Therese Heyman, curator of Posters American Style, states in her essay: "Whatever the message—from patriotic appeals to voices raised in protest, from pleas for environmentalism to seductive suggestions urging us to buy jeans—the poster reflects the explosion of ideas in the twentieth century." The poster process can be divided into three phases: conceptualization, design, and production.

Renowned designer Ivan Chermayeff, creator of many posters including Visit the American Museum of Immigration at the Statue of Liberty, discusses the thinking and decisions involved in creating a poster in What's the Idea?

Poster activist Felice Regan, creator of Can You Spare a Pint of Blood for Peace? and Giant Panda, describes how elements of design can affect a posters meaning in That's Saying a Lot.

Local artist and Smithsonian American Art Museum docent Joan Lawrence demonstrates the silk-screening process in Try This at Home.