This presentation covers some basics of good poster design, examples/critique of sample posters, and some tips for the oral component of the poster session.
5. Purpose of Your Poster
• What are you trying to accomplish?
– Do you want to inform?
– Do you want to explain?
– Do you want to persuade?
• Most posters are a combination
11. Poster Design
• Keep things simple
– Organization: top to bottom, left to right
– “Less is More”
• No more than 1000 words in total
• 30% “white space”
– Sections should not be text-heavy
• Use bullet points
– Avoid unnecessary distractions
12. Poster Design
• Is it Legible?
– Choose appropriate fonts
• Font width – narrow vs wide
• Font “weight”
• Is it Readable?
– Good line spacing
– Good contrast (text vs background)
– All caps only in titles
http://bit.do/eGPzG
13. Your Poster Needs toYour Poster Needs to
Look InvitingLook Inviting
(it needs to look like it won't(it needs to look like it won't
take too much time and efforttake too much time and effort
to read and understand)to read and understand)
The textThe text NEEDSNEEDS to beto be
large enough to readlarge enough to read
from aboutfrom about
1.5 - 2m away1.5 - 2m away
18. Is this appealing? Do you want to read this?
Big blocks of small text
Will take a long time to read
Minimal white space
Good Aspects:
Seems organized
Results are presented graphically
19.
20. Is organization clear? Do you want to read this?
You read the intro, and then what?
Very small text
Headings in a serif font and italicized
Italicized text carries less emphasis
Good Aspects:
Results are presented graphically
Amount of text is relatively small
ie. it won’t take 30min to read
21.
22. Are the borders necessary?
White space could be increased by
removing borders (see next slide)
Text is too small
Needs more white space around it
Good Aspects:
Amount of text is not overwhelming
Focus is clearly on results
Results are presented graphically
23. Same poster as above, but
I’ve removed the borders.
feels like there is more
white space
24.
25. Be careful with background graphics!
Backgrounds can distract from message
Just because you have an “awesome photo,”
doesn’t mean you should use it.
Text is too small
The orange text actually seems to be de-
emphasized
Good Aspects:
Good amount of “white space”/ margins
Visually appealing and organized
26.
27. Is this well-organized?
Conclusions seem to come before the
Results
You shouldn’t need arrows to guide your
viewer
Good Aspects:
Well-chosen background graphic
Good amount of “white space”/ margins
Good text size and amount
28.
29. Is this legible?
Text is very small
Sorry about the poor resolution of the poster image
Good Aspects:
There is very little text
Well organized
Decent amount of “white space”/ margins
Results are clearly the focus here
31. The Presentation
You will have about 2 to 3min per person
Try to come up with a memorable message
Think about your audience
Use appropriate language
You don't have to tell them EVERYTHING
That’s what the Q&A is for
32. Practice, Practice, Practice
• Practice by yourself.
• Practice in front of your family.
• Practice in front of your friends.
• In the above cases:
– You will be facing a friendly/supportive audience
– You’re likely to get feedback
33. The Presentation
Do not read your poster to the audience.
Stand next to your poster.
Some people will just want to read.
Make eye contact.
Speak slowly.
Breathe normally