Designing Research Posters

Summer 2005Grant Mastick

University of Nevada, Reno

Poster sessions

Why do we present posters?

A poster is a visual presentation of a research project Visual design that combines text and

graphics Presenter gives short verbal explanation Viewer can ask questions, give feedback

Most research presentations are posters Society for Neuroscience: 20,000 posters

Reasons to like posters Readers like posters:

Choice of posters, view at flexible time Ask questions, get personalized

information Presenters like posters:

Present to individuals, can personalize Feedback for new ideas, compliments Contacts (collaborations, jobs, reviewers,

letters of recommendation)

Posters are not…

Poster vs. talk vs. article May cover same material, but organized

very differently Different design for different goals

Talk: mostly verbal + visual Article: mostly text + some graphics

Common problem: posters with too much text Or, less commonly, too little

Why are you required to present a poster?

Share what you have learned with Other students, faculty, programs, regents

What did you do? Strategy, methods, analysis

Why did you do it? Rationale, significance, prior studies

What do your results mean? Implications, practical applications

Does this lead to future research? Future directions, recommendations

Lecture on poster design Design

Practical advice What to do, what not to do

Planning Start making your poster now!

Presenting What to do on poster day

Resources Lots of helpful websites, send by email

How to make a poster Obtain results

Data, photos, etc. Gather graphics

Make graphs, figures, introductory photos Start to write text Layout poster

Powerpoint or other program, templates available Get feedback and revise, revise, revise Print Prepare and rehearse short talk to explain

poster

Potential poster sections Title Authors + affiliations Introduction Significance Objective Results Conclusions Future Directions

Acknowledgements Funding, source of

materials, help and advice

Literature cited

(Abstract) (Materials and

methods)

Poster design: the main point

What is the main objective of your summer research project? Objective, goal, hypothesis…

State this in one sentence

Communicating your main objective

Every element of your poster helps communicate your message Visual, textual, verbal

Visual design Arrange text, graphics Choose sizes, colors, lines

Visual literacy Ability to plan a design that enhances

viewer understanding

Overall layout Clearly define sections using subtitles

Introduction, Objective, etc Can customize subtitles

Arrange sections in logical order Overall, use series of columns Normal reading pattern Traffic control

Number the sections Easy for reader to follow

Overall layout A balanced poster design will be roughly

30% text 40% graphics 30% blank or white space

Surprisingly high % is recommended

Poster templates are available online Google “poster template” Or, your lab may already have a template Layout in Powerpoint (or other programs)

Use “File/Page Setup”, 36” high, 48-60” wide

A few principles of visual design

Group related elements Put figure legends directly under or next to figures

Carefully align elements Our eyes like to see order

Proximity implies relatedness Blank space strengthens graphics Colors

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

Use font size to show importance Details can use smaller text size

Super minor details

Use the same text size for similar elements

For example, for all subtitles

Do not use small text Rule of thumb:

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

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: Color change Volume increase Noise reduction”

Are complete sentences necessary???

Designing graphics Define your experimental question Draw a cartoon or schematic

Highlight a key point that you would like the reader to understand

Designs to consider Flow chart, molecular model, wiring

diagram, cell interactions, genetic pathway, synthetic pathway

Graphs

What is the main point of the graph? What is the key comparison? What simple labels would highlight

this? Delete everything else

See example in Hess handout

Photographs

Choose carefully what view you will present View this critically: is the main point visible?

Layout to emphasize the main point Minimize any distracting elements Crop to show only what is needed

Every figure needs a short text explanation For those of us who only look at the figures!

Planning your poster

Plan at least two weeks i.e. start now! Set deadlines (and

keep!) Outline graphics, text

Anything major missing? Construct a complete draft Get feedback, and revise Print Prepare presentation

Roughing out your poster

Block out Outline of graphics needed Outline all sections of text Identify (and read!) key literature

Write text as long as you need to 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 Get a complete draft

All photos, graphs, graphics, etc All text completed, and initially edited Check all elements on Hess evaluation

At least one week before due date 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 One week to due date Get as many reviewers as possible

Mentor, grad students, anyone else Ask for critical review of all aspects

Overall layout, text, graphics, etc. Clarity, completeness, suggestions for

shortening! Revisions: 3 versions is minimal

For published articles, often 10 or more rounds of editing by several authors

Printing the final poster Large format printers available in

several departments Biology, Biochemistry, others

Contact them to set up printing time 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 Ask about resolution of printer 100-200 dpi in final size is plenty

Presenting your poster Write a short talk

2-3 minute review of the main points Focus: explain your project to viewer Use the graphics

Combine speaking and pointing to the graphics Do not refer to notes

Practice, memorize your spiel Print out several copies of a small 8x11

color version For handouts at the poster session

Poster day!

Dress professional casual Bring and install poster early Station yourself at poster for most

of session

Presenting your poster 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

Have fun! Finishing your summer research

and your poster is a big accomplishment