Posters

POSTER SIZE

Posters should be a maximum of 36" w X 42" h (3' w x 31/2' h) OR 42" w x 36" h

Materials Required for Hanging

Presenters should supply their own hanging materials. Depending on the hanging surface, these could include thumbtacks, double-sided tape, masking tape; velcro tape, etc.

Tips for Creating a Poster

An effective poster operates on multiple levels:

• source of information
• conversation starter
• advertisement of your work
• summary of your work

Many ineffective posters suffer from easy-to-fix problems, including:

• objective(s) and main point(s) hard to find
• text too small
• poor graphics
• poor organization

Layout

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.
• 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.

Graphics

• Lets graphs and images tell the story;
• Good graphics - graphs, illustrations, photos - are the centerpiece of your poster.
• Write explanations directly on figures, instead of referencing from elsewhere.

Text

• Use text sparingly.
• Text should be simple, direct and of a large font size.
• Text should be readable from a distance.
• Use phrases rather than full sentences.

Software

• Microsoft Powerpoint is an easy to use tool for creating posters (template available for download below).
• Graphics may be created in Microsoft Excel and exported to Powerpoint.
• Adobe Illustrator and In Design, Adobe Photoshop are good for creating high quality graphics.

Source NCSU

DOWNLOAD POSTER TEMPLATE

Download a fully customisable Research Poster Template in powerpoint (.pptx) format for a 36"x42" poster.  Add graphics, change the fonts, colour scheme, layout etc. Instructions included on the template.  (Source: posterpresentations.com).

OTHER USEFUL READING

http://www.pitt.edu/~etbell/nsurg/PosterGuide.html