Wireframing your poster
Today you build a wireframe — before any real art.
A wireframe is boxes and labels, not a drawing. It's how you decide what goes where, and what matters most, before you draw anything.
No drawing required today. Paper only.
4
First, the new word
A wireframe is a blueprint — boxes and labels, not art.
- 01It shows what goes where.
And how big each part is compared to everything else — bigger box, more attention.
- 02No color, no finished art.
Just boxes, so you can test an idea fast without wasting time drawing something that doesn't work yet.
Want to see real ones? figma.com → What Is Wireframing?
Every movie poster follows this pattern
Four boxes, biggest to smallest.
- 01Focal image.
The biggest box — the one thing the whole poster is built around.
- 02Title.
Big, bold text. Usually lower third or dead center.
- 03Tagline.
One short line, small, right above or below the title.
- 04Credits block.
Smallest text of all — always at the very bottom.
See real posters broken down this way: design.tutsplus.com → Anatomy of a Movie Poster
Watch this on the board first
A real poster, wireframed live — four boxes, sized to scale.
- 1Focal image — biggest box.
What's the one image the whole poster is built around?
- 2Title — medium box.
The name, placed lower third or center.
- 3Tagline — thin strip.
Right above or below the title.
- 4Credits — thinnest strip.
Bottom of the poster, smallest text.
Box size = how much attention that part gets. The biggest box is noticed first.
This is the assignment
Wireframe your own poster. Four boxes, no drawing.
- 1Focal image box — biggest.
Describe in words what goes there, based on your circled storyboard frame.
- 2Title box.
Your poster's name.
- 3Tagline box — optional.
One short line, if your idea uses one.
- 4Credits box — optional.
A source credit or a "with" line.
Number the boxes for order. Bigger box, more attention. Words only — no drawing needed.
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Before you trade wireframes
Vague feedback gives your partner nothing to do.
- 01Vague:
"I like it." "It's cool." "Make it better." — no next move.
- 02Useful:
Names something specific about the wireframe, and gives one clear next move.
On the board: a wireframe with the credits box too big and the focal image too small. What's the useful feedback?
Trade with two different partners — ask these out loud
Ask these five questions. Ask, don't fix.
- 1Who or what is at the center of this story, and what's changing?
- 2What is this poster trying to do, and who is it for?
- 3What visual clue is helping tell the story?
- 4What's unclear, or not doing what the creator wanted yet?
- 5What's one specific next move you'd recommend?
The reviewer doesn't redraw the wireframe. Ask the question, then let the creator decide.
Before you leave
Name one piece of feedback you'll use, question, or set aside.
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Pick one thing a partner said.
Will you use it, question it, or set it aside — and why? Write one line, then hand it in.
“One piece of feedback I'll use, question, or set aside, and why: __________.”