1. Dr Inma Andrés
Student Programmes Manager
PRESENTATION
SKILLS:
Designing posters
for academic
conferences

5. Brunel University London
First questions
• What is the most important/interesting/astounding finding
from my research project?
• How can I visually share my research with conference
attendees? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, images?
• What kind of information can I convey during my talk that
will complement my poster?
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4 What’s
• What is your objective?
• What do you want to show on the poster?
• What do you want your listeners to find/learn/take?
• What do you want them to do?
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Objective: Explain to the person next to you the
purpose of your presentation and ask him or her for
feedback
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• Is it clear?
• Did it grab your attention?
• Is it too general or too specific?
• Would you like to listen more?
Designing posters for academic conferences

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It should content:
• Introduction
• Materials and methods
• Results
• Conclusions
• Citations (short list)
• Acknowledgements
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The poster should have: 01 March 2016
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Graphics
Text
Space
Designing posters for academic conferences
Content

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Do you know your audience?
• What do they already know?
• What are their attitudes toward your topic or proposal?
• How interested are they in your topic?
• What are their needs?
01 March 2016
13Designing posters for academic conferences

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Know your audience
Specialist Audience
• Experts in same related field
• They will have a high level of understanding of your
subject
• It's ok to use jargon and technical terms on poster
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Related Audience
• Specialist in related / overlapping field
• Familiar with the generalities of your discipline
• Be wary of specialist jargon - avoid where possible
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Know your audience
Designing posters for academic conferences

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Know your audience
General Audience
• Can only assume general level knowledge
• No familiarity with discipline or your subject area
• Avoid use a jargon-basic descriptions only
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Size
Title:
• A2 poster: 32pt – 64pt.
• A1 poster: 64pt – 72pt.
• A0 poster: 72pt – 84pt.
Main text:
• A2 poster: 14pt – 18pt.
• A1 poster: 16pt – 24pt.
• A0 poster: 24pt – 32pt.
Authors: clarify author-institution.
References and captions: smaller font.
01 March 2016
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Text
300-500 words
Structure
• Open the presentation with something interesting and
attention
• Set your topic and determine the major points
• Properly use transitions
• Create a concise conclusion or summary
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Colour
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• Try to create a ‘visual
sequence’
• No need to fill every cm –
white space is good
• Two/three main colours
• Be consistent e.g. use one
colour for all headings
Red & Green
Designing posters for academic conferences

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How to manage the layout?
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Properly use transitions
Designing posters for academic conferences

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Good visual balance
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Horizontal Symmetry Horizontal & Vertical Symmetry
Diagonal Symmetry Asymmetry
Designing posters for academic conferences

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Charts
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• Think carefully about how you format them
• Keep them simple, enlarge the text and thicken the lines
• Make sure the background has good contrast
Designing posters for academic conferences

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How to make successful my poster design
• Important information should be readable from about 10
feet away
• Title is short and draws interest
• Text is clear and to the point
• Use of bullets, numbering and headlines makes it easy to
read
• Effective use of graphics, colour and fonts
• Consistent and clean layout
• Includes acknowledgments, your name and your
department
Enthusiasm & Passion
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Successful
Presentations
Know
Know
Know
Know
Four Cornerstones Method
Audience
StoryObjective
What the
audience wants
Designing posters for academic conferences

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Other Workshops
Designing posters for academic conferences
• PRESENTATION SKILLS: Creating posters in
PowerPoint
• PRESENTATION SKILLS: Oral presentations

32. Any Questions?
I.Andres@brunel.ac.uk