Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mr. Coxhead, and I'm really pleased that you're able to join me in this lesson today.

Let's get started.

This lesson's called Poster Planning, and by the end of today's lesson, we're gonna be able to plan a poster.

There's likely gonna be some new things to learn today about planning, but I'll be here to help you along the way.

Let's take a look at the keywords for today's lesson.

Landscape, a layout where the width is greater than the height.

Portrait, a layout where the height is greater than the width.

Orientation, the way a rectangular page is positioned for normal viewing.

Colour wheel, a diagram used to represent colours and their relationships to each other.

Let's take a look at the outline of today's lesson.

Well, firstly, we're gonna start by looking at the importance of planning.

Second, we're gonna have a look at how we can plan a poster to clearly convey a message.

Finally, we're gonna sketch out a poster, so that we can actually see how it might look when we start to create our poster at a later date.

Let's take a look at the importance of planning.

Take a look at the poster.

How many features can you spot that could be better? Remember, you can pause the video if you need to take a little time to think.

Let's take a look.

The text colour doesn't contrast well with the background.

It's quite hard to see the text.

The text font makes the message hard to read.

It's a little bit too fancy and hard to actually see the characters.

The logo colours don't go well with the rest of the colours of the poster.

They don't complement the poster.

The text is positioned to the right, and it's behind the image.

It's not clear to read.

Did you spot anymore? Maybe you did.

Well done.

Let's take a further look.

Because of some poor design choices, the poster is not effective at communicating its message.

Many of the problems could have been avoided if the creator had carefully planned out the design before making the poster.

It's important to plan the design of a poster before we start to make it.

It can be tempting to get started straightaway, but it's important to plan out first.

This can help us to make sure that the poster is effective and suitable for its audience.

With better planning, the poster may have looked like this.

Let's take a look at the features of what makes it a better, more effective poster.

Well, this time the colour is lighter, and it's easier to read.

The main message is clear.

The image is in the centre of the poster.

The logo colours complement the poster and the background.

Simple font has been used.

It's very clear to read the message, and the text is located in the centre of the poster.

Effective planning can help you to: keep a clear focus on the purpose of the poster so we don't get distracted, ensure that we understand the audience that we're trying to communicate to, structure the layout of the poster, develop design consistency, prevent and reduce errors, it can help us to set goals and track progress.

But remember, there are no set rules for designing a poster.

It's a creative project, and it's yours, and it'll be unique to you.

Still, you've gotta consider the best ways to communicate your message to your audience.

Okay, a quick question to check our understanding so far.

Effective planning can help to reduce errors and make the poster more effective.

What do you think? It is, of course, true.

So well done if you got that correct.

If you didn't, no worries.

As we go through, we'll become more familiar with what effective planning is and how it can be used.

Just remember, many problems can be avoided if we use planning carefully, and if it's done before we start to make a poster.

So what do you think the planning of the example poster may have looked like? Let's take a look.

Well, it is likely that there was a sketch of the poster that would've showed the layout.

It's clear to see exactly what was gonna be put onto the poster before we actually started to make it.

Well, we could also use a planning template to help structure the content of a poster before we even sketch it out and definitely before we make it.

It may have looked something like this.

We may have had a heading for the environmental theme, which was gonna be clear and healthy oceans.

A heading, well, clear oceans.

A subheading, bin it, don't dump it.

And the main message, we can all help to keep our oceans free from plastic waste.

The colour, the main colour, I'm gonna use a colour code, which we'll learn more about later, is blue, and a couple of additional colours, again, each with their own unique colour code.

They're kind of a shade of blue each.

Landscape or portrait orientation? In this case, it was portrait, and images that we could use for the theme, such as sea, plastic items, and sea creatures.

And again, an annotated sketch may have been created to show the layout and the positioning of all the content on the poster.

Okay, which of these is used to help initially structure the content and layout of a digital product? Is it A, an evaluation template, B, a user feedback template, C, a planning template? Pause the video if you need to have some time to think.

It is, of course, a planning template.

Well done if you got that correct.

Doesn't matter if not.

Remember, you can always rewind the video and have another look if you want to go over some more of the content we've learned about.

Okay, so onto the first task of today's lesson.

Jun and Laura are working together to create a poster for a school music festival.

Laura wants to get started making the poster on a computer, but Jun would like to plan out the idea first.

Who do you think is right? Explain your reasons.

Try to think back to what we've learned at the first part of today's lesson.

Remember, you can pause the video if you need some time to undertake the activity or to have a think.

Okay, well done for having a go at that question.

So the answer really is that Jun is correct.

He would like to plan out the poster first, and remember that planning before making a digital product can help reduce errors, and it can make the product better.

Well done if you got that correct.

If not, that's fine.

Remember, you can rewind and go through the content if you need to.

Okay, we're on to the second part of today's lesson, which is planning a poster to clearly convey a message.

So for this part of the lesson, we're gonna be thinking about using a planning template to help structure the content before we make it, and we're gonna use a similar format to the one that we've looked at previously.

So we're gonna have an environmental theme.

We're going to have a heading, a subheading, a main message, a main colour, additional colours, we're gonna think if it's gonna be landscape or portrait, and we're going to think about images we're going to use in our poster.

We're also gonna include an annotated sketch.

Let's take a look at how we might use the planning template to help structure our work.

So we're gonna break down the template into sections to help keep the process manageable and focused.

We're gonna consider the theme and message we want to communicate.

We're gonna consider the main colour, as well as additional colours that will suit the theme, and we're gonna look at the layout of the poster.

Gonna think about suitable images you might want to use in your final poster.

So let's first have a look at choosing an environmental theme.

Now there are, of course, many different themes we could choose for our poster.

Let's take a look at some ideas.

We could look at doing a climate change awareness poster.

Maybe we'd like to do a renewable energy poster, or we could do one focused on plastic pollution.

What about biodiversity and how we can encourage a more biodiverse Earth? Maybe we could look at water conservation.

You're free to choose your own environmental theme for your poster, but make sure you're clear about the message you want to communicate with the audience.

Okay, well done for getting this far.

We're onto Task B of today's lesson.

Let's take a look at the first question.

We're gonna complete the first section of our planning sheet.

A, think of an environmental theme you want to use for your poster, and write it down on your planning sheet.

B, write down a heading, a subheading, and a main message that reflect the importance of your environmental theme.

Okay, well done for having a go at that activity.

Let's take a look at the answers.

Laura chose the theme of protecting rainforests.

Her heading was rainforests, and her subheading was "Let them grow." The main message for her poster was rainforests are home to over half the world's plants and animals.

What did you put? Well done for having a go at that activity.

We're gonna move on to the next section of your planning.

Let's move on and take a look at some layout options for our poster.

When planning a poster, we'll need to decide which way round the poster will be viewed.

This is known as its orientation, and we have two options to choose from, portrait or landscape.

Here are some features of a portrait layout.

The height is greater than the width.

They emphasise vertical reading of text.

They're good for tall images.

Let's take a look at landscape layout.

Here are some features.

The width is greater than the height.

They're good for wide images, and text can be spaced across the page.

Which orientation do you think you'd like for your poster, portrait or landscape? You're free to choose whichever orientation you feel is most suitable for your poster.

Let's move on to looking at how we're gonna choose suitable colours for your poster.

So we can use something called an online colour wheel, and it can really help us to pick colours that complement each other that we can reuse over and over again.

You should choose a main colour that relates to the poster's theme, and one or two other colours.

Once you've chosen your colours, you'll need to make a note of the colour codes.

These are unique to that specific colour that you've chosen, and can be reused along different digital products.

Here's a true or false question.

A landscape layout has a width that is longer than its height.

Is that true or false? Try to remember back to the content that we've previously covered.

Remember, you can pause the video, should you need some time to think about the question.

It is, of course, true.

Well done if you got that answer right, and don't worry if you didn't remember.

You can rewind the video and go back and check on some of the content that we've previously covered.

Let's have a think about suitable images.

Images used on posters must be suitable for the style and theme you are working with.

A good image can really add visual impact to posters.

We need to think carefully about the ones that we choose.

For example, let's take a look at climate change as a theme.

What images may suit this theme? Can you think of any images that might suit the theme of climate change? Laura has a few ideas.

So she would choose images that show how amazing the Earth, oceans, and wildlife are.

This would really suit the theme.

What images would suit the theme of your poster and add visual impact? Here's a question to check your understanding so far.

What is the name of the tool that shows colours and their relationship to each other? Is it A, the colour sphere, B, the colour wheel, C, a colour circle? Pause the video if you need some time to think of your response.

It is, of course, the colour wheel.

Well done if you got that right.

If you didn't remember, we can go back and look at content we've previously covered.

Let's move on to having a look at how we might find suitable images using a search engine.

It's very easy to find images on the internet by using a search engine.

However, most images are protected under copyright, and cannot legally be used without permission of their owners.

Still, there are filters we can use when using an advanced search to select images with a Creative Commons licence, and these are free to use.

Make sure any images you use in your poster are okay to use and are not protected by copyright.

Okay, let's take a look at the second half of the Task B.

Complete the second section of your planning sheet.

Use an online colour wheel to select a main colour, and up to two additional colours that will match your theme.

Remember to write down the codes.

You will need these later.

B, write down a page orientation that you think will work best for your poster.

Remember back to what we mentioned about the features of portrait and landscape posters.

C, write down three to four suggestions for images you could use for your poster.

Okay, let's take a look at some example answers.

Hopefully, you really enjoyed that task, and you were able to find the information that you need for your poster.

So for this example, the main colour is the green/blue colour, and it has its unique specific colour code to make sure we can reuse that colour when we're ready.

It also has additional colours of blue and lighter green, and I've chosen a portrait layout for this particular poster.

Images could include the Earth, koala, sloth, or a chameleon.

Well done for that.

Hopefully, you've got a planning sheet now with information on that you can use to help to sketch out your poster.

Okay, well done for getting this far.

We're gonna have a look at the last section of the lesson now, which is sketching a poster.

Let's take a look at sketching the layout.

Now, once we have the planning of our content and it's complete, it's a good idea to sketch and plan the layout to see if our idea will work as we expect.

Here's an example.

Sketching is a great technique to quickly communicate a visual idea.

At this stage, you are free to move content and change things around to see what works best.

Sketching can be done on paper or with a computer programme.

You are free to choose whichever method you find the best.

Let's consider the layout of our poster.

When sketching the layout, think carefully about the position, colour, and size of the text and images.

Here's an example.

But always remember there are no set rules.

You must make choices to ensure your message is clear and has impact, but you are free to make some creative decisions of your own.

Let's have a question to check what you've learned so far.

It is not possible to make changes to the content of a digital product once the initial planning has been completed.

Is this true or false? It is, of course, false.

So well done if you got that correct, and if you didn't, don't worry.

We're gonna have a look at why this is the case now.

Well, planning helps to decide the content, structure, and layout of a digital product, but changes are still often made as a product develops.

Which one of the following statements is false? The size and position of text and images should be carefully considered.

Sketching can be used to show visual ideas.

Sketching must be done on paper.

Which one is false? It is, of course, sketching must be done on paper.

It's just not the case.

It's possible to sketch on paper, or we can use computer programmes.

Whatever technique you found useful is absolutely fine.

Okay, sketching is about communicating a visual idea.

Okay, well done for getting this far.

We're onto Task C.

This is the final task of the lesson.

Let's take a look at the question.

Sketch out your poster.

Make sure you've used the information in the plan you created earlier.

All that hard work has been done already.

Now, we get to be creative.

You should have information about the environmental theme of your poster, the heading you want to put on, the subheading you'd like to include, the main message you are communicating, the main colour, additional colours, whether it's landscape or portrait, and some ideas of images you may wish to include in your poster.

Good luck.

I can't wait to see what you produce.

Remember to take a pause in the video to give yourself time to complete the task.

Okay, well done for that.

Hopefully, you've managed to sketch out your poster now, and included all the information that you've worked so hard on earlier in the lesson.

Let's take a look at what an example might be like.

Okay, so here's an example using the information that we talked about at the start of the lesson.

Now, Laura, she's really pleased with her final poster, how it might look, but there's a couple of things you might want to change to make the message clearer.

That's absolutely fine.

We can adapt as we go along.

What do you think about your sketch? Okay, let's take a look at the second question of Task C.

Annotate your sketch, and describe the key features you've included.

Take a look at your sketch, and review it against the plan that you created.

Did you miss anything that was in your plan? Did you make any changes? If so, why? Would you like to change anything else for your final poster? Okay, well done for completing your task.

It's the final task of the lesson.

We've come a long way since we started.

Let's take a look at an example of how we might have annotated and described the features you've included in your poster.

Here's the one that I did earlier.

So the dark blue background will help the text stand out.

The light blue text will stand out from the background.

An image of a turtle will be in the centre of the poster.

The logo will be in the bottom left of the poster.

White text will be placed in the centre of the poster for impact, and large white text with a clear font will be used for the heading.

Let's have a look at the answers to 2B.

Did you miss anything that was on your plan? Well, Jun remembered to add an image to his poster, but he forgot to add the logo design that was on his plan.

That's okay.

If you've missed anything, you can always go back to add it to your sketch.

Let's have a look at part two.

Did you make any changes? If so, why? Laura changed the text for the heading of her poster.

While she was making her poster, she had an idea for a new heading that she thought had more impact.

It's fine to change your plan as your project progresses, so long as the changes will help to create a better product.

So if you've found that you've made any changes, that's absolutely fine.

Let's take a look at part three of this question.

Would you like to change anything else on your final poster? Well, Jun thought he would like to change the size and position of his image, and now that he can see the poster, he thought that a larger image positioned in the middle would have more impact.

Initial plans are really useful to help focus and structure your project.

However, you should be open to changing your plan as your product develops to ensure you make the best possible product.

Well done.

Let's take a look at the summary for this lesson.

Planning is an important part of the production process.

Planning helps structure the content and layout of a digital product to make sure it's fit for purpose.

Sketching can be used to quickly communicate a visual idea, and initial plans can be changed throughout a project to help improve the final product.

Well done.

You've done a great job this lesson.

I've really enjoyed being in the lesson with you, and I hope to see you in the next.