1. KelvinSmithLibrary Creatingthe engine todrivetheworld’s most powerfullearningenvironment. Making Great Posters Amanda Koziura Digital Learning & Scholarship Librarian KelvinSmithLibrary March 2015 Adapted from a presentation by Ann Holstein

2. Purpose of a Poster • Tocommunicate informationand ideas • Tooutlinea pieceof work ina form thatis easilyassimilated • Tostimulate interest anddiscussion

3. AGreatPosterIs… • Readable • Easyflow of ideasfromoneitemtothenext • Avoid grammaticalerrors,complexorpassive sentence structure,and misspellings whichmake aposter "hardtoread"

4. AGreatPosterIs… • Legible • Ifatext is legible,itcan be “deciphered” • Common errorsinclude: • Useoffontsthatare too small tobe readfrom 4-6feetaway,the typicaldistanceforreading aposter • Poortextcolorselection

5. AGreatPosterIs… • WellOrganized • Spatialorganizationmakesthedifference betweenreaching95%ratherthan just5%ofyouraudience • Timespenthuntingforthenextideaor pieceof datais time taken away from thinkingaboutthescience

6. AGreatPosterIs… • Succinct • Studies showthatyouhave only10 secondsto grabandretain youraudience'sattention • Makethetitle prominent • Keep theamountoftext usedthroughoutyour postertoa minimum • Donotattempttoincludeallthe details!

7. MakingaPoster–2easysteps! • Designingthe PosterElements • Mostpostersare made usingsome kindof design software • Werecommendusing MicrosoftPowerPoint

8. GiveYourselfEnoughTime • Time • Ittakestimetomake a greatposter • Allowyourself2-3 days to designand create yourposter • Lastbits of data you rush aroundtoget atthelast momentwillgo completelyunnoticedifyourposter ismessyanddisorganized

9. Getting Started

10. Getting Started • DecidewhattheMain Messageis • Keep itshort andsweetand make this yourtitle! • Your postershouldcoverthe keypointsofyour work • Makeyourposter as self-explanatoryas possible • Donotattempttoincludeallthedetails!

11. Getting Started • CaptureyourAudience • Donotoverwhelmthereaderwithtext! • Main points mustcome through clearly • Ifadetailedexplanationis required,prepare a handoutofthis information • Include lesstext,and more graphs,chartsand images

12. Getting Started • Layoutyour Images Crudely • Beforespendingtimemakingthefinalelements oftheposter,takepiecesofpaperthat are about therightsizeand see ifyou can actuallymake it all fit physically

13. Getting Started • ELIMINATEall ExtraneousMaterial • Theaveragepostergazerspendsless than10 minutes on yourwork • Youhave10 secondstotraptheviewerbefore theymove on • Onlyshowdatathat addstoyourcentral message • Whenindoubt, editout–crowdedclutteredpostersare difficultand tiringtoread

14. Getting Started • Whatyou DONeed • Title • Principalinvestigatorsname • Otherauthors if applicableand affiliationof each • Department andschoolname, addressesof school andother institutions • AdditionalItems • Abstract,introduction,materials & methods,results, discussion,conclusion,futuredirections,references, acknowledgements,logos

15. PosterLayout • ArrangingPosterElementsandText • Peopleapproachnewinformationin a known spatial sequence:we trackverticallyfromcenter totoptobottom,andhorizontallyfrom leftto right

16. PosterLayout • ArrangingPosterElementsandText • Putthe mostimportantmessage inthecenter toppositionfollowedbythe topleft,andfinishin thebottomrightcorner • Inthecentertoppositionshouldbe thetitle and your name so they • willbe seeninthefirst 10secondsthataperson looks attheposter

17. PosterLayout • ArrangingPosterElementsandText • Aposterlayoutin columnsis mostcommon. • Arrange thecontents into 3,4, or5 columnsto facilitate theflow of • trafficpastthe poster • Organize thematerial • intosections(Introduction, • Methods,Data/Results,Conclusions,etc.) • Useblankspace tohighlightoroffsetinformation

18. PosterLayout • SpaceisImportant • Withoutspace,yourreaderhas novisualpauses tothink • Allowspacebetweensectionsandaround images • Leave at leasta 1/2inch margin aroundalledgesof your poster

19. PosterLayout • Size is Important • Size of poster elementsor thefontsin eachelement canserve toemphasize themainpoints • Making yoursubheadings inallcapitalsandtwofont sizeslargerthan therest ofthetext on the same panelwilldrawthe reader's eye first,andso beemphasized

20. FontChoice • Font • Chooseabasicfont whose"e's" and"a's" stay open at allsizesand that is supportedbyyour printer • Arial,Calibri,Helvetica, and Tahomaare good choices • Avoiduse ofmultiplefonts whichcan be distracting

21. FontChoice • Size • Fontsizesneedtobe bigtobe effective • Youshouldbe abletoeasilyread itfrom 4-6feet away • Testthisby viewinga portion ofyourposter on yourcomputer • Zoom in to100% • Stepback fromyour monitortosee if youcan stillread it 10

22. FontChoice • Size • RecommendedMinimumFont Sizes • Title: 60pointbold • Researchersand affiliations:48 point • Section headings: colorofyourchoice,30 point bold • Text: black, 24 point • Figure, graphand tablecaptions: black,20 point • References andacknowledgements: black,20 point • Photo/image credit: black,14 point

23. Formatting • Format • DONOTuse singlespacing! • Indentssettext apartand are greatforshort lists • Justifytext • Usebulletstoillustratediscrete points

24. Images,Graphs,andTables • Images • Thesame ormore space on the postershould betaken up by imagesor graphsthan bytext • Agoodrule ofthumbis 30%text,40%graphics 30% emptyspace • Useofcolorin yourgraphics willenhanceyourposter • Don’tforgettoinclude explanatorycaptionson your poster Figure1. Feline DNA

25. Images,Graphs,andTables • Images • Photosanddrawingsshouldbe ofsufficientsize tobe visiblefromadistance • 4"x 5"photos are a goodsize • Drawingsarebestif at least8"x 10" • Place relatedmaterials(e.g.photo with accompanyingtext)closetogether,then offsetit bysurroundingit withblankspace

26. Images,Graphs,andTables • Images • Your imagesshouldhave a resolutionof at least 300dpi(dotsperinch)atthesize they willbe ultimately printedon yourposter • Savethem as eitherJPEG(orJPG),orTIFfiles • AvoidusingBMP&GIFfiles

27. Images,Graphs,andTables • Graphs • Avoidcomplexgraphs andtables withexcessivenumbers • Usecolorstodistinguishdifferent datagroupsin graphs • Avoidusingfine patterns

28. Images,Graphs,andTables • Tables • Ifyou do use a table on yourposter, itshouldbe verycompact • Usea tableonlyif it wouldsupportyourstory moreefficientlythan a graph

29. AddColor • Color&Contrast • Propercolorcontrast willreduceeye strain and makethepostermorelegibleandinteresting visually • Becareful thatthecolordoes notoutclass the visualimpactofyourdata • Toomuch contrastis hardon theeyes and candistractthereaderfromyourdata • Usecolorfor highlightingandtomake your postermore attractive

30. AddColor • Color&Contrast • Donotgo overboardwithcolor • Avoidpatternsormotifs • Darkbackgroundcolors areok, but KSLwillcharge anadditionalfee • $5 48” orshorter • $10 over 48”long

31. SaveyourPoster • Saving • Savethe poster as a PowerPointPresentationor Adobe .pdf only! • Othersave options(.gif,.jpg) willreducethe quality ofyourposter

32. BeforeYouPrint • FinalCheck • Have some peoplelookoveryourposter before youprint • Research advisor • Peers • Friends &family • Iftheyare confused,it is farbetterto fixit nowthan tolosepeopleatthe postersession • Payparticularattention tothingsthatmaynotbe necessary: eliminateeverythingthatyou can!

33. BeforeYouPrint • TestPrint • Printyour posteron regularletter papertoproof readit • GotothePrintoption.Inthepop-upwindow, selecttheScaletofitpaperbox,andsetthe papersize toletter(8.5x11in.)andlandscape mode • DoNOTchangeanyofthe othersettings! • Afterprinting,you can tellthatthefontsizes are right ifyou can stillread the text

34. What do you think of this poster?

35. What do you think of this poster?

36. Printing • Where to print? • KSL’s Freedman Center • Student Activities & Leadership • Campus Printing Services • Think[box]

37. Printing • Costs • PosterprintingcostsattheKelvinSmith Library (KSL)forglossorsemi-glossposter paper • <42” in length= $25 43-48”in length=$35 49-56” inlength= $45 57-68” inlength= $60 • Youmaybecharged$70 or moreifyou printit elsewhere • Check tosee ifyourdepartment iscoveringthe printingcost

38. PosterSession • BriefPresentation • Youmaywishtoprepare a short presentationof about 3-5 minutes thatyou can periodicallygive tothose assembledaroundyourposter

39. PosterSession • HaveFun! • Goodluck andhave fun makingyourposter and showingit • Displayingyourfinishedwork is a big accomplishmentso taketimetoenjoyit and your interactions atthepostersession • Beon timeandenthusiasticaboutshowingyour poster– this is yourchancetoadvertise yourself and your work!

40. PosterSession ThankYou!