Creating a Dynamic Poster

The objective of the poster:

• Showcase your project or experience
• Demonstrate your abilities as a researcher
• Allow you to share information with the a community
• Develop your communication skills
• Build networks and contacts
• Help identify and establish collaborations
• A great source of feedback

Considerations while creating your poster:

• Who is your target audience?
• Event guidelines
• Quality over quantity – do not be too wordy!
• Create an interesting story
• The numbers game:
  • 10 seconds for someone to decide to stay or go
  • 10 minutes max to run through your poster/ project
  • 20% text, 40% graphics, 40% ‘white’ space
  • 4ft to 6ft – distance away from

Making your poster stand out:

• Interesting title
• Attractive pictures and figures
• Large, clean fonts
  • (title: 85 pt., authors: 56 pt., headings: 36 pt., body text: 24 pt.)
• Balanced color choices
  • (capture attention, highlight information, but do not distract)
• Visually appealing & readable
• Organized and flows logically
• Succinct and not overly wordy
• Presented clearly & with enthusiasm
• Provides everybody with something

Making the delivery work for you:

• Radiate enthusiasm and confidence
• Maintain eye contact
• Find out what your audience knows and target your story accordingly
• Tell a great story
• Use tone and inflection to emphasize key points
• Don’t just read your poster, use it as a reference
• PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

Mistakes to avoid:

• Not following guidelines set by event organizers
• Not getting mentor approval (when necessary)
• Poster is too ‘busy’, not enough ‘white’ space
• Too much text, not enough graphics
• Not proof-reading before printing
• Not coordinating with printing/ shipping deadlines early enough
• Not proofing the finished poster after receipt
• Not practicing enough (knowing your project)