How to make a poster that people actually read
A poster has a few seconds — someone walking past, or scrolling a WhatsApp group. These rules keep it clear.
Decide the one line
Every poster has one line that matters most: SALE 50% OFF, Admissions Open, Live Music Saturday. Make it the biggest thing on the page, near the top. Everything else is smaller.
Order the details
After the headline, people look for when, where and how much. Put them in that order, in a smaller but still bold size. Put the phone number or QR code at the bottom, where people expect it. Need a QR code? Make one with the free QR code generator and add it as an image.
Use one strong photo
One big, good photo beats a collage of five small ones. If your photo has a messy background, use background removal and place the subject on a clean colour.
Two fonts, high contrast
A heavy display font for the headline and a simple font for details is enough. Dark text on light, or light on dark. Our font pairing guide explains why some pairs work.
Print or share
For printing, export a PDF and ask the print shop to print A4 (or scale to A3 — the layout keeps its shape). For WhatsApp groups and Instagram, export a JPG, or resize the poster to a 4:5 post or a 9:16 story so it isn't shrunk to fit.
Want AI to draft it?
On paid plans, Magic AI can design a poster from one line of description, as editable layers. See the AI poster maker. This page is for designing it yourself, from a template or a blank page.
What's free
Poster templates, 10 saved designs and 4 AI photo tool uses a month are on the Free plan. Free exports go up to 720p with a small watermark, which suits phone sharing; for crisp print and no watermark, paid plans from ₹499 a month export up to 4K. See pricing.
