Poster 101 - Conference Posters Canada

SO, YOU NEED TO CREATE A POSTER.

A Poster Session is an advertisement for your research/work. A successful poster combines text and imagery to create a visually pleasing presentation that can engage and hold the attention of your audience in the brief seconds as they walk by.

IMPORTANT. Before you begin to plan your poster, check with your Conference or Event for poster regulations, guidelines and expectations. These will define your size, content and layout.

THE BASICS

A Successful Poster Should:

Efficiently communicate your research topic in <5 seconds – the time it takes for someone to walk by
Be legible from a distance of 6 feet – a comfortable viewing distance for your audience
Be well organized and pleasing to the eye – people viewing your poster will typically be viewing several others as well. Make it easy on their eyes, and they will be grateful
Be clear, concise and to the point – it should take less than 10 minutes to go through
A picture speaks a thousand words – replace text with images wherever possible

QUICKSTART GUIDE FOR SETTING UP YOUR POSTER

Page Set-Up

Once you have determined your size, you can either visit our template page to download one of our existing PowerPoint templates, or you can set-up your page yourself. A couple of things to note about setting up your file:

Proportion: Make sure that the dimensions of template you start with are the proportional dimensions you want to end with. The PDF file you send us must be proportionate to the poster size you order. If you send us a “square” (ie 36” x 36”) file, but choose a “rectangular output size” (ie 36” x 48”), then there will be six inches of white space on either side of your content. It isn’t feasible for us to stretch your content to fit the wider page. The content will still be 36” x 36”.
Size: PowerPoint will create a default document that is (and that prints at) 8.5” x 11”. If you want to produce a document that is a different size (for example: 48” wide by 36” high), you need to select: File>Page Setup> and then enter the size in the corresponding boxes. If you design your poster at standard page size (8.5” x 11”) and then try to print it in a larger format, the resolution will be diminished proportionately. As a result, all of your images. graphs and charts will be ‘fuzzy’, and your poster will not be legible. One of the most common mistakes people make is failing to adjust the “real” size of their poster template when beginning a design.
PowerPoint has a maximum page width of 56 inches. If you are planning to order a poster with one of the dimensions larger than 56” and are building your file in PowerPoint, you will have to use a smaller proportionately sized page set-up. For example, if you want a poster that is 36” x 60”, you would need to create your poster at 32.4” x 54.” at 450 dpi. You can still select a larger printing size, so long as the proportions are the same. Increasing the dpi will ensure that your text and images remain sharp when scaled-up for printing.

TIP. If you are offered a 48” x 96” display area, you don’t have to fill the entire space. In fact, we recommend against it. A poster of that size is hard to transport, and difficult to hang. Also, it is likely that you will end up blocking parts of your poster when you are presenting it. In most cases, a 36” x 48” poster is sufficient.

Layout

An important aspect of any good academic poster is that it is easy to follow. A successful layout should allow for easy navigation by a reader.

Organize your poster in columns. Newspapers have used this format for decades.
Adding numbers can help readers know how to navigate your poster.
Use white space to help define the flow of information.
Use white space to create a clean & clear design (avoid ‘clutter’).
Balance the placement of text, graphics and white space to create symmetry that helps provide visual appeal. Here are a few examples:

101_Image_Layout

Colour

Colour choice can affect the legibility of your information.

As a rule we recommend using brightly saturated colours only as accent colours. Light text on a dark background causes eye fatigue. We recommend using white, or a light colour or gradient as a background, or if a background colour is desired, only muted/light colours should be used.
Does your school, faculty, or department have specific colours? If so, consider using those specific elements in your design. Check out our selection of templates for colours specific to The University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.
If your poster is not school- or faculty-specific, you can also pull colours from images within your poster, or use online resources likes www.colorcombos.com or coolors.co to help build complimentary colour schemes.
Avoid a busy background. A solid tone or light gradient background works best.

Easy Read Text

Remember that some readers may be functionally colour-blind. Avoid using reds or greens as text or image colours.

Text

Text size and placement are crtiical in achieving a highly legible poster.

Brevity is key. Replace text with images, flow-charts, graphs, or other visual components wherever possible.
85-point font (or larger) for your title, 50-point font (or larger) for the authors, 36-point font (or larger) for major text throughout the document, 24-point for body text, and 18-point text for captions.
Section headings should be in a larger point size, or should use a bolder typeface than the copy within the body of the poster.
Avoid using ALL CAPS for headlines. It can make your text harder to read.
Large blocks of copy are difficult to read. Use paragraph breaks or bullets to highlight important ideas and help keep information readable.
For readability, dark text on a light background works best. Light text on a dark background or a combination of saturated colours can cause eye-strain and fatigue.

Fonts

For the best readability, keep your fonts clean ad simple. Remember, your research and data are the real stars of the show.

Here is a list of common fonts we recommend, as well as some common fonts to avoid.

101_Image_Fonts

Images

An image can be worth a thousand words. Here are a few tips to make sure your images tell a clear story.

As a rule of thumb, images should be larger than 4” minimum diameter. Text within figures (including figure legends, axis labels, and numbering) should be equivalent to at least 14-point font.
Use vector-based (or object-oriented graphics) whenever possible. They are fully scalable without loosing image quality.
Bitmap graphics are not as flexible as vector graphics. When using Bitmap images (.JPG, .BMP, .TIF, .PNG), make sure they are at least 300 dpi at 100%. If they are smaller than this, they may come out pixelated.For example, if you are scanning an 8” x 8” image and you would like the end result to be 4” x 4” you would scan the image at a minimum of 150dpi.Conversely, if you are creating an image at 2” x 2”, you should set the resolution of any components to 1200 dpi.

ANATOMY OF A POSTER DESIGN

Not all Sections May Apply to Every Discipline

1. Heading

The heading typically contains the following information:

1. Title: It should be clear and concise, and should fit onto one line for maximum readability (or if needed, a maximum of 2 lines). If it spans two lines, check that the sentence breaks in a natural and cohesive place, where both segments are ‘readable’. Text size should be greater-than-or-equal-to 85pt.

Example of Poor Sentence Break:
Ablation of Gene XYZ in C57Bl/6J mice
causes atrophy
of testicles

Better Sentence Break:
Ablation of Gene XYZ in C57Bl/6J mice
causes atrophy of testicles

2. The Author(s) – 42 pt font

3. Affiliation – the school(s), company(ies), or organization(s) where the work was done (24 pt font). Consider adding logo(s).

2. Introduction

Introduction/Background

This section should briefly define the issue addressed in your poster and provides the rationale for the project.
BREVITY is important here.
It should be well written and engaging, and not overly weighted down with technical information.
200 words or less, 28 point font or greater

Research Objective/Hypothesis

This should be a simple statement clearly identifying the objective of the work shown on the poster.
Although a Research Objective/Hypothesis is commonly included, it is not always required or needed.
1-2 sentences, 28 point font or greater

Background

The Background is a brief statement, summarizing existing data that has led you to produce the body of work shown in your Poster.
This is commonly included as part of the introduction, but it can also have its own stand-alone section.
28 point font or greater

Abstract

Most Conferences require submission of an abstract, and this will already be available to conference attendees.
Although an abstract is largerly not nessecary to include in your poster, if you decide to include it, consider editing for brevity.
28 point font or greater

3. Materials and Methods

4. Results

Results

The Results section is typically the bulk of the poster.
Wherever possible, consider transposing complex numerical or written data to more visually appealing elements such as charts or graphs, which can also convey information more rapidly.
Unless absolutely necessary, avoid overly lengthy tables.
The figures you include must be readable at a reasonable distance.
Font size should not be smaller than 14 points on any elements (including numbering of axes).
The minimum size of figures will depend on how much information is contained in them. A simple bar graph with two columns could be clear with a minimum diameter of 3 inches, but a complex graph should not be reduced to this size. In general, figures should be over 4 inches in diameter.
Less is sometimes more. Avoid clutter. Consider the most important elements that you want to convey. If you have 5 minutes to tell your story, which pieces of data will be critical.

5. Conclusion

6. References and Acknowledgements

References

A brief list of Citations for the work you’ve referenced.
Check with the conference for style specifications, if any.
Can be formatted in one or two columns (if extra space is needed)
Font size should be 18 point or greater

Acknowledgements

A statement of Acknowledgement, giving credit for the assistance and financial support that made your work possible.
22 point font or greater