While the term propaganda has acquired a strongly negative connotation by association with its most manipulative examples, propaganda in its basic sense is neutral, and could refer to subjects that are generally benign, such as public health recommendations, signs encouraging citizens to participate in a census or election, messages encouraging persons to report crimes to the police, and, of course, design itself! The next time you have an upcoming event, instead of the standard “club flyer” look, consider using some of the basic principles of propaganda posters to influence the decision making process of your audience.

How to extract the effective parts of propaganda design

1. Use a color scheme that includes four distinct colors or less OR uses full color, but with one or two dominant colors. Bold colors and/or bold use of color evokes emotion. You decide what the emotion will be.
2. Promote a dominant phrase or sentence clearly displayed on the poster.
3. Redundancy is key – between the content (wording) and any imagery.

Summary

A propaganda poster spreads ideas, info or rumors for the purpose of helping or hurting a person or cause. It’s a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda, in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively to encourage an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience. (Use with caution.)