Adobe Express can be used to support and facilitate the design of posters that can visually communicate ideas and understanding.

A well-designed poster can grab someone’s attention and deliver an important message.  Adobe Express can also be used to create sleek and eye-catching designs from either a range of pre-existing Express poster templates or by generating one using the built-in AI functionality.

To create a poster in Adobe Express, use the following steps:

Open Adobe Express on your desktop or mobile device (https://new.express.adobe.com/) to start creating your poster, decide to create from a blank canvas, explore thousands of poster template designs that have already been created or use AI to generate a poster template based on a given prompt.

This guide will explore all three methods.

1. Creating a poster project from scratch
2. Creating a poster from a pre-existing template
3. Creating a poster using a GenAI prompt

1.  Creating a poster from scratch

1. Start a New Project and on the homepage, click the ‘Create a New Project’ plus button.
2. Select ‘Custom Size Graphic’ to start from a blank canvas and choose the dimensions for the poster. Common sizes include A4 (210 x 297 mm)
3. To add a background, click on the ‘Background’ option in the left-hand menu. Choose a background colour or image from Adobe’s stock images or upload it from the local device. Adjust the background to fit the canvas by resizing or repositioning it.
4. Add a Title by clicking on the ‘Text’ option in the left-hand menu, selecting ‘Add Text’ and typing the title text (Customise the font, size, colour, and alignment). Remember to consider the position of the title text (for example, consider placing it at the top of your poster).
5. Add Written Text by clicking the ’Text’ menu option again and selecting ’Add Text’ for additional written content. Type the required text to be included on your poster. Customise the font, size, colour, and alignment of the text. Position the text appropriately on your poster.
6. Add Images by clicking on the ‘Photos’ option in the left-hand menu. Choose images from Adobe’s stock library or upload your local images.  Drag and drop the images onto the canvas and resize and position the images as required.
7. Add additional customisations to the poster. For example:
   1. Use the ‘Icons’ option to add icons that enhance your design.
   2. Explore ‘Design Assets’ for overlays and textures to add depth to the poster.
   3. Adjust the overall colour scheme using the “Colors” option.
   4. Apply animations if your poster will be displayed digitally.
8. Save and Share: Adobe Express automatically saves work to the Creative Cloud.

Additional (Useful) options to consider:

1. Use the Undo and Redo options if changes made need to be reversed.
2. Click the “Invite” button to collaborate with others on a project.
3. Download your poster in PNG, JPG, or PDF format.
4. Share your completed poster by clicking the “Share” button in the top right-hand corner.

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2. Creating a poster from a pre-existing template

1. On the homepage, either locate the ‘Browse templates’ section and click one of the listed categories or click the ‘View all’ option.
2. Scrolling through the list of templates until you locate the ‘Poster’ category (other categories might also offer similar results (such as ‘Flyer’ etc.) and click on the ‘View all’ option
3. Browse through the available poster templates to select a design that meets the project requirements. (Use the filter by topic option to narrow down your selection if needed).
4. Preview and choose a template, once a poster template has been identified, click on a template to preview it in a larger format.
5. If happy with the selection, click the ‘Create from this template’ button (to explore other templates, use the left and right navigation buttons to scroll through options within the same category).
6. Customise Your Template: Once a template has been selected and opened into the Adobe Express workspace, use the left-hand side of the screen to:
   1. Add and edit text styles, including headlines, paragraphs, quotes, and more.
   2. Add photos from Adobe stock or upload your local images.
   3. Add icons from Adobe Stock to personalise the poster.
   4. Include design assets such as overlays and textures.
   5. Choose and customise background styles.
   6. If required, add your logos for branding.
   7. Save commonly used items in a custom library for future projects.
7. Adjust Visual Elements
   1. Use the “Colors” button to edit the overall colour theme of the poster. (Adobe Express offers several pre-defined colour schemes, or you can create your own.)
   2. Apply animations if your poster will be displayed digitally.
   3. Modify the background orientation and style.
   4. Change the overall design variations, including colour scheme, font size, and style.
8. Personalise Content
   1. Double-click on any text currently on the poster to modify or replace it.
   2. Resize text boxes to fit the content.
   3. Use layers to isolate and edit specific elements of the poster design. Access layers from the bottom left corner to see and interact with different components.
9. Save and Share

1. Use the ‘Undo’ and ‘Redo’ options to reverse changes if needed.
2. Use the ‘Invite’ button to collaborate with others on your project.
3. Download your poster in PNG, JPG, or PDF format.
4. Share your completed poster by clicking the ‘Share’ button in the top right-hand corner.

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3. Creating a poster using a GenAI prompt

1. On the homepage, locate the ‘Generate with AI’ section and click on the ‘Generate template’ option.
2. From the template type drop-down menu, select ‘poster’
3. Enter a prompt that describes what the content on the poster should include and how it should look.

4. Adobe Express will usually generate four initial poster templates.
   1. Clicking the template design will open it in the Express canvas and allow additional edits to be applied.
   2. Clicking on the ‘See variations’ button on any of the generated designs will generate other similar designs to that template.
   3. Clicking on the ‘Generate more results’ button will generate a further four AI-generated poster template designs.

Once opened into the Adobe Express workspace you can then

5. Customise Your Template
   1. Add and edit text styles, including headlines, paragraphs, quotes etc.
   2. Add photos from Adobe stock or upload your local images.
   3. Add icons from Adobe Stock to personalise the poster.
   4. Include design assets such as overlays and textures.
   5. Choose and customise background styles.
   6. If required, add your logos for branding.
6. Adjust Visual Elements

1. Use the “Colors” button to edit the overall colour theme of the poster. (Adobe Express offers several pre-defined colour schemes, or you can create your own.)
2. Apply animations if your poster will be displayed digitally.
3. Modify the background orientation and style.
4. Change the overall design variations, including colour scheme, font size, and style.

7. Personalise Content
   1. Double-click on any text currently on the poster to modify or replace it.
   2. Resize text boxes to fit the content.
   3. Use layers to isolate and edit specific elements of the poster design. Access layers from the bottom left corner to see and interact with different components.

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For more information, please contact the Digital Learning Specialist team.