The 10 best freelance poster designers for hire in 2020

A well-designed poster is important because it piques viewers’ interest in the subject it depicts. This is true for all posters, whether they’re for movies, festivals or concerts, cities, public transportation schedules and maps, or decorative posters. Even posters that serve a utilitarian purpose, like subway posters, have to be engaging and make their points clearly, often with minimal use of text so they reach the widest audience possible.

The best freelance poster designers create designs that communicate with viewers as directly as possible. Meet our top picks:

The 10 best freelance poster designers to hire in 2020
—

How did we choose these as the best poster designers?
—

Being named one of the top freelance poster designers is no small feat. Our in-house team carefully hand-vets all the designers on our platform to find the ones we think are the best of the best. Here’s how we choose our top 10:

Quality

Every designer on 99designs is sorted into one of three categories:

• Entry level
• Mid level
• Top level

Our top 10 poster designers are top level designers. To achieve top level status, a designer has to have a strong portfolio full of pieces that have satisfied past clients and a history of being a consummate professional in all client interactions. Top level poster designers also consistently create original, engaging poster concepts and execute them with strong technical skills.

Experience with poster design

It’s probably obvious, but we’ve gotta make it clear: to be one of the top poster designers, a designer has to have a portfolio full of successful poster designs. You might be a great app designer or an amazing illustrator, but that doesn’t mean you have the skills to be a top notch poster designer.

Professionalism

Professionalism is key to being named one of the top poster designers. A designer who creates great designs, but doesn’t have a reputation for communicating and working well with clients won’t make the cut. To us, professionalism means:

• Responsiveness
• A willingness to listen and incorporate constructive criticism
• Clear communication

What to think about when hiring a poster designer
—

Creating an effective poster takes skill. Sure, poster designers can also be great artists, but being a talented artist doesn’t mean somebody is a good poster designer. When evaluating portfolios consider:

• Are you intrigued? If you saw their work on a wall would you stop to look.
• Have they done posters like the one you’re commissioning before? If you need a poster for a music festival, don’t choose a designer whose portfolio only contains movie posters
• Have they designed posters for your intended audience? If you’re targeting an affluent, educated audience, you need a poster that speaks to them, rather than one that speaks to the blue collar crowd. Similarly, posters for children and teens look different from posters aimed at adults, and if you need a poster that’ll connect with people from many different cultures, your poster is going to look a lot different from one designed for a local audience
• Do you get all the information you need from the posters in their portfolio? For example, if you’re looking at a movie poster, do you see the title, director and producers’ names, and release date clearly? Does this information come through naturally, or do you have to search for them?

Are you ready to hire a fantastic poster designer?
—

We chose our top poster designers based on their record of creating awesome, effective posters for clients. To connect with your audience and communicate clearly and directly, hire a top freelance poster designer who’s proven they have the technical skills and sense of style to design posters that work.

If you don’t find what you’re looking for in our top 10, search our platform for a poster designer who can create the poster you need.