Concert Poster
Project Brief
Create an 11x17 concert poster for a musician to show your understanding of the principles of design. You will make up a concert date and location.
Past Student Examples
Pick a Musician
Choose a musical artist. (Anyone as long as their name is school appropriate and you can find a photo of them that is school appropriate.)
Search for photos of them in Google Images.
Right-click on the image and click "Save Image as..."
Save the image to your "Creative Cloud Files" folder.
Cut Out the Background
Click "Sign in" in the top right and "Continue with Google"
Under "Try a quick action" click "Remove background"
Drag your saved image into the "Drag & drop..." area.
Click "Download"
In your "Downloads" folder, rename your image and then drag it to your "Creative Cloud Files" folder.
Open Creative Cloud
Open Creative Cloud from your Dock.
Login if needed (Continue with Google)
In Creative Cloud, if you don't see "Illustrator" make sure to select the "Apps" tab in the top toolbar.
Click "Open" to the right of Illustrator.
Create a New File
Click the "New File" blue button
Under the print tab, click "Tabloid"
Change the units from "Points" to "Inches"
Click "Create"
Save as .aic File
In the very top toolbar, click "File" > "Save As..."
Click "Save to Creative Cloud"
In the "Save As" text bar, rename your file to be:
"Last Name, Concert Poster"
Click "Save"
Use a Rectangle to Make 1 Inch Margins
Select the Rectangle Tool
Click on the artboard to bring up the "Rectangle" pop-up
Adjust:
Width: 9 in
Height: 15 in
Click OK
In the "Properties" tab, under Align, click the third and sixth icon to "Horizontal Align Center" and "Vertical Align Center"
Right-click on the rectangle and lcikc "Make Guides"
Use a Rectangle to Make a Rule of Thirds Grid
Use the Rectangle Tool to create a rectangle to fill your whole artboard.
With the rectangle selected, click "Object" > "Path" > "Split Into Grid..."
Change:
Rows
Number: 3
Columns:
Number: 3
Click "OK"
Right-click on the grid and click "Make Guides"
Create a Background with the Rectangle Tool
In the left toolbar near the bottom, double-click on the fill color swatch/square. This will open the Color Picker.
Choose a color and click "OK"
In the left toolbar, click on the rectangle icon.
Click in the top left corner of your artboard and drag down to the bottom right corner of your artboard.
Rename Layer and Create a New Layer
Click the "Layers" tab in the top right.
Double click "Layer 1"
Rename to "Background"
Lock the layer by clicking the blank square next to it.
In the bottom right click the "+" button to create a new layer above your Background layer.
Double click "Layer 2" and rename to "Type"
Create Text with the Type Tool
In the left toolbar, click on the "T" icon.
Click on your artboard. This will create a text box filled with PlaceHolder text (Lorem ipsum - it's Latin).
Create 3 separate text boxes:
Your chosen musician's name
A concert location (can be real or not)
A concert date (can be real or not)
Activate an Adobe Font
Go to Adobe Fonts
In the top right corner click "Sign In" and sign in.
Find a font (or 2 fonts) for your poster
On the left side toolbar, you can click on different tags and classifications or you can just scroll through the pages
When you find a font you like:
Click on the font to open it
In the top right corner click the slider next to "Activate # Font(s)" so that it turns blue.
Use Your activated font
In Illustrator:
Select your text box(es)
Open the font dropdown and click the cloud/check icon to "Show Activated Fonts"
Select your activated fonts.
Create Text Hierarchy
Create text hierarchy using the 50% guideline
Your smallest text should be at least 24 pt.
My example: 135 pt, 48 pt., 24 pt.
In your "Layers" panel, lock your "Type" layer.
Add Your Image
In your "Layers" panel create a new layer
Rename it: "Image"
Open Finder and find your image in "Creative Cloud Files"
Drag the image to Illustrator.
In the "Properties" panel, click "Embed"
Resize as you wish (remember to hold "shift" on your keyboard so it doesn't get squished).
Use Principles of Design & Make Your Poster Unique
Show off your knowledge of other tools/tricks and skills you've learned to use the principles of design and make your poster unique.
Principles of Design Reminders:
UNITY
Repetition: repeat elements of art (line, shape, form, color, value, texture, space) to create unity
Margins: keep your text within your 1-inch margins
Alignment: align text/objects to create unity
Balance: choose to create either approx. formal/symmetrical balance or informal/asymmetrical balance
VARIETY
Emphasis: choose a focal point and make it stand out by creating contrast
Contrast: differentiate elements of art (line, shape, form, color, value, texture, space) to create variety
Hierarchy: create an order in which your audience will read your poster (see text hierarchy instructions above)
Rule of Thirds: place your focal points on the rule of thirds intersections
Save
Because your file is saved on Creative Cloud, it will be a ".aic" file - this means Illustrator saves your file every 5 minutes.
If you see an asterisk (*), that means there are unsaved changes.
To save, in the top menu, click "File" > "Save"
If "Save" is grayed out, it means your file has already been automatically saved.
Save As PDF
In top menu, click "File" > "Save As..."
Choose "Save on your computer" this time.
At "Format:" choose "Adobe PDF (pdf)" from the drop-down
Click "Save"
Click "Save PDF"
Turn in On Canvas and Reflect
Upload your .pdf file to the Canvas assignment.
Complete the reflection in the comment area.
"I'm Done"
If you have more time in class, check out the "I'm Done" page.