Make a Flyer, Human

Ten million ways to promote your show without AI.

People have been making flyers for shows and concerts for, oh, 500 years. Painting and etching and stamping, arranging tiny letters in iron frames, cutting and pasting, cranking machines and smashing heavy things together, squishing ink onto panels, pushing pixels and manipulating fonts. Then… just a few years ago, some people started typing a few words into a little prompt box, and a flyer (or at least the imagery for a flyer) would poop out onto their screens. And this started happening when we needed human connection more than ever.

I’m not writing this to come for anyone or call anyone out. I just want to say what so many have said—having (so-called) AI generate something creative for you is, simply put, crappy and boring. It doesn’t have to be like this. And, again, it wasn’t until SO recently. Here’s something we all know: People go to live shows for real connection. To take a break from the thing I’m typing this on and the thing you’re reading it on. To be people around people (even when half of the people are videoing the whole thing).

Kenny Yun captivates us at The Idiot’s Hour (LEFT). Living, learning, and loving at a Bread & Puppet Theatre show in Brooklyn (RIGHT).

A flyer is the first touchpoint a person has with a show, so when it’s not made by a human being, you’re already losing people and turning people off. And they’re gossiping about you. And really, many of the people you’re losing and turning off are the ones who are MOST passionate about the arts. So if the ethics don’t convince you, maybe the $bottom line$ will.

I’m not here to complain. I’m here with SOLUTIONS, boo. From the lowest of lofi tools to software that still employs a human touch, here’s how you, a very capable and attractive person, can make a flyer for your show.

THEORY

Before I get into a handful of ways that youyesyou can make a sweet poster for your event, here are some things to keep in mind.

MUST-HAVES

When someone looks at your flyer, they need to know the what, where, who, and when. In short, that’s the:

• Name of the show

• Brief description of what the heck it is

• Performers, bands, acts

• Date and time

• Location

• Cost

Other little bits are up to you. Is there a website or social account for the show? A cute little message up top like YOU’RE INVITED TO… or OH WOW EVERYONE IS SO EXCITED ABOUT…? Other info about cost (suggested donation, a drink minimum, etc.)?

DESIGN

It can and should be so simple. One big element (a photo, a character or characters, an object that invokes the vibe of the show, a swatch of color). You might want to put photos of performers if it’s a comedy show or play, but… it’s not… the most crucial thing in the world. Make the title of the show BIG and BOLD. Then put in the rest of the copy you need. It’s… yeah, that’s pretty much it.

Oh—one other thing. Look around at other flyers posted on sites and accounts in your area. Are they usually square? Portrait? Keep that in mind to avoid getting cropped.

METHODS

OKAY! This is it. You have your details in order. It’s time to create a flyer for your show that will absolutely COMPEL people to actually leave their homes and venture out into the world. Because it’s hard. Holy heck, it is SO hard to want to be out. Out and about, even. Okay, let’s get into it.

SCRIBBLE IT

I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that jotting the information on a scrap of paper, adding a little doodle, and taking a photo of it is more intriguing than anything you could fart out with AI. Look. LOOK.

Please note: This and the other examples given in this article are not for a real show. But wouldn’t you ABSOLUTELY attend a show called CLOWNS ON FIRE?

Big title. Little guy. Names and squiggles. Alternating red and blue pencil on wrinkled paper. Human hands made this flyer for a human show of people who want to be people around other people. I mean… I’d go.

Challenge: doodle a lil’ guy and the name of a band or show above it. Take a photo of it. See how cool that looks? Experiment with different backgrounds (leaves, wood grain, holding the flyer in your hand). Mess with the paper (crumble and smooth it, tear the edge). Fold a piece of paper into a paper plane and write all over it.

ANALOG TOOLS

I recently found an old scrapbook that contained a couple of flyers my pal Dustin and I made for our high school band. In those days, it was printed bits and photographs and cut and paste and photocopies. And holy moly, there is just something so <rubs fingers together> REAL about that.

Okay, grandpa. Let’s get you back to bed.

These days, for comedy shows, concerts in small venues, book readings, plays, etc., flyers and posters for live shows mostly exist in digital spaces. So it’s maybe a bridge too far to expect anyone to head to the copy shop only to put something back online. Unless you wanna. But how about THESE super human options?

• Arts & crafts - markers, paint, pencils, little random bits of junk

• Collage - magazines, junk mail, cereal boxes

• Thermal printer camera - a kid’s toy camera that prints on receipt paper

• Label printer - the KACHUNK is so satisfying - I got mine on eBay for $15

• Typewriter - after being vaguely curious for actual decades, I got some brand recommendations from my typewriter enthusiast/collector godbrother Kris and purchased an Olivetti Underwood Lettera 33. It looks like something out of Battlestar Galactica, and I love it a LOT.

Anyway, here’s a flyer cobbled from three of those four options/categories, laid out on my work bench, and photographed with my phone.

Yeah, this was a lot of fun. But any one of these elements could make a cool flyer.

You have a couple of options to send an analog flyer to the console cowboys in cyberspace. You can take a photo with your phone-thing and edit it, or you can scan it. You probably don’t have a scanner (I don’t at the moment), but if you’re at a point where you’re putting an artsy show together, you most likely know someone with a scanner.

Challenge: Create a flyer out of a food mascot from a cereal box or snack. Experiment with a little personalization (add a mustache or a Ninja Turtle mask, collage laser beams coming out of the eyes, cut the head in half and put the info in the middle, put all of the info in a word balloon, etc.)

SOFTWARE (business-y)

Google Slides and Power Point aren’t just for Q3 projections and full stack marketing pitch decks. They’re ACTUALLY SUPER AMAZINGLY GREAT for making flyers. Pop in an image, add text, save the image or screenshot it. This post could sincerely just be this one method and nothing else. But I wanted to play with my dang toys, so thanks for indulging me. Note: change the size of the slides in the settings into the size you need before you get started, or just crop the thing after.

Here’s a photo with a translucent red square on top, and bold text arranged around it. So simple, and it does the dang job. Gilly Staples fans are gonna be SO stoked.

I can’t overstate how really really really good Google Sheets is for making flyers. Did you even notice that the margins are unequal before I mentioned it?

Challenge: Make a super minimalist flyer with the biz software of your choice. Do it in easy mode: big full bleed photo taking up the whole page, show title at the top, information on the bottom left in a tidy block.

SOFTWARE (art-y)

If you already have Photoshop or Procreate, you’re probably on top of your poster design needs. Unless you got lazy. At any rate, there are loads of free and cheap drawing and design apps out there. I LOVE Procreate and pretty much use it for everything from flyers to furniture design to book illustration. But you can get a lot out of wee drawing apps on your phone or laptop.

• Tayasui Sketches (free on iOS, Android)

• Procreate (one-time $13 on iPad, $6 on iPhone)

• Canva (I gueeeess… just, like, avoid the AI crud in it)

• Figma (this could and probably should go in the business-y software section, but I can do whatever I want—anyway, the free tier is good, app or web)

• Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. (too much money for merely licensing software, but that’s a whole rant that we don’t need to get into right now)

• GIMP (Mac, Windows, Linux - a free Photoshop alternative I’ve never tried)

Same principles as before. You can keep it simple with a big, catchy hero image and all of the info around it. For this example, I smooshed a photo around and doodled the info on top of it.

Made with the Procreate app on an iPad. Tell me I’m beautiful.

Challenge: Choose a free app you haven’t tried before and go nuts on it.

ASK A PAL

With all of these options, you don’t have to be a professional graphic designer to make a terrific flyer. And that goes double for this option, because it involves you passing the buck to someone else. Hey. You’re in a community of creative people. Ask around for help with a flyer if you need it or want it. Offer a bit of cash. Can’t afford to spend any money? Offer a trade of some kind. I recently designed a flyer in trade for clown coaching sessions. I was more than happy to do it. A pal and teacher I respected came to me, and we made it happen. Who could you reach out to?

Two flyers I made for clown teacher pals (who have also made amazing flyers themselves). The left flyer was made as an evergreen, editable flyer for an ongoing show series.

Now—I am holding your hand as I tell you this… If you truly believe that you are not capable of even a very simple flyer, that’s okay. I really, really think you’re up for it, but it’s your call. But if you don’t think you’re up for it, and you can’t think of a single other person who could help you out, and again, I’m holding your hand sooo gently, I’m a little worried about the event you’re putting on and the community you hope will attend.

Challenge: think of 3 people you know personally who could help make you a sweet flyer and think of 3 things that you could offer them in trade. And money can be one of the 3 things. Practice being totally chill with being told no.

MIX IT UP

Once you get comfortable messing around with a couple of these Human Intelligence-generated methods, you can really start having fun. Photograph a weird little sculpture. Print a photo and draw on it. Write everything on your face or hand. Squirt the details in ketchup on a t-shirt. Hire a friend’s 6-year-old (with the friend’s approval, obviously) to draw it. Bring a thrifted tintype into a drawing app and turn the people into werewolves.

There are infinite ways to make a flyer for your show with your brain and your hands. When you make a human connection with your audience at that very first moment, you’re so much further along than a lot of other events happening in an increasingly sloppified world. You’re be telling your would-be could-be audience that you’re offering something tangible and thoughtful and beautiful. I promise promise promise it’s worth it.

Thanks for reading and looking, and I’ll see you out there.