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An Effective Poster
source of information
conversation starter
advertisement of your work
summary of your work
An effective poster is not just a standard
research paper stuck to a board. A poster uses a
different, visual grammar. It shows, not tells.
Cont
Be bold & be explicit.
If you have an interesting result, state it explicitly in
the title. The Effect of X on Y
Substance X Induces Y-cells
Make the strongest statements your data will
support. Why soft-peddle exciting findings?
Rather than merely repeating the results, state your
interpretations in the conclusion section.
Example
Note how the poster title and the titles of the
graphs provide key messages.
Do this ...
Design for all three audience categories.
Audience Category
Requirements
Planning
Creating an effective poster requires time and planning.
What's my message? Everything you put on your poster
relates to a carefully crafted message.
You must be able to state your main point(s) and
conclusion(s) clearly and succinctly.
All visuals and text should relate to those points and
conclusions.
Planning Cont
Planning Cont
Planning Cont
What milestones should I establish?
Especially important if the poster is multiauthored.
Start with the due date and work back to create
milestones.
Allow time for peer review and heavy editing.
Suggested Schedule.
When
What
0 Present poster
-1 week Final print
-1 week Make changes suggested by peers
-1 week Distribute draft for peer review (round 2) -2 weeks
Make changes suggested by peers
-2 weeks Distribute draft for peer review (round 1) -3 weeks
Edit your draft ruthlessly
-3 weeks Create first draft of poster
-4 weeks Plan out poster on scratch paper
-4 weeks Define message and write an abstract (if
you haven't
already done so)
Focus
Stay focused on your message. And keep it simple!!
Simple messages are more memorable.
Details detract from the main point, and can be
supplied in person as needed.
Focus Cont
Create a mock-up poster focused on your main message.
Ask yourself which details are absolutely essential for
conveying your message. The most common problem is
too much focus on methods. [ An exception is if your
poster is about a new method. ]
Omit anything that is not essential.
Edit text carefully - simplify verbiage, reduce sentence
complexity.
Do this ...
Edit ruthlessly! Simplify. Supply details in person, and only as
needed.
Layout
A clear visual grammar guides readers through your
poster.
Your poster should ...
use a visual grammar to guide readers to the
important parts of your poster.
use a column format to make your poster easier to
read in a crowd.
use organization cues to guide readers through your
poster.
Layout Cont
use "reader gravity" which pulls the eye from
top to bottom and left to right (Wheildon 1995).
use headings intelligently to help readers find
your main points and key information.
balance the placement of text and graphics to
create visual appeal.
use white space creatively to help define the
flow of information.
Visual Grammar
Visual grammar is a graphic hierarchy that
helps readers identify the most important parts
of your poster.
Do this ...
Use a graphic hierarchy that visually reflects the relative importance of
elements.
Columnar Format
Organize your poster in columns so that it's
easy to read when there's a crowd in front of it.
Do this ...
Use a columnar format. It allows readers to read the entire poster as they
proceed from left to right.
Do this ...
Supply cues to help viewers follow your presentation.
Reader Gravity
There are language-specific ways in which most
people read. In English, it is top-to-bottom and
left-to-right. Wheildon (1995) called this "reader
gravity." You should not use organizational
constructs that defy reader gravity - it will
confuse viewers, which is not what you want to
happen.
Horizontal Symmetry
Diagonal Symmetry
Headings
Use headings to orient readers and convey
major points.
Headings - including the title, section titles, and
figure captions - should ...
Summarize Use headings as opportunities to
summarize your work in large letters. A hurried
reader should be able to get the main points
from the headings alone.
Headings Cont
Organize Good headings are part of the visual
grammar that helps move readers through your
poster.
Be Hierarchical The more important the point,
the larger the type.
Be Bold Make the strongest statements your
research allows.
Graphics
Simple, clean graphics communicate relationships quickly.
Good graphics - graphs, illustrations, photos - are the
centrepiece of your poster.
Good graphs communicate relationships quickly.
Graphs should be Simple and clean.
Write explanations directly on figures, instead of referencing
from elsewhere.
Use simple 2-dimensional line graphs, bar charts, pie
charts.
No!
Better!
Text
Text Cont
Left-justify text; avoid centring and right-justifying text.
Use a serif font (e.g., Times) for most text - easier to
read.
Sans-serif font (e.g., Helvetica) OK for titles and
headings
Text should be at least 24 point in text, 36 for headings.
Pay attention to text size in figures - it must also be large.
Title should be at least 5cm tall.
Do this ...
Make text simple, direct, and large enough to read so that your
message comes through loud and clear!
Colours
Use colour to attract attention, organize, and emphasize
- but don't overdo it.
Use a light colour background and dark colour letters
for contrast.
Avoid dark backgrounds with light letters - very tiring
to read.
Stick to a theme of 2 or 3 colours - much more will
overload and confuse viewers.
Colours Cont
If you use multiple colours, use them in a consistent
pattern - otherwise viewers will spend their time
wondering what the pattern is rather than reading your
poster.
Overly bright colours will attract attention - and then
wear out readers' eyes.
Consider people who have problems differentiating
colours, especially when designing graphics - one of
the most common is an inability to tell green from red.
Colours Cont
Consider people who have problems differentiating colours, especially when
designing graphics - one of the most common is an inability to tell green from red.
.
.
Editing
If it doesn't provide critical support for your main
message, ELIMINATE IT!
Edit! Edit! Edit ruthlessly! to reduce text.
Edit all text to simplify verbiage, to reduce sentence
complexity, and to delete details.
If it's not relevant to your message, remove it!
Have colleagues comment on drafts. Print a small
version and circulate for comment, or hang a full-size
draft with pens and invite them to critique.
Editing Cont
Evaluate your work - try the 60-second
evaluation.
Are your objective and main message obvious?
Will readers be able to contact you?
White Space
0 Very little. Gives the impression of a solid mass
of text and graphics.
1 OK. Sections of the poster are separated from
one another.
2 Lots. Plenty of room to rest the eyes. Lots of
separation.
Text / Graphics Balance
0 Too much text. The poster gives an
overwhelming impression of text only. OR
Not
enough text. Cannot understand what the graphics are
supposed to relate.
Research Objective
0 Can't find.
1 Present, but not explicit. Buried at end of "Introduction",
"Background", etc.
2 Explicit. This includes headings of "Objectives", "Aims",
"Goals", etc.
Main Points
0 Can't find.
1 Present, but not obvious. May be imbedded in
monolithic
blocks of text.
2 Explicitly labelled (e.g., "Main Points",
"Conclusions",
"Results").
Summary
0 Absent.
1 "Summary", "Results", or "Conclusions" section present.
Software
There are many software options for creating your
poster.
MicroSoft PowerPoint is a relatively easy-to-use tool
for creating posters see instructions. One benefit of
PowerPoint is that many people already know how to
use it.
Adobe Illustrator and InDesign have more features and
can provide very professional results - especially for
posters including lots of high-resolution images - but
are more complex and expensive.
Software Cont
MicroSoft Excel can create graphics and export them for
PowerPoint - but you'll need to clean them up. DeltaGraph
is also a nice tool, but keep your graphs clean.
OpenOffice offers no-cost alternatives to MS Office.
Impress is the PowerPoint alternative, and Draw is a
vector graphics software package. See the OpenOffice
web site or their documentation section for further
information.
Adobe Photoshop is great for manipulating images, but is
also complex and expensive.