Nine Poster-Making Rules of Thumb

1) Make sure people can read it from 10-15 feet away. That’s about as close as people can get to your poster

when there’s a crowd. Use nothing smaller than 24 pt font (30 pt is better). Remember: Most reader’s & evaluator’s eyes are older

than yours

2) Poster should read like a book; top-to-bottom, left-to-right. ‘cause that’s how we’re all used to reading.

3) Break poster into 2-3 columns Allows multiple people to read different parts at the same

time without getting in each other’s way.

9 poster-making rules of thumb:

4) Use visual cues to guide the reader through your poster One method: Number each section (along with a short title) Another method: Use arrows but keep it simple!! Don’t let yours be the poster that’s ruined by an over-

application of arrows

5) Don’t fill the poster with lots of text A key art of poster-making is writing succinctly while also

capturing the key points. In a room full of 50-100 posters, most people are going to

spend 1-2 minutes at your poster. Keep it simple! DO: Use bulletized lists & short paragraphs

DON’T: Have so much text that it requires 12 pt font to fit it all in.

9 poster-making rules of thumb:

6) …but on the other hand, your poster needs to speak for itself (you won’t be at your poster all the time) Completely label all figures Put captions below each figure. Captions should:

a) Include one sentence summarizing main point of figureb) Indicate what is represented by different colors/symbols

Follow rules 2 & 4 Don’t follow rule #5 so religiously that critical points are left

off.

9 poster-making rules of thumb:

7) Make it eye-catching without going overboard Graphics and photos are good, but make sure they are

relevant to the poster (i.e., NO BEAR PICTURES!)

8) Strike a balance between graphics and text Nothing will make a viewer’s eyes glaze over more than

being confronted with a poster that is > 70% text Nothing says “I don’t really care about this project” more

than a poster that is > 70% graphics (especially if there are only 1-2 graphics without much supporting text (and especially if one of those graphics is a picture of bears)).

50/50 balance is good.

9 poster-making rules of thumb:

9) Leave some empty space Important to have some visual separation between different

sections and graphics However, nothing says “I don’t really care about this

project” more than a poster that is filled with empty space (> 25%)…

…except including a picture of bears.

9 poster-making rules of thumb:

Remember:• Bad science can’t be made better by a good poster.• Good science can be made to look like bad science

by a bad poster.

Your good science deserves to be presented to the world in a good poster!!!