How to make a clear and successful scientific poster
Joanna Wolfe, Director
Global Communication Center http://www.cmu.edu/gcc

This presentation teaches you two main strategies for improving your poster
1.
Cut anything not essential 2.
Use visual hierarchy to direct readers to important information

Think of your poster as a newspaper story: What would your headline be?
Concise Headline
Informative Images
Short paragraphs
Subheadings

There are three basic types of headlines found in research posters
Research Type
Experimental
Problem/Solution
Discovery
Sections & Headline
Introduction —Methods— Results
Problem — Solution —Test Solution
New Phenomenon —Possibilities

Headline
Results
Research
Question
Methods

Headline
Research
Question
Results
Results

Solution
Headline
Problem
Test Solution

Headline
New
Project
Project
Details
Possibilities

Which sections are most important to readers?
• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgments
• School logo

Which sections are most important to readers?
• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgments
• School logo

Which sections are most important to readers?
• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgments
• School logo

We need to get the most important information in the most important position on the poster
Top
Bottom

The bottom half of a poster is easily obscured
Top
Bottom

Which column seems most important?
Left Center Right

What about now?
Left Center Right

Put your most important information where it will be seen
Introduction Conclusions
Results
Methods References
Acknowledgment

Put your most important information where it will be seen
Introduction
Methods
Results More results
Conclusions
Acknowledgment References Contact

• The word “Results”
• A graph of your data
• A detailed description of what is in the graph
• How you collected your data
• Significance tests
• The main lesson to be drawn (i.e., the interpretation of your results)

• The word “Results”
• A graph of your data
• A detailed description of what is in the graph
• How you collected your data
• Significance tests
• The main lessons to be drawn

Introduction
Methods
Title
Results
Patients received ranitidine, 300 mg, or ranitidine plus triple therapy.
Triple therapy consisted of tetracycline, 2 g; metronidazole, 750 mg; and bismuth subsalicylate. Endoscopy to assess ulcer recurrence was done at 3-month intervals for a maximum of 2 years.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Ranitidine alone
Triple therapy
4 8 16 24 32 40
Weeks
Figure 2: Rates of Gastric Ulcer Recurrence for the year after successful healing with
Ranitidine-Only vs. Triple Therapy Treatments.
The probability of recurrence for patients who received triple therapy plus ranitidine was significantly lower than that for patients who received ranitidine alone
Conclusions
References
Acknowledgment

Introduction
Methods
Title
Triple therapy reduced ulcer recurrence
75% of gastric ulcer patients who received ranitidine alone had a ulcer recurrence within a year compared to 13% of those receiving ranitidine plus triple therapy
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
90
80
70
4 8 16 24 32 40
Weeks
Ranitidine alone
Triple therapy
Conclusions
References
Acknowledgment

Introduction
Methods
Newspaper headline
Title
Triple therapy reduced ulcer recurrence
75% of gastric ulcer patients who received ranitidine alone had a ulcer recurrence within a year compared to 13% of those receiving ranitidine plus triple therapy
Story
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
90
80
70
Ranitidine alone
Triple therapy
4 8 16 24 32 40
Weeks
Informative Illustration
Conclusions
References
Acknowledgment

Unsupervised network integration techniques can be nearly as accurate as supervised Bayesian data integration

Functional interaction networks can be accurately inferred by inter-species transfer
Interspecies transfer is inferred by weighting data from organisms either functionally or phylogenetically similar to the target. Here an E. coli functional network inferred from
14 other organisms is of comparable accuracy and functional diversity to speciesspecific integrated networks

DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN

Which is the better newspaper headline for this data: 1 or 2?
1. Average length of relationship of daily twitter users vs. all others
2. Daily twitter users average shorter relationships

Your introduction should use three moves to describe your motivation
1.
2.
Establish context a. Explain the significance b. Describe the status quo
Show a "gap" show something is unknown, flawed, or incomplete
3.
Present your project as a "filler" for this gap .

Context
Gap
Fill Gap

Context
Gap
Context (status quo)
Gap

Context
Gap
Fill gap

Use 2-3 complimentary colors (excluding photos) on a white background

Use whitespace instead of boxing everything in

Text should be left-aligned, not justified

Sans serif fonts
• Helvetica or Arial
• Calibri
• Myriad
Text types that hinder readability
• ALL CAPS
• Italics

Squint at your poster:
Does the most important information stand out?

Make a list of what this poster does well and where it could use improvements

1.
Can the poster be rearranged so the most important information is in a position of emphasis?
2.
Can sections be cut (abstracts, logos, redundant information)?
3.
Can information be condensed (methods, background details)?
4.
Can newspaper-style headlines help draw attention to the main message?
5.
Can the introduction more clearly communicate the gap this research fills?
6.
Can the color scheme be improved so color reinforces the message?
7.
Can boxes or other unnecessary ink be eliminated?
8.
Can a more standard font or left justified text be used?

Make a list of what this poster does well and where it could use improvements

1.
Can the poster be rearranged so the most important information is in a position of emphasis?
2.
Can sections be cut (abstracts, logos, redundant information)?
3.
Can information be condensed (methods, background details)?
4.
Can newspaper-style headlines help draw attention to the main message?
5.
Can the introduction more clearly communicate the gap this research fills?
6.
Can the color scheme be improved so color reinforces the message?
7.
Can boxes or other unnecessary ink be eliminated?
8.
Can a more standard font or left justified text be used?

Make a list of what this poster does well and where it could use improvements

1.
Can the poster be rearranged so the most important information is in a position of emphasis?
2.
Can sections be cut (abstracts, logos, redundant information)?
3.
Can information be condensed (methods, background details)?
4.
Can newspaper-style headlines help draw attention to the main message?
5.
Can the introduction more clearly communicate the gap this research fills?
6.
Can the color scheme be improved so color reinforces the message?
7.
Can boxes or other unnecessary ink be eliminated?
8.
Can a more standard font or left justified text be used?

Email Kerry directly for an individual one-on-one appointment
Kerry Ishizaki kerryi@cmu.edu