Creating an academic poster

Academic posters

The following tips, courtesy of Colin Purrington, are an abridged version from his very thorough discussion of visually communicating your research.

  1. “Never display two-dimensional data in 3-D. Three-dimensional graphs look adorable but obscure true difference among bar heights.
  2. Make sure that details on graphs and photographs can be comfortably viewed from 6 feet away. A common mistake is to assume that axes labels, figure legends, and numbers on axes are somehow exempt from font-size guidelines. The truth is that the majority of viewers want to read only your figures.
  3. If you include a photograph, add a thin gray or black border to make it more visually appealing.
  4. Give the source for any image that is not yours. And only use an image (illustration, photograph, etc.) that is fully public domain. When in doubt, ask the author/photographer/illustrator for permission. Or buy it.
  5. If you can’t find the perfect illustration or photograph, get one made — you can use it in multiple posters [and] future talks. There are lots of illustrators and photographers out there for hiring.
  6. Don’t clutter the top of your poster with logos. If you are required by your mentor to include logos on your poster, put them on the bottom of the poster and make them small.
  7. If your topic is related to an audio subject, attach a sound device that contains your sound (bird calls, engine rattle, etc.). A cheap “sound postcard” will often do the trick. Just fill the picture frame with an illustration of the sound-generating organ or machine, and indicate where on the photograph the viewer should press to activate the sound.
  8. If you wish to show a whole bunch of photographs, buy a cheap digital photo frame and attach it with Velcro next to some text that tells viewers how to operate the device, and what the photographs are. Or use an iPod. Or use your iPad. Works for showing movies, too. If you have a critical movie, put it online, too, and print the QR code on the poster site underneath where the iPad will be attached…then you can remove the iPad when you’re not around to police it.
  9. If your topic is related to olfaction, make sure that one of your figures is a scratch-n-sniff. FYI, you can even buy printer inks that are laced with common smells (how about fresh cut grass for a poster on grazing effects??). You can also buy “odor bags” (yes, that’s what they’re called) to trap odors for later use…just attach them to your poster with instructions.
  10. If your topic is related to a thing or object, attach it to your poster. Use 3M removable tape (or equivalent) if you want to minimize damage to underlying poster paper. You can also use two magnets, depending on your object and the thickness of your poster board (you attach the second magnet on the back of the poster).
  11. Use gentle, removable tape to add a transparency sheet over a graph or photograph if you want to make non-permanent doodles with Dry-Erase markers.”