{"id":798,"date":"2018-09-24T10:58:43","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T10:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oceansofbiodiversity.blogs.auckland.ac.nz\/?p=798"},"modified":"2024-12-06T11:31:50","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T10:31:50","slug":"tips-for-designing-a-scientific-poster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/oceansofbiodiversity\/2018\/09\/24\/tips-for-designing-a-scientific-poster\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for designing a scientific POSTER"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having reviewed posters for awards several times at conferences and university competitions, here is my hit list of where many posters win and fail in content and design.
\nIn content<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The key message and findings are hard to find.<\/li>\n
  2. The novel aspects of the research are not obvious.<\/li>\n
  3. The poster is of highly specialist interest and thus uninteresting to most people.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In design <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Too much text, sideways text, varieties of text, or not easily readable from 2 m away.<\/li>\n
    2. Too much jargon or abbreviations, or all capitals words (harder to read than sentence style).<\/li>\n
    3. Too much clutter<\/em><\/span>*.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I\u2019m sure you notice the trend. Most posters have too much in them. It a great skill to be able to communicate with the minimum words and graphics possible. It takes time and practice.
      \n*Clutter includes <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Not enough space around text, images, figures and\/or tables.<\/li>\n
      2. Too many colours and\/or bad colour combinations.<\/li>\n
      3. Dark black backgrounds rarely work well, white is best.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        To make it better<\/strong><\/span>
        \nPosters are a unique form of communication and need their own style. Too many posters follow the format of a scientific paper, with Introduction on top and Conclusions at the bottom. However, it is hard to read the bottom of a poster. At a conference, readers will be walking around and several metres away. Often the only part of the poster they can see is the top.<\/strong>
        \nSo flip it.<\/em><\/strong> <\/span>Give the key message and findings, with novelty clear or explicitly stated, at the top. Leave details at the bottom.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. The title should indicate the key message.<\/li>\n
        2. Details of the key findings and conclusions should be on top of the poster (not the bottom).<\/li>\n
        3. Identify one key figure, image, or diagram that conveys the main message of the poster. Give it most space and place it near top of poster.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Also<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n