Website Navigation for Screen Readers

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)

Website Footer Navigation