appropriate. 

When you use a poster maker like Piktochart, you get many templates to choose from to create a design. You can also edit colors, icons, and font styles. 

Another benefit of poster templates is their versatility.

You don’t have to search endlessly for a poster template that looks exactly like your desired poster designs.

Most templates can work for multiple design types with a bit of reshuffling.

You should have no problem personalizing a poster template using the following templates and poster design tips.

Posters for school projects are highly effective and versatile for announcements and as a school project itself.

For example, you can use it to gauge how well someone knows about a topic or mobilize supporters for that upcoming student union government election.

Consider the following tips and templates if you have to make school projects and need some poster ideas.

Depicting relationships between design elements is crucial.

Like in the template below, you can use objects with texts for the best effects.

Colors appeal to people and can help you draw all the attention you need.

Since most of your audience will likely be young people, bright colors is an excellent way of attracting their attention.

Young people love cartoons.

Make your content resonate with your students by adding cartoon illustration effects to your posters.

Shapes affect your design in many ways and elicit different moods.

They are also helpful in creating a good visual hierarchy for your poster.

Take a look at a couple of examples below.

A promotional or advertisement poster is a top-notch commercial strategy for promoting businesses.

Despite its long history of use, its importance has not diminished, even with the emergence of online business marketing. 

Today, small and big businesses use their poster ad on social media platforms because it’s cost-effective and attention-grabbing, with the prospect of driving sales. 

Here are some design ideas and examples.

Adding photos of your products lets you share what you do with your target market.

It reduces the need to say too much by making the product the focal point of your design.

The poster background can use a color overlay with the other information placed on it.

Customers prefer products that help them. Highlighting the exact solution on offer makes the advertisement poster stand out.

You can replace product images with symbols and icons if you do not have product images.

Symbols and icons are graphic representations that are used to convey meaning or represent an idea, concept, or object.

A symbol is an image or design that represents something else, often an abstract or complex idea. Symbols can be found in many different contexts, including religion, culture, and politics. Examples of symbols include the peace symbol, the yin and yang symbol, and the infinity symbol.

Conversely, Icons are simplified graphic images that represent an object, action, or idea. Icons are often used in user interfaces, such as computer software or mobile apps, representing functions or features. Examples of icons include the magnifying glass icon for search, the envelope icon for email, and the home icon for the home screen.

Both symbols and icons are used to communicate meaning in a visual way and can be used to convey complex ideas or concepts in a simple and accessible format. They are often used to provide visual cues and improve understanding, especially in contexts where language or written communication may not be the most effective means of communication.

These will also help pass information quickly and save space on your design.

Picking the right symbols and icons will tell your business’ story perfectly.

Questions also tend to inspire people to act.

Relevant questions can be a powerful tool for motivating people to take action, as they prompt individuals to think critically about their goals, beliefs, and values. By asking relevant questions, individuals are forced to confront their assumptions and biases and to consider how their actions and decisions impact themselves and others.

Relevant questions can be used in various contexts, from personal goal-setting to team meetings and strategic planning sessions. They can be used to challenge assumptions, clarify objectives, and identify potential obstacles or opportunities.

For example, if a team struggles to meet a particular goal, a relevant question might be, “What specific actions can we take to improve our performance and achieve this goal?” This question prompts team members to think creatively about potential solutions and to identify concrete steps that can be taken to make progress.

Similarly, in personal goal-setting, relevant questions can help individuals clarify their values and priorities and identify the steps needed to achieve their goals. For example, a relevant question might be, “How will achieving this goal help me to live a more fulfilling life?”

Overall, relevant questions can be a powerful motivator for action, as they encourage individuals to think critically, challenge assumptions, and identify concrete steps toward achieving their goals. By asking relevant questions, individuals can gain clarity and direction and can be more effective in their personal and professional lives.

In the example below, a computer shop can use the informational poster to help customers decide on what computer to buy.

Businesses cannot thrive without effective forms of internal communications. 

Effective internal communication is essential for the success of any organization, as it helps to ensure that all employees are informed, engaged, and working towards common goals.

Some effective forms of internal communication include:

1. Meetings: Regular team meetings, departmental meetings, and company-wide meetings can help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and can provide an opportunity for discussion, feedback, and problem-solving.
2. Email: Email is a common and effective form of internal communication, allowing employees to share information, updates, and documents quickly and easily.
3. Intranet: An intranet is a secure internal website that can be used to share information, documents, and resources within an organization. An intranet can be useful for promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing, and teamwork.
4. Social media: Social media platforms such as Workplace by Facebook and Yammer can be used to foster collaboration, promote engagement, and build a sense of community within an organization.
5. Newsletters: Regular newsletters can be used to share updates, news, and information with employees in a clear and concise way. Newsletters can be distributed via email or posted on an intranet, and can be a useful tool for promoting engagement and keeping employees informed.

Overall, effective internal communication requires a combination of different communication channels tailored to the organization’s and its employees’ needs and preferences.

Organizations can use various communication tools to ensure that employees are informed, engaged, and working towards common goals.

Just as maintaining constant contact with clients is crucial, internal communication will keep employees focused, motivated, and safe.

Posters have become a standard item for internal communication; it’s almost impossible to find an organization that doesn’t utilize them for communicating internally. 

For instance, posters do a perfect job of ensuring safety in the workplace for all staff.

In addition, HR can use an informative poster to remind employers of everyday tasks and processes.

Posters are also an essential element of online information sharing these days. 

The following tips help you maintain an appealing and professional internal communication poster.

Consider how road signs pass so much information using icons.

You can use the same creative poster idea for internal communications. 

For example, use soap and hand icons to remind employees to wash their hands or use the overall and boot icons to inform them of the safety precautions within the premises.

Did the organization just accomplish a new feat? Using metrics to inform employees that their work matters may be a good idea.

You can also use the same strategy to remind everyone of targets to keep in mind.

Motivational posters do just one thing: they urge people to take action.

A motivational poster is a type of poster designed to inspire and motivate viewers toward a particular goal or attitude.

These posters often feature an inspiring message, accompanied by an image or graphic, that is intended to encourage the viewer to take action or adopt a positive mindset.

Motivational posters are often found in workplaces or educational settings.

This poster example can serve as a daily reminder to employees or students to work hard, stay positive, and strive towards success.

They may also be used in sports teams, gyms, or other fitness settings to motivate athletes and encourage them to push themselves toward their goals.

Some common features of motivational posters include bold and colorful typography, inspiring quotes or messages, and images or graphics that reflect the intended message or goal.

This poster example may also feature images of successful people or role models who embody the qualities being promoted in the poster.

Overall, motivational posters are intended to inspire and motivate viewers towards a particular goal or attitude and are often used in settings where encouragement and positive reinforcement are valued.

Typography and quotes are a massive part of motivational posters but they also feature other graphic elements. 

A simple motivational poster can bring smiles to people’s faces, while the more powerful ones will cause people to take action. 

Motivational posters do well with a minimalist design.

Think clean background, bold text, and a straightforward message.

Telling a motivational story in a visual way always works.

But, of course, it needs to be concise and straight to the point.

Typography works well for this kind of design, and you can use blocks to organize things, like in the example below.

Sometimes, less is more. Using less color in a poster design may help drive your message home more effectively.

Events bring people together; you need an attention-grabbing poster to get more people to attend the event. 

From webinar promotions to announcements of sports events, use the event poster design ideas and templates below to get started with your event promotion. 

Your event posters would benefit from hitting the nail on the head.

You don’t want readers getting lost while reading your poster or missing out on vital details. 

An event poster should also reflect the event it is promoting.

For instance, poster ideas for sports events will include icons or images of the sports.

Another creative poster example is using the stadium as a background image for a football event.

Vintage designs are very much in trend again.

They can give an excellent vibe if used correctly, as seen in the vintage poster template below.

Generating poster design ideas is not as easy as it sounds, but you’ll improve with constant practice!

Here are some ideas on how to make a modern poster and tips on improving it.

If you’re good at telling stories, consider using a poster design.

There are loads of creative ideas and design elements that can create just the perfect story poster.

Infographics work great in this regard. 

You can create stories around your brand or design short stories that motivate you.

Typography will be essential for creating a custom story poster, but you should use images to limit the words. 

The Piktochart template below is a good example.

You can divide the infographic into smaller sections (content blocks) to recreate them into mini-posters.

Customers pay more attention to the direct benefits of a product or service.

Hence, businesses stand more chance of doing better when they explain this to customers.

A popular method is highlighting a void without your product and stating the solution you bring in a ‘before-and-after’ approach.

You can make a poster using contrasting colors or patterns to drive this home.

Communicating the values that an organization stands for is helpful in internal communication.

This helps employees get used to these values and work to promote the business.

You can also include images of activities that reflect these values.

This way, they can familiarize themselves better with the messages and understand the values you’re passing across.

Don’t forget to use your brand colors!

Attractiveness ensures a poster appeals to its target audience.

However, this goes beyond using extremely bright colors or stuffing the poster with images.

Here are some quick tips for attention-grabbing posters.

These elements are crucial in graphic design for different purposes.

For instance, lines can direct the reader’s attention to a specific part of the poster design.

Likewise, shapes and patterns can help make your poster information look more organized.

Colors have always been an essential part of graphic design.

They play several roles, and misunderstanding the design aspect can prove costly.

For example, bold colors are starting to draw attention again for good reasons.

A bold color scheme can help catch the reader’s eye if used correctly, but all colors have their purpose.

It helps to combine complementary colors for a clean feel and contrasting colors for a more adventurous and eye-catching effect.

Many posters have different content elements on them, but an excellent poster design has information arranged in order of importance. 

An easy method begins with the most vital parts at the top. 

For example, the movie title will likely be the most prominent in a movie poster.

Another method is to depict object importance with size. Use bold text to highlight the most important feature on your next event poster.

Then, follow up with smaller components of the same size for elements at the same level.

Consistent margin width makes a poster design organized and professional.

Using consistent margins in poster design is important for several reasons:

1. Aesthetics: Consistent margins help to create a balanced and visually pleasing design. When margins are inconsistent, the poster can appear cluttered and difficult to read, which can be unappealing to viewers.
2. Legibility: A poster with consistent margins makes it easier for viewers to read and understand the information presented. The eye can easily follow the text and graphics with clear margins without feeling overwhelmed or confused.
3. Professionalism: Consistent margins can give a poster a professional and polished look. This attention to detail signals to viewers that the poster was created carefully and carefully.
4. Printing: When designing a poster for printing, consistent margins ensure that the poster can be printed with consistent borders without any part of the design being cut off or lost in the printing process.

In short, using consistent margins in poster design can help improve the overall aesthetics, legibility, and professionalism of the poster and ensure it can be printed correctly.

Margins also help with information hierarchy; neglecting them can render your design unreadable.

For instance, related information should maintain closeness with spaces separating them from unrelated elements.

White or negative space is a section in your poster with no content.

However, negative spaces are as important as the parts with objects.

Consider leaving more white space on your poster design as they give a general feel that is minimalist, organized, and more attractive.

Creating posters can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re not a graphic designer.

But this does not have to be the case for you.

You can design any poster without any knowledge of professional graphic design.

This is made possible by the massive library of poster templates by Piktochart.

Piktochart’s poster maker features poster designs for various purposes. 

There are many different types of poster designs because each design serves a specific purpose and communicates a particular message.

For example, a movie poster aims to attract potential viewers by featuring the film’s stars or highlighting the movie’s genre or tone.

On the other hand, an educational poster might use infographics or diagrams to convey complex information in a visually appealing and accessible way.

Other factors that influence poster design include the intended audience, the context in which the poster will be displayed, and the goals of the organization or individual creating the poster.

For example, a political poster may use bold colors and provocative imagery to inspire action, while a scientific poster might prioritize clarity and accuracy over visual impact.

Overall, there are many different types of poster designs because they serve diverse purposes and must be tailored to specific audiences and contexts to convey their intended message effectively in a visually impactful way.

All you need to do is pick a template, edit the elements, personalize it, and you’re all set.

Sign up for a free Piktochart account to get all the benefits of custom poster templates. 

Don’t have time to create a poster from scratch? Create a poster with our AI poster generator, instead. It will create a poster from your prompt. You can pick from one of several options using different templates that you can customize afterwards. Make a powerful poster within minutes instead of hours – no design experience needed.