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Design a Poster with Type and Hierarchy

Design a single large-format fictional workshop poster using typographic scale, alignment and proximity. Check actual color pairs, long-text fit and two sizes, then inspect the delivered export and equivalent text.

Before you start

Use Inkscape or inspect/edit the supplied original SVG in a local tool.

Design an Original Vector Icon Kit See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

An original fictional library-workshop poster with one clear hierarchy, honest event details, contrast and size tests, editable vector source and readable PNG/PDF.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners age 14 and older, including adults; no paid account, current job, customer or outside participant is required.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use Inkscape or inspect/edit the supplied original SVG in a local tool.
  • Use the supplied fictional event brief; no real advertising or booking required.
  • Keep hierarchy sketches and a separate text companion.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

An original fictional library-workshop poster with one clear hierarchy, honest event details, contrast and size tests, editable vector source and readable PNG/PDF.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • Create an original poster with one dominant title and complete fictional event facts.
  • Use a restrained type hierarchy, intentional alignment and grouped spacing.
  • Check long-text overflow and stated contrast pairs.
  • Inspect full/small renders and revise one specific failure.
  • Deliver editable vector source, checked PNG or documented equivalent, and same-content text.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Hierarchy: visual priority follows the stated message goal.
  • Typography/layout: facts fit and groups are clear.
  • Access/truth: contrast evidence and equivalent fictional text are supplied.
  • Delivery: actual export is fresh and complete.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Priority before decoration

Order facts for the first glance.

02

Spacing communicates

Alignment and proximity make groups visible.

03

Inspect actual exports

Source correctness alone cannot establish a fresh image.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Hierarchy
A deliberate order of visual emphasis.
Proximity
Spacing that makes related elements appear grouped.
Flowed text
Text constrained to a frame that may wrap.
Contrast ratio
A numerical lightness relationship between adjacent colors.
Export area
The source region included in a generated file.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Turn event facts into a priority order

    Convert a supplied fictional event brief into a clear single-poster message hierarchy.

  2. 2
    24 min

    Choose a readable type hierarchy

    Set a restrained type-size/style system and detect text overflow.

  3. 3
    24 min

    Align and space the message

    Use consistent edges and proximity to create readable information groups.

  4. 4
    19 min

    Use color with a contrast check

    Calculate or verify text/background contrast without overclaiming full accessibility.

  5. 5
    24 min

    Test small and full-size readings

    Inspect the poster at two stated sizes and repair a specific hierarchy/fit failure.

  6. 6
    29 min

    Export a truthful accessible poster

    Deliver editable vector source, checked export and equivalent event text.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Design a Poster with Type and Hierarchy practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

Inkscape official guide: Exporting PNG
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read page/drawing/selection export-area distinctions, pixel dimensions and background alpha; no guessed controls or native export claim.

Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.

Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.

Inkscape official guide: Writing Text
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read point/flowed text, overflow frame and line behavior; no native Inkscape session performed.

Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.

Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.

Inkscape official guide: Styling Text
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read size, style, line-height, alignment and spacing controls in official guide; source text and screenshots not copied.

Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.

Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.

W3C WAI: Understanding Contrast Minimum
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read 4.5:1 normaltext/3:1 large-text thresholds, exact-boundary rule and relative-luminance formula; this is a focused check, not whole-site accessibility certification.

Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.

Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one