Poster questions tend to show up the week the printer needs a file. When you’re choosing a senior night poster, there are two things to consider first: where it’ll hang, and whether someone in the far bleachers can read the name.
This post covers which size to order for where it’ll hang, and how big to set the name so it reads across the gym. If you’re planning the rest of the night too, the senior night checklist covers the date, ceremony order, bios, and volunteers.
Three sizes that cover most gyms
You don’t need a custom size for every sport. These three handle a hallway, a gym, and a fence or large banner.
18×24 for a hallway. This is the poster people read up close, on a locker row, a classroom door, a banquet table, or the ticket table. It works when families will stand right in front of it. On a gym wall by itself, it tends to get lost.
24×36 for a gym. This is the size most people picture for senior night. It fits an easel near the court or a spot on the gym wall without taking over the entrance. The sheet is bigger, but the name still has to be set large, because a nice layout with a small name won’t read from the stands.
24×48 for a fence or large gym banner. It’s the same width as the gym poster and twice as tall as the hallway one. Use it on a fence, at a gym entrance, or anywhere people will see it from across the floor. If you’ve been searching for a banner size, this is usually it. Design it as a banner, not as a phone graphic blown up.
Order the size for the wall you’ve actually got. When a row of seniors shares one size, the display lines up. Mixing 18×24 and 24×48 on the same fence can make the names look uneven, even when the layouts match.
If you’d rather start from a file that’s already set up, the volleyball senior night poster template and the football senior night poster template each include 18×24, 24×36, and 24×48 versions in Canva. You add your senior’s photo, name, and colors.
How tall the name should be
If people will read the poster from the far bleachers, a good rule of thumb is to set the athlete’s name about 4 to 6 inches tall on the printed sheet. That’s the line that has to hold up under gym lights and across the floor. The number, position, school, and a short senior line can all be smaller.
Script names look great on a senior night poster. The strokes are usually thinner than block letters, though, so give them a little help. Set the script toward the top of that 4 to 6 inch range, add a thick outline or a soft shadow in a contrasting color, and place it on a solid band or a darker part of the photo instead of a busy background. Pairing a script first name with a bold block last name also helps it read from the top rows. Keep the name on one line. If the last name is long, try making the type a little wider before you make it shorter.
Matte, not gloss. Glossy photo paper can glare under overhead lights and the camera flashes during the ceremony, so ask the printer for matte or satin poster stock. The colors will look a little softer than they did on your monitor. That’s normal, and a matte sheet is easier to read.
Before you export, check two things. At print size, is the name still about 4 to 6 inches tall? And is the Canva page set to the inch size you’re printing (18×24, 24×36, or 24×48), not a social size stretched up?
Make the social post on purpose
For social, make a 1080×1350 graphic as its own file instead of cropping the print poster down for Instagram.
A 24×36 poster is a tall print. Squeezed into a phone feed, the name shrinks, the margins get awkward, and details meant for a gym wall turn into clutter. Build the feed post for the feed: name, school or team, “senior night,” and the date, in type that’s big on a phone. That lets the print poster stay focused on the name, and the caption can carry the thank-you.
Export the poster as a print PDF at its real inch size, and the social post as a PNG or JPG at 1080×1350. You can use the same photo in both, just not the same canvas.
FAQ
What size should a senior night poster be?
18×24 when people will stand close, like in a hallway. 24×36 for a typical gym display. 24×48 for a fence or a large gym banner. Start with the wall, then pick the size.
How big should the athlete’s name be?
About 4 to 6 inches tall on the print if it has to read from the far bleachers. Keep the number and position smaller than the name.
Can I post the print poster on Instagram?
It’s better to make a separate 1080×1350 graphic. Cropping the print file usually leaves the name too small and the layout looking squeezed.
Gloss or matte?
Matte or satin. Gloss can glare under gym lights.
