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.

1. So, You Want to
Present a Poster.
R. Stefan Rusyniak
Have to

2. Why do I have to do this?

Active learning

Develop valuable skills

3. Why do scientists do this?

Active learning

Develop valuable skills

Summarize their work

Get feedback

Connect to fellow
researchers

4. Purpose

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

6. Purpose of a Poster

7. Purpose of a Poster

8. Purpose of a Poster

9. The Scientific Poster

10. Your Poster Should Be:
• Well-organized
• Concise
• Legible
• Readable

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

14. Let’s Look at
Some Examples

16. http://bit.do/eGPAj
Please check out Colin’s resources at
this link:

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

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

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

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

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

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

30. The Presentation

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

34. Hard Work Ahead
You Can Do It!

35. Thank You for
Your Time and
Attention