Improving Statistical Posters

Di CookIowa State University

Presentation prepared for

JSM’07dicook@iastate.edu

OUTLINE

PlanningLayoutColorText and fontVisualsElectronic mediaResources

http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Currents/Archive/images/Apr-04-2003/genomics_poster.tiff.jpg

Bookman et al http://www.upstatefreshwater.org/html/olsf-sixth_posters.html

07/18/2007 05:10 AMTips for poster design

Page 1 of 1http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/poster1.htm

Main Contents Page

Before you start

STEP 1: STARTING OUT

STEP 2: FINDING

STEP 3: EVALUATE

STEP 4: LEGAL USE

STEP 5: COMMUNICATE

- Writing a

report/assignment

- Tips for presentations

- Tips for posters

Planning

Layout

Colour

Text and font

Visuals

Useful web sites

- Tips for brochures

- Tips for displays

- E-communication

guidelines

- Writing styles

Tips for poster design

Planning your poster

Before you rush to your computer and start designing your poster, there are acouple of things you need to do first. Planning your poster is extremelyimportant.

Start by writing down everything you would like to have on yourposter, keeping in mind who your target audience is.Draw your poster on a piece of paper, adding all the different sectionsand headings you would like to cover in your poster as well as the text.Let someone proofread for grammatical and spelling mistakes.Example for headings are:

title (the audience will view this first);introductionproblem statementmethodresultsrecommendationsconclusion

Your drawing might look something like this:

Eliminate any poster "noise". Remember you have less than 3seconds to draw the attention of your audience to your poster. Posternoise happens when you add irrelevant or unnecessary information toyour poster, e.g. information your audience might already know, etc. -this will depend on your target audience (colleagues, other specialistsin this field, general public, etc.).Have some attention grabbers on your poster. Seeing that you don'thave a lot of time to get the attention of your audience you need tomake a quick impact, e.g. a catching and interesting statement,photographs, graphics, colours, layout, etc. - all of these play a role inattracting your audience.When you have finished your final design on paper, you can startdesigning it on the computer.

Write down everything: Title, Introduction, Problem Statement, Method, Results, Recommendation/ConclusionPlan attention grabbers - you have less than 3 seconds to grab people’s attention.

Sketch out your poster

What’s the message?Who’s the target

audience?

PLANNING

LAYOUT

07/18/2007 05:10 AMTips for poster design

Page 1 of 2http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/poster2a.htm

Main Contents Page

Before you start

STEP 1: STARTING OUT

STEP 2: FINDING

STEP 3: EVALUATE

STEP 4: LEGAL USE

STEP 5: COMMUNICATE

- Writing a

report/assignment

- Tips for presentations

- Tips for posters

Planning

Layout

Colour

Text and font

Visuals

Useful web sites

- Tips for brochures

- Tips for displays

- E-communication

guidelines

- Writing styles

Tips for poster design

Technical guidelines: Layout

Plan your layout carefully. Layout includes

Headings and subheadings.Organising the information into sections.There should be balance and simplicity.Deciding where you want to add graphics, photographs, graphs, etc.Do not try to present too much detail. Less is more.Leaving enough white space - don't clutter the poster, it should have aclean and simple layout.Provide your name and contact details for people that might want todiscuss it with you.Information should flow (viewing sequence) by column or by row, as inthe following examples:

07/18/2007 05:10 AMTips for poster design

Page 1 of 2http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/poster2a.htm

Main Contents Page

Before you start

STEP 1: STARTING OUT

STEP 2: FINDING

STEP 3: EVALUATE

STEP 4: LEGAL USE

STEP 5: COMMUNICATE

- Writing a

report/assignment

- Tips for presentations

- Tips for posters

Planning

Layout

Colour

Text and font

Visuals

Useful web sites

- Tips for brochures

- Tips for displays

- E-communication

guidelines

- Writing styles

Tips for poster design

Technical guidelines: Layout

Plan your layout carefully. Layout includes

Headings and subheadings.Organising the information into sections.There should be balance and simplicity.Deciding where you want to add graphics, photographs, graphs, etc.Do not try to present too much detail. Less is more.Leaving enough white space - don't clutter the poster, it should have aclean and simple layout.Provide your name and contact details for people that might want todiscuss it with you.Information should flow (viewing sequence) by column or by row, as inthe following examples:

A numbering system will help your audience follow the flow of information.Print the pieces at actual size and place them on a table.

COLORColor is a very important part of your poster.Choose a color theme.Too much color makes it too busy.

This combination is easy on the eyes.

This combination is NOT easy on the eyes.

This combination is NOT easy on the eyes.

This combination is also easy on the eyes.

TEXT & FONTS

Text size and font are very important.ALL CAPITALS CAN BE DIFFICULT TOO.

Ariel bold is easy to read.

Courier regular is NOT easy to read, and is boring.Italics and script is NOT easy to read.

Title 100pts >1.5in

Headings ~50pts 0.6-0.8in

Body >25pts 0.2-0.4in

VISUALS

Graphics, photographs and diagrams are a vital part of a poster. They add interest and help communicate your message.Use digital photos rather than scanned.Create graphics using good plotting software such as R, and edit/annotate using a drawing program such as Photoshop, Canvas, CorelDraw.Use sparingly to avoid a busy appearance.

CREDIT

http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/poster2a.htm is the source of my material to this point.Really excellent, straight forward advice with pictures and diagrams on poster construction.

EXAMPLE

Catchy title

4’x4’

Dramatic visual, which also serves as lookup to the main parts of

poster.Navy and white color scheme

MULTIMEDIA SUPPLEMENTS

A movie or computer demo can illustrate the dynamic rather than static nature of your work.Multimedia draws attention.

MULTIMEDIA SUPPLEMENTSA digital photo frame might be incorporated directly into your poster to display a sequence of photos or graphs.A recordable postcard can be used to add sound!

http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2006/10/13/new_memoryframe.html

http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/images/soundrecorder.jpg

DATA EXPO POSTERS

http://www.amstat-online.org/sections/graphics/dataexpo/2006entries.php

The ASA Statistical Graphics section sponsored a data analysis and poster presentation competition for JSM’06.

Good place to see examples of well-constructed posters and multimedia supplements.

SOFTWARE

Adobe InDesign: Figures kept in separate files so master file remains small.Powerpoint: templates available on web, but unwieldy for large posters and graphics.

GOOD GRAPHICS PRINCIPLESNaomi Robbins (2006) Creating More Effective Graphshttp://www.wiley.com/

R package: ggplot2Hadley Wickhamhttp://had.co.nz/ggplot2/

COGNITIVE PERCEPTIONFamiliarity and surprise: Following conventions (eg Tufte, Wainer) captures an audience by familiar, ease of interpretation. .....................BUTBreaking conventions elicits interest.

COGNITIVE PERCEPTION

Myanmar

Hungary

Kazakhstan

Latavia

France

Spain

LithuaniaCzech Rep

MoldovaMoldova

Romania

Russia FedRussia Fed Poland

PortugalEngland

Ireland

Belguim

Germany Italy

SwitzerlandS

love

nia

Yugo

Crotia

Bos

nia/

Her

z

Austria

Bulgaria

Ukraine

FinlandGreece

Norway

Albania

BARBADOS

TRINIDAD/TOBAGO

ARGENTINA

BOLIVIA

CHILE

COLOMBIACOLOMBIA

COSTA RICACOSTA RICA

ECUADORECUADOR

EL SALVADOREL SALVADORGUATEMALA

GUYANA

NICARAGUA

PANAMAPANAMA

PARAGUAY

PERU

SURINAMESURINAME

URUGUAYURUGUAY

VENEZUELAVENEZUELA

Sweeden

CANADA

MEXICO

CHILE

BOLIVIA

SURINAME

BARBADOS

NICARAGUA

GUATEMALA

Romania

Kazakhstan

SOUTHAFRICA

LESOTHO MADAGASCAR

MOZAMBIQUE

ZIMBABWE

NAMIBIA

ZAMBIA

MALAWI

CONGO

TANZANIA

KENYA

BURUNDI

IVORYCOAST

GHANA

CONGOREP.

SENEGAL

GAMBIAGUINEA-BISSAU

GABON

RWANDA

CAMEROON

NIGER

NIGERIA

BURKINAFASO

MALIMOROCCO

MAURITANIA

ALGERIA LIBYATUNISIA

UGANDA

CHAD

SUDAN EGYPT

SPAIN

FRANCE

ITALY

BRITAIN

UKRAINERUSSIA

KAZAKHSTANAFGHANISTAN

IRELAND

ETHIOPIA

DJIBOUTI

ERITREA

GER.

BAHAMAS

BARBADOS

CUBA

JAMAICA

TRINIDAD, TOBAGOGUYANA

HONDURAS

SURINAME

VENEZUELA

HAITI

BRAZIL

UNITED STATES

ARGENTINA

BOLIVIA

CHILE

COLOMBIA

COSTA RICA

ECUADOR

EL SALVADOR

GUATEMALA

NICARAGUA

PANAMA

PARAGUAY

PERU

URUGUAY

CANADA

MEXICO

BELIZE

CHINA

SOUTHKOREA

MONGOLIA

INDIA

INDONESIA

MALAYSIA

SINGAPORE

PAPUANEW

GUINEA

MYANMAR

AUSTRALIA

NEWZEALAND

CAMBODIA

THAILAND

JAPAN

LAOS

PHILIPPINES

BANGLADESH

SRI LANKA

NEPAL

SWAZILANDBOTSWANA

ANGOLA

TOGO

LIBERIA

SIERRALEONE

GUINEA

BENINCENTRALAFRICANREPUBLIC

PORTUGALDOMINICANREPUBLIC

PAKISTAN

VIETNAM

NETHERLANDS

DENMARK

BELGIUMAUSTRIA

CZECH REP.

POLAND

BELARUS

ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA

FINLANDSWEDENNORWAY

MIDDLEEAST

BALKANS

In many countries, reliable statistics on AIDS are hard to obtain. Unaids, the United Nations AIDS agency, relies on these numbers. Each square on the grid represents 2,500 people with AIDS.

…And on a Global Scale

North Africa and the Middle East

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Southern and Eastern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Highly Industrialized Countries

0

5

10

15

20

25

Source: UNAIDS

The estimated number of people living with H.I.V./AIDS has exploded in sub-Saharan Africa while staying relatively level in highly industrialized countries.

Living With AIDS

million

million

million

million

million

HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

’80 ’82 ’84 ’86 ’88 ’90 ’92 ’94 ’96 ’98 ’000

1

2

3

4

Source: UNAIDS

The estimated number of new HIV/AIDS cases in highly industrialized countries has decreased slightly since the 1980’s but has continued growing in sub-Saharan Africa.

New Cases million

million

million

million

HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

’80 ’82 ’84 ’86 ’88 ’90 ’92 ’94 ’96 ’98 ’00

LIVING WITH AIDSNEW CASES

LIVING WITH AIDS

LIVING WITH AIDS

EACH DOT REPRESENTS 2,500 PEOPLE LIVING WITH AIDS

0

5

10

15

20

25

Source: UNAIDS

million

million

million

million

million

HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIANORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

’80 ’82 ’84 ’86 ’88 ’90 ’92 ’94 ’96 ’98 ’00*

SOUTHERN ANDEASTERN ASIA

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

0

1

2

3

4 million

million

million

million

’80 ’82 ’84 ’86 ’88 ’90 ’92 ’94 ’96 ’98 ’00*

HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIESEASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EASTLATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

SOUTHERN ANDEASTERN ASIA

The estimated number of new H.I.V./AIDS cases in highly industrialized countries has decreased slightly since the 1980’s but has continued growing in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: UNAIDS

* Preliminary numbers* Preliminary numbers

Map is familiar, draws in the reader.AND convention is broken by the size of country, which is interesting encouraging the curious reader to learn more.

The New York Times

CONCLUDING COMMENTSPosters allow the presenter to engage the audience in small groups for individualized discussion.From experience: If its a big poster print it in a couple of smaller pieces for transporting to the meeting!You’re a story teller.

RESOURCES

http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/poster2a.htm http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/posteradvice.htm