Some tips for creating a good poster

This post provides some tips for creating a good poster.

(Stay tuned, as I keep updating it.)

Check HERE for creating a Poster with PowerPoint.

  • There is often way too much text in a poster. Posters primarily are visual presentations; the text should support the graphics. Look critically at the layout. Some poster ‘experts’ suggest that if there is about 20-25% text, 40-45% graphics and 30-40% empty space, you are doing well.
  • Remember the poster session will be crowded so design the poster to be read in columns so people can read what is in front of them and move left to right to get the whole story.
  • The poster should use photos, figures, and tables to tell the story of the study. For clarity, present the information in a sequence that is easy to follow.
  • Include more figures than are in the paper so you can talk to them.  Include things that are not in the paper and then encourage them to read the paper. Don’t try to just put all the paper here.
  • If it looks like a cut/paste of the paper, people skip that poster since they can read the papers after the conference. Many people find it better to spend time talking with poster presenters that have more to offer than just redoing the paper content paper in big fonts.
  • Remember Poster boards look like this.. This is your canvas. Paint us a picture of your work.

  • Leave enough margin for pushpin and remember many big plotters cannot get within .5” of the actual paper edge.
  • You are free to use colored backgrounds and such but they generally reduce readability.
  • You are free to use what ever fonts you like.
      • San Serif fonts like Arial are more readable from a distance,
      • Serif fonts like times may look more consistent with your mathematics
  • TBA

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Creating a Poster with PowerPoint

Procedure

Download and edit a poster template (e.g.,  poster template, or HERE, and HERE) or follow the instructions below.

check HERE for some tips of creating a good poster.

  • Start PowerPoint and open “new presentation”
  • From the menu bar, select File > Page setup.
  • In the box that appears, the first section is “size.”
  • Next to the heading “slides sized for,” select “custom” from the pull-down menu
  • Required dimensions are 48” wide by 36” high. Click “OK.”
  • You will see this prompt: “the current page size exceeds the printable area of the paper in the printer.” It will offer three options: cancel, OK, and fix. Click “OK.”
  • Set the slide layout to “blank.” This is done differently in different versions of PowerPoint. If you are having difficulty, type “layout” in the PowerPoint help menu, and you will find instructions on how to create or change slide layouts.
  • You can look at the poster at different sizes. Using a smaller size (e.g. 25%) will allow you to see the whole poster at once. Using a larger size (e.g. 75%) will allow you to read your text more easily.
  • If you find it difficult to keep track of what you are doing, create a second PowerPoint file, with a regular sized PowerPoint slide presentation. You can make a series of slides and then copy the text boxes and pictures from those slides into the custom poster file

 

 

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