Designing Research Posters
Summer 2005
Grant Mastick
University of Nevada, Reno
Poster sessions
Why do we present posters?
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A poster is a visual presentation of a
research project
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Visual design that combines text and graphics
Presenter gives short verbal explanation
Viewer can ask questions, give feedback
Most research presentations are posters
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Society for Neuroscience: 20,000 posters
Reasons to like posters
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Readers like posters:
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Choice of posters, view at flexible time
Ask questions, get personalized information
Presenters like posters:
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Present to individuals, can personalize
Feedback for new ideas, compliments
Contacts (collaborations, jobs, reviewers,
letters of recommendation)
Posters are not…
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Poster vs. talk vs. article
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May cover same material, but organized very
differently
Different design for different goals
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Talk: mostly verbal + visual
Article: mostly text + some graphics
Common problem: posters with too much
text
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Or, less commonly, too little
Why are you required to
present a poster?
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Share what you have learned with
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What did you do?
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Rationale, significance, prior studies
What do your results mean?
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Strategy, methods, analysis
Why did you do it?
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Other students, faculty, programs, regents
Implications, practical applications
Does this lead to future research?
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Future directions, recommendations
Lecture on poster design
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Design
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Planning
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Start making your poster now!
Presenting
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Practical advice
What to do, what not to do
What to do on poster day
Resources
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Lots of helpful websites, send by email
How to make a poster
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Obtain results
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Gather graphics
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Make graphs, figures, introductory photos
Start to write text
Layout poster
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Data, photos, etc.
Powerpoint or other program, templates available
Get feedback and revise, revise, revise
Print
Prepare and rehearse short talk to explain poster
Potential poster sections
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Title
Authors + affiliations
Introduction
Significance
Objective
Results
Conclusions
Future Directions
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Acknowledgements
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Funding, source of
materials, help and
advice
Literature cited
(Abstract)
(Materials and
methods)
Poster design: the main point
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What is the main objective of your
summer research project?
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Objective, goal, hypothesis…
State this in one sentence
Communicating your main objective
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Every element of your poster helps
communicate your message
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Visual design
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Visual, textual, verbal
Arrange text, graphics
Choose sizes, colors, lines
Visual literacy
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Ability to plan a design that enhances viewer
understanding
Overall layout
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Clearly define sections using subtitles
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Arrange sections in logical order
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Introduction, Objective, etc
Can customize subtitles
Overall, use series of columns
Normal reading pattern
Traffic control
Number the sections
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Easy for reader to follow
Overall layout
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A balanced poster design will be roughly
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30% text
40% graphics
30% blank or white space
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Surprisingly high % is recommended
Poster templates are available online
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Google “poster template”
Or, your lab may already have a template
Layout in Powerpoint (or other programs)
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Use “File/Page Setup”, 36” high, 48-60” wide
A few principles of visual design
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Group related elements
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Carefully align elements
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Our eyes like to see order
Proximity implies relatedness
Blank space strengthens graphics
Colors
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Put figure legends directly under or next to figures
Great, but use only a few, and use carefully
Repeat to add meaning to related elements
Background colors or graphics should be subtle; do not obscure
text
There is a large literature on visual design available in
books and websites.
Layout of text
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Use font size to show importance
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Details can use smaller text size
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Super minor details
Use the same text size for similar elements
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For example, for all subtitles
Do not use small text
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Rule of thumb:
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No one will complain that a poster is too easy to read
Title: large enough to read from 25 feet away
24 point font is about right for body text
DO NOT USE ALL CAPITALIZATION
This sort of font looks like a really
old dot matrix printer
Really, do not use small text
Avoid monolithic blocks of text
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Use <10 sentences, max 50-75 words
“We observed that three effects were caused in the samples by
increasing the ambient temperature. The color changed from blue to
red, the volume increased enormously, and the noise level was
significantly reduced.”
“Temperature increase caused:
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Color change
Volume increase
Noise reduction”
Are complete sentences necessary???
Designing graphics
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Define your experimental question
Draw a cartoon or schematic
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Highlight a key point that you would like
the reader to understand
Designs to consider
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Flow chart, molecular model, wiring
diagram, cell interactions, genetic pathway,
synthetic pathway
Graphs
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What is the main point of the graph?
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What is the key comparison?
What simple labels would highlight this?
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Delete everything else
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See example in Hess handout
Photographs
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Choose carefully what view you will present
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Layout to emphasize the main point
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View this critically: is the main point visible?
Minimize any distracting elements
Crop to show only what is needed
Every figure needs a short text explanation
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For those of us who only look at the figures!
Planning your poster
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Plan at least two weeks
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Outline graphics, text
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i.e. start now! Set deadlines (and keep!)
Anything major missing?
Construct a complete draft
Get feedback, and revise
Print
Prepare presentation
Roughing out your poster
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Block out
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Outline of graphics needed
Outline all sections of text
Identify (and read!) key literature
Write text as long as you need to
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Surprising news: It is easy to write long,
hard to write short
Write long, then ruthlessly edit to shorten
and clarify
The first poster draft
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Get a complete draft
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All photos, graphs, graphics, etc
All text completed, and initially edited
Check all elements on Hess evaluation
At least one week before due date
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Two weeks would be better
Ideally, set it aside for a week
Then come back with fresh eyes and revise
Get reviewers for your poster
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One week to due date
Get as many reviewers as possible
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Ask for critical review of all aspects
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Mentor, grad students, anyone else
Overall layout, text, graphics, etc.
Clarity, completeness, suggestions for shortening!
Revisions: 3 versions is minimal
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For published articles, often 10 or more rounds of
editing by several authors
Printing the final poster
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Large format printers available in several
departments
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Contact them to set up printing time
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Biology, Biochemistry, others
Do not wait until the last minute! 2 days+ before
Switching from Mac to PC is trouble
Do not overload with too much photo
resolution
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Ask about resolution of printer
100-200 dpi in final size is plenty
Presenting your poster
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Write a short talk
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2-3 minute review of the main points
Focus: explain your project to viewer
Use the graphics
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Do not refer to notes
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Combine speaking and pointing to the graphics
Practice, memorize your spiel
Print out several copies of a small 8x11 color
version
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For handouts at the poster session
Poster day!
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Dress professional casual
Bring and install poster early
Station yourself at poster for most of
session
Presenting your poster
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Offer to give a short tour of the poster to
anyone who looks even faintly interested
Relax, just explain your story
Finish with the first viewer, then start over at
the beginning for any late arrivals
Do not get engrossed in talking to your
buddies
Presenting your poster
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Have fun!
Finishing your summer research and
your poster is a big accomplishment