You’ve confirmed your artist and now you’re planning your show announcement. A poster is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reach your audience. But if you want to maximize your turnout, there are some things you need to know when creating your show poster.
Must haves
- Artist name – your headliner needs to be the largest and most visible text – consider the size of the headliner’s image and name to be 100%
- Opener artist names and images should only be 50-75% the size of the headliner’s image, logo and/or name, and underneath the headliner’s name/image
- Date and time (i.e. Thursday April 23, 7PM)
- Location / venue name
- Ticket price
Also may include
(in smaller font than the above)
- How to get tickets, including the on sale date
- Who is paying for, presenting, or sponsoring the event
- If your show has any restrictions (i.e. 18+ or “must present student ID”)
- Any reminders or special notices:
- Individuals needing assistance to access this event should contact…
- Individuals with hearing loss should contact…
Design tips
- Do the 5-second test. If someone walks past your poster and only sees it for 5 seconds, will they clearly retain who, what, when, and where?
- Avoid clutter.
- To create an eye-catching design, choose a color scheme and one to three fonts before starting. Be sure they compliment the artist graphics that you are using.
- Make sure all text is legible – good size with high contrast.
Approval MUSTS
- Always use artist-approved images/logos; avoid modifications to their images whenever possible.
- Always get the poster approved by the artist team BEFORE printing, posting, and distributing.
- Give yourself enough time between designing and announcement date to go through a round or two of edits if the artist team has feedback.
Using photo-editing software like Adobe Photoshop is the best way to create a poster. If you don’t have access to Photoshop or something similar, you could use a good online editor like Canva. Canva is mostly free to use and even has some templates that may give you a good starting point.
The standard poster size is 11″x17″, although regular letter size – 8.5″x11″ is common, too. If you can choose the DPI, choose at least 300 so printing will look clear and not blurry or pixelated. Make sure any images you are using do not get distorted or stretched.
A great show poster will get people excited about your concert or event. Now get started!
Jolene Chevalier
Founder & Talent Buyer | How To Concerts
Jolene has been a middle buyer for over a decade, helping colleges and others with their concerts, comedians, and speakers. (And, yes, she is named after the Dolly Parton song.) She would love to talk with you about helping to book, plan, and prepare for your event.
Jolene Chevalier
Founder & Talent Buyer | How To Concerts
Jolene has been a middle buyer for over a decade, helping colleges and others with their concerts, comedians, and speakers. (And, yes, she is named after the Dolly Parton song.) She would love to talk with you about helping to book, plan, and prepare for your event.
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