What is an academic poster?

·        Academic posters summarise information or research concisely and generate discussion. It is widely used in the academic community. Most conferences include poster presentations in their program.

·        An academic poster summarises a complex topic without losing meaning or connection. It is designed to communicate clearly, concisely, and visually. It should also be self-explanatory.

An effective poster is a visual communication tool

·        It shows. It expresses your points in graphical terms. Displays the essential content, the messages – in the title, main headings and graphics.

·        It considers the intended purpose and who is the intended readership.

Decide what you need to communicate, and how

·        What is your main message about the research topic?

·        What does your viewer need to know about the topic?

·        Identify the key points, always keeping your topic or task in mind.

·        Once you’ve decided on the main content, make a rough draft of the information you need.

·        Decide on the main title.

·        Note the graphics you might need, such as photos, diagrams, graphs or charts.

Visual Impact

·        Posters are designed to convey a message quickly and efficiently. What should your readers see and understand first? Think about what will communicate your key points most clearly. Find a focal point that will help draw your readers in. This might be a key flowchart or diagram, or simply a clear main title.

Layout

·        Use images and text in simple shapes like squares and circles (perhaps using shading to show the areas you want to stand out most).

·        Once the basic layout is planned you can consider graphic and text formatting in more detail.

·        Format headings and subheadings consistently. This helps structure your information visually.

·        For clarity, use a sans-serif font like Arial or Helvetica. Make sure there is good contrast between text and background. To be legible at a distance, the main title should be around 70-100 pts, subheadings around 40 pts, body text around 24 pts.

Use of graphic

·        An academic poster should be both professional and concise, so a general rule is only to include graphics that really support your content.

·        Use diagrams, graphs or flowcharts to help explain complex information visually.

·        Try not to use too many different or strongly contrasting colours. A limited colour palette can be very effective.

·        Avoid using unnecessary and distracting background textures or decoration.

·        If your topic has a central statement, graphic or diagram, make this prominent in your design. Don’t hide it in a corner!

·        Every graphic should have a purpose.

How to produce a poster?

·        A variety of software can be used to produce an academic poster. One of the most popular is Microsoft PowerPoint, with a key advantage being that most computers have PowerPoint installed as standard.

·        Using PowerPoint you can integrate a range of media, produce diagrams and flowcharts easily, and create custom charts and graphs from your data.

Poster size

A0 118.9 cm x 84.1 cm

A1 84.1 cm x 59.4 cm

A2 59.4 cm x 42.0 cm

A3 42.0 cm x 29.7 cm

·        Choose Portrait or Landscape orientation.

·        You can customize the slide size.

·        To print effectively, images should be high resolution (150-300 dpi).

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