Voting and Elections: Poster power

Level

Lower secondary/middle secondary

Curriculum Links

Links to the Australian Curriculum

Posters past

For more than 100 years posters have been used in the same ways they are used today: to advertise, to publicise, to get a message across. They are cheap, colourful, easy to make and there are lots of places to put them up.

The Australian Commonwealth Government was one of the first groups to use posters. Some of the earliest posters were created by the Chief Electoral Officer. They were designed to remind Australians to vote. Some posters showed people how to fill out the ballot paper properly.

The poster on the right is one that was used by the Australian Electoral Commission in the past.

Posters now

How are posters used today? What kinds of posters do you have at home? What kind of posters have you seen in your community? Try to figure out why they are good or useful. What do you like about the best of them - design, images, colour, message? Make a list of the important things in a good poster.

Design a poster

Use the information you have worked out to design your own poster. First decide on the purpose for the poster. Is there an issue in your neighbourhood you want to call attention to? What are some of the concerns in your local community? Would you like members of your community to join in a special project? How could a poster get across your message?

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