Are you considering creating an academic poster for a presentation, session, or talk? Whether your poster is for an academic conference or you’re a student preparing for a scholarship or graduate school interview, it’s a great way to showcase your research in a visually appealing way and make a memorable impression on a new audience. For all of you who are new to the art of creating an academic poster, here are a few handy tips and tricks that we want to share with you.
The Poster
The purpose of an academic poster is to communicate your research or concept in a concise manner to the intended audience. It is the first thing you’ll see when you walk into a conference or conference-style poster session. Posters are typically printed on a larger size (usually around 11″ by 17″ or 14″ by 22″) as they need to fit easily on a wall or other display surface. This allows for a larger image.
Your poster’s title, author, academic institution, and research topic are all things you should think about and include in the design. Use a title and subtitle that’s appropriate for your audience, so that they can understand what you’re talking about without having to go through the whole presentation to do so. You can always use a free poster template and play around with different title variations.
For the academic design, there are two main components: the main image and your text/subtitle. Think about how you’ll want to arrange your text so that it’s the focal point of the poster. Remember that your text should be at or near the top:
- For longer poster talks or those with a lot of information, you might want to have your text on the left side and your main image on the right side to give the poster a visual flow.
- For research posters, the main image should be the first thing your viewers will see when they approach them, so the best places to use large images are on the top or bottom.
When choosing paper and ink color, keep in mind that your poster will be displayed on large-size paper, so you want a print that will stand out without being distracting. For instance, a poster with high-resolution printing using full-color or metallic print ink can appear garish and distract from it when printed at a larger size.
The Space
Where your poster is displayed will greatly affect its appropriate appearance, so think about the kind of space that is available to you. If you’re at an academic conference, the space is usually reserved for a limited amount of time (say, five minutes), and you can’t add anything to the wall. This may require you to get creative, such as placing it on a table or placing it on a display stand in front of the display space. For academic conferences or poster sessions where posters are more permanent (e.g., where it’s your space for an extended time), you should use a poster board and stand to display it. Make sure to choose a stand of a standard size (e.g., 30″ by 42″ or 48″ by 60″).
The Poster Creation Process
The process is simple if you know what to do and have all the necessary tools at hand. So here’s how it works.
1. Make a Layout
The layout is a process of arranging all of the different items you’ll need for your poster design on a sheet of paper. As you plan the design, you can decide how your poster will be presented. A standard approach for a research poster is to place a high-resolution image at the top (on the left or on the top) and the main title at the bottom (on the right or on the bottom).
If you’re using an image that is not high resolution, you can use the “zoom out” tool to expand the size of the image, allowing you to scale it down to size. Keep in mind that there is a tendency for posters to get too small as they are printed.
2. Design
This is where your design takes shape. Pick a tool that allows you to do this efficiently. You can even download the entire template to easily create your own project online.
When designing, make sure that the title, subtitle, and academic institution are in place to indicate where your poster belongs in the conference. If you’re designing a poster for a scholarship or graduate school, your title should indicate the subject and match the title of your abstract.
3. Finalize
Finalize your poster by making sure it is the correct size and that looks good. This is a good time to tweak any errors you may have made and to double-check to make sure that the text and images are legible and clear. Make sure it looks professional.
Conclusion
The process of creating a poster may seem to be challenging and time-consuming. But having a clear understanding of the content core of the project and the right tools at hand will make this mission easy to accomplish. You do not even need any design talents or skills to create a professional-looking poster.