Create an Elegant Retro Poster in InDesign

Some say “Old is gold” and nothing can be more true when it comes to vintage or retro styling. A nostalgic design will grab your attention, whether it’s a business card, a flyer, an advertisement, a banner, or a poster. Modern art has its own appeal, but when you are looking for something with an extra edge or unique appeal, a retro theme is just the thing to go for.

So, today we are going to create an elegant retro poster. Posters as we know they are a great way to promote products or events. No need to say anything about their effectiveness as they are number one in any marketing campaign. So today we will design our poster in InDesign using some effective and interesting techniques, tools, and tricks. So let’s get stated.

Finished Design (Download the completed, layered design file.)

Step 1

Open InDesign and click on “New” > “Document” and use the setting shown as below. We are going to use vertical US Letter width 8.5 inches, height 11 inches, and 0.25 inches for bleeds. Make sure you uncheck the “Facing pages” option as well.

Step 2

First, change the screen mode so that you can clearly see the design without all those margins and guides. So, click on “View” > “Screen Mode” > “Preview.”

Now we can start designing. For the background, select the rectangle tool and create a big rectangle and fill it with dark blue swatch (C=100 M=100 Y=87 K=0).

Step 3

We will create a very light pattern for our background. So, create a new layer (by clicking on the new layer icon in the layers panel). Now, select the line tool and draw a vertical line with a gray swatch. Add a 4pt “thick thick” stroke to the line with a light gray swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=20). Then, reduce the line opacity to only 10%.

Step 4

Now, right-click on the above line layer and duplicate it couple of times to create a simple pattern for our background.

Step 5

Now, we will start with the header, so for the background select the rectangle tool and create a rectangle on the top and fill it with a dark blue swatch (C=100 M=100 Y=92 K=0).

Step 6

Select the above rectangle layer and reduce the opacity to 80%. Then, add a 10pt “Wavy” stroke with a light gray swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=2).

Step 7

Now, we will add some drop shadow and outer glow to the above rectangle, so select the layer and click on the “Effects” panel to add some drop shadow. Change the blending mode to “Multiply,” reduce the opacity to 48% and keep the rest of the settings the same as shown below.

Now, select the outer glow, change the blending mode to “screen,” reduce the opacity to 16%, and keep the rest of the settings the same as shown below.

Step 8

Select the rectangle tool again, create a small strip on the top, and fill it with color swatch (C=18 M=87 Y=0 K=2). Then, add a 7pt “dashed” stroke with color swatch (C=0 M=83 Y=56 K=11).

Now, select the strip layer and click on the “Effects” panel to add some drop shadow. Use a light color swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=2) and adjust the blending mode to “Normal” and the opacity to 100%. Keep the rest of the settings the same as shown below.

Step 9

Select the type tool and add the title text. Then, click on the “Effects” panel to add some drop shadow to the title.

Step 10

Now, let’s move on to the main area of our poster, so select the ellipse tool, create a circle, and fill with light color swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=2). Then, add a 36pt “Wavy” stroke using color swatch (C=0 M=83 Y=56 K=11).

Step 11

Select the above circle layer and click on the “Effects” panel to add some drop shadow. Adjust the blending mode to “Multiply” and set the opacity to 60%. Keep the rest of the settings the same as shown below.

Step 12

Select the ellipse tool again, create a circle, and fill with a light color swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=20). Then add a 29pt “Dashed” stroke using color swatch (C=100 M=100 Y=87 K=0).

Step 13

Once again select the ellipse tool, create a circle, and fill with a light color swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=20). Then add a 20pt “Dashed” stroke using color swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=42).

Step 14

Select the ellipse tool again, create a small circle, and fill with a light color swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=20). Then add a 13pt “Straight Hash” stroke with color swatch (C=100 M=100 Y=87 K=0).

Now, select the above circle layer and click on the “Effects” panel to add some drop shadow. Use a black color swatch and adjust the blending mode to “Normal” and the opacity to 100%. Keep the rest of the settings the same as shown below.

Step 15

Now, select the type tool and add the main text. Then, click on the “Effects” panel and add some drop shadow. Keep the settings the same as in the image below.

Step 16

Select the line tool and create a small line with a light color swatch. Then, add a 10pt “dashed” stroke with a dark blue color swatch. Now, select the line and click on the “Effects” panel to add some drop shadow. Now, repeat the same process and create another line on top.

Step 17

Select the type tool and add the date, then click on the effect panel and add some drop shadow. Keep the settings the same as shown in the image below.

Step 18

Now for the footer, select the rectangle tool, create a rectangle at the bottom, and fill it with a dark blue swatch (C=100 M=100 Y=92 K=0). Then, add a 10pt “Wavy” stroke with a light gray swatch (C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=2).

Step 19

Now, create a small strip at the bottom using the rectangle tool and fill it with color swatch (C=18 M=87 Y=0 K=2). Then, add a 7pt “dashed” stroke with color swatch (C=0 M=83 Y=56 K=11). Finally, select the strip layer and click on the “Effects” panel to add some drop shadow. Keep the setting same as the above strip.

Step 20

Select the type tool and add some details using a gray color swatch and a 1pt black swatch stroke or the text. We are done! Our stylish and elegant retro poster is complete.

I hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial, I’ll be back with some more, until then take care!