To design a poster for a movie or to create a billboard are one of the challenges that professionals from the cinematographic world or the experts in design and graphic arts has to take on: to seduce his audience… Posters with a good image, striking typography and, ultimately, quality design, catch the attention of the public. That’s a fact.
Throughout the history of the cinema we can find many cinematographic typologies and styles. But we can assure that there is a more drastic division: The films that make history, the films of cult, and those that go unnoticed. Good projects in the world of cinema have not had the success that was expected or have remained in the limbo of anonymity because they have failed to capture the attention of their audience. That’s what the main function of a good movie poster or a well-designed billboard is: broadcast a message and seduce its recipients through beauty and creativity.

Step One: Capture the motif of the film.
In the motive of the film billboard is where the designer has more room to create, attract and give a good reason to those who contemplate the poster to go see the film.
The use of iconography is a very used and minimalistic resource, the iconography used for movie billboards captures in a symbol and a simple but highly visual image, the essence of the film.

Step Two: Gathering resources.
Be sure to choose the one that best represents the content of the movie. Identify the emotions and sensations that will experience the public when getting to see the poster of your movie for the first time.
Use color psychology to activate particular emotions or feelings. Colorful? White and black? Chromatic? Based on the contrast? We have to choose. The same personality of the movie will help us with the poster design. We don’t use the same composition in a billboard of a drama than a billboard of a comedy. The color of the poster transmits immediate sensations. Seriousness, passion, calm, intrigue, fun, fear… The designer must know the implicit psychology of each color and he/she has to know how to apply it according to what he/she wants to transmit. We must to study the psychology of each color and also the predominant themes in the movie to strike home.

Step Three: Choose the Design Tool Most Suitable for You.

Step Four: Send a clear and communicative message.
As there are different types of cinema, there are different types of message. Even the same film could transmit different messages depending on the design we use for your advertising poster.
Step Five: The typography.
One technique that is present in many billboards that have been successful is the one to combine diverse typographies. A technique that offers creativity to the message, besides giving a disruptive and very characteristic aspect.
Besides typography, it is also important to think about the amount of text that you will want to include in the movie poster design, starting with the title, tagline and credit block. Everything will depend on the artistic direction you’ve decided to take on your own or with the support of an expert designer. Is worth mentioning that just as there are free fonts on the Internet, there are also licensed for commercial use, so I recommend you pay attention to this detail before commercially distribute your work to avoid legal problems later.
They say “a picture is worth a thousand words”… So create a design that does not leave anyone different. It captures your attention, awakens your interest, enlivens your desire and calls them to action with a unique and ingenious film design.
If you run into any problems to complete your design in a successful way, I can help. I recommend you to take a look at the packages I’ve created especially for movie poster before you embark on this adventure. I hope you find these tips useful. Good luck with your project.