Lesson Plan

• Identify and select the most effective visual ideas, media and techniques that meet a given brief.
• Review and analyse work against brief, audience and assessment criteria, incorporating peer and teacher feedback.
• Refine designs through iterative development to produce a cohesive, personal and resolved final piece.

• Projector and screen
• Printed brief handouts
• Sketchbooks, pencils, erasers, coloured pencils/markers
• Computers with free vector software (e.g., Inkscape)
• Mood‑board templates or large paper sheets
• Reflection journals or worksheets

Begin with a quick discussion of how powerful posters can influence an audience, showing a striking example. Recall the previous lesson’s focus on basic composition and typography. Explain that today’s success criteria are to select, review, and refine ideas so each student produces a personal, resolved poster that meets the brief.

1. Do‑now (5'): Analyse a sample poster on the screen, noting strengths and weaknesses.
2. Brief unpacking (10'): Teacher presents the design brief; students complete a checklist identifying audience, purpose and constraints.
3. Research & mood‑board (15'): Gather visual references and create a mood board (paper or digital) to explore colour, style and typographic inspiration.
4. Rapid thumbnail session (10'): Produce at least six 5‑minute sketches exploring layout and hierarchy.
5. Selection & peer feedback (10'): Choose the two strongest thumbnails and discuss using a “What works / What could improve” sheet.
6. Development (15'): Create detailed studies or digital mock‑ups using vector software, focusing on composition, colour balance and typographic hierarchy.
7. Review & refinement (10'): Class critique; students revise their work based on feedback, adjusting kerning, contrast and negative space.
8. Finalisation & reflection (10'): Export the final poster (300 dpi, CMYK) and write a brief 150‑word reflection on the refinement process.

Summarise the selection‑review‑refine cycle and highlight key improvements observed in the class. For the exit ticket, each student writes one sentence describing the most impactful change they made during refinement. Homework: complete any unfinished final poster elements and prepare to present the finished piece in the next lesson.