Age UK Golf Tournament Poster

This is a poster by 'Age UK' advertising their 2013 Charity Golf Tournament. The main background is a golf club resting on the ground by a golf ball with the 'Age UK' logo on it. The image takes up the whole page with the text on the top. There are two text colours, white and black, black for the main details (name of event, address, time and date) and the rest of the details are in white. 

1. Logo The main problem with the use of the logo is that it is used far to many times. Once in the top right hand corner, once again on the golf ball, a sponsored by logo and the name Age UK in the title text. This is far to many times to be using the logo. Once is enough! The sponsored by logo should be at the bottom as its not as important as the main logo. The top right hand 'Age UK' logo is too close to the edge. When printing posters and flyers, there must be a minimum of 5mm from edge. This allows the bleed of the colours to run slightly off the intended border. In this case, if the logo does bleed, it will run off the page and be cut off. Normally, logos should be down the bottom of the page, this is because you read the poster from top to bottom. The logo only needs to be at the bottom because that's the last thing you see and will stay in your mind. Also, against the blue sky, the blue logo does not stand out at all, which is a very important thing as its supposed to be advertising the charity. 

2. Fonts First of all, the main rule about fonts when designing a poster is to keep them simple, and easy to read. Something this designer has not even thought about. There are too many different types of fonts. They have put two fonts, a bold, regular and italic. This is way too many, and makes the poster look confusing. 

As this poster would be aimed at middle aged people, text needs to be large and clear. Where the designer has put white text on pale blue sky, it is difficult if not impossible to read from a distance. The text at the bottom in the star is barely noticeable as it is so faint against the busy background. 

The layout of the text is way to cramped. The designer has put everything up on the top half of the poster, leaving the bottom half empty. This means that the title is lost within it all. The main title of a poster should be the main part of the poster, it is supposed to grab the audiences attention. It should at least be in bold! You have 3 seconds to grab the audiences attention before they look away, so making the title clear and bold is essential.

It seems as if this designer has found an image that he likes, and has focused on that rather than anything else. He has just pushed all other text to the side without thinking if anyone would be able to read it. 

What would I do?

If I was asked to design this poster, I would keep the image because it is very eye catching. I would lower the image so that the golf ball is at the bottom and there is more blue sky at the top for text. I would make the title larger, and make it the focal point of the poster. I like the idea of having the 'Age UK' logo in the golf ball, as its a flash of white in the busyness of the grass it draws your eye to it. I would take the text 'Age UK' out of the title because there is no need for it. For the main text, I would think about putting it in a transparent text box, so that the grass still comes through but the text doesn't get lost in it all. The date, time and address is also very important, I would put that part under the title, smaller font but still clear to read as it would be on the pale blue sky in black. The information at the bottom I would put in a banner, so that it doesn't mix in with the grass. Finally, I would add a 5mm white border around the edge so that any bleed that occurs wont be cut off.