what is a dissertation poster

How to: Poster Presentations: What is a research poster?

What is a research poster?

• Parts of a Research Poster
• Template and Examples
• Talking About Your Poster

A research poster is a summary of your research.

It is typically built with

• with some blocks of text
• combined with graphs, tables & images

It draws an audience in to ask questions and engage with your work and your findings.

A research poster is often an ACTUAL poster .

Sometimes, it is digital and appears on a screen...like a single-slide PowerPoint.

The researcher (that’s you!) is often nearby to present the content on your poster and answer questions from attendees.

Honors College Research Poster Workshop

February 28, 2024

• Video Recording of Workshop
• Research Poster Workshop Slide Deck
• Next: Parts of a Research Poster >>
• Last Updated: Feb 29, 2024 9:57 AM
• URL: https://research.library.gsu.edu/posterpresentations

Creating an Academic Poster: Home

Creating an academic poster.

Introduction:

Is this your first time creating an academic poster? We recommend that you work closely with your advisor, PI, professor, or other trusted colleagues who have experience creating academic posters. They will likely be able to give you good feedback on your design and content, in addition to the process for creating and saving a poster for printing. Please note that Spokane Campus Printing Services is a print shop, not a design shop, and is not able to provide individual guidance on your design; the file that you submit is the file that will be printed.

Note:  Visit WSU Spokane's Printing Services page for PowerPoint poster templates.  Template are are available in standard sizes, both portrait and landscape orientations, and branded for the three Health Sciences Colleges (Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy). 

Key Features of an Academic Poster:

• Clear and Concise Title : The title should capture the essence of the research while being catchy enough to draw attention.
• Introduction or Background : This section provides context for the research, including the main research question and the hypothesis.
• Methodology : Briefly describes the methods used to gather data and conduct the research.
• Results : Visual representations such as graphs, charts, and tables are often used to display key findings effectively.
• Discussion or Conclusion : This section interprets the results, discussing their implications, significance, and possible limitations.
• References : Cites all sources of information used in the research in a concise manner.
• Acknowledgements : Recognizes contributions from others, such as advisors or funding bodies.
• Contact Information : Allows interested viewers to contact the researcher for further discussion or collaboration.

Design Considerations:

• Visual Appeal : Use of color, thoughtful layouts, and clear visual hierarchies that make scanning the poster easy.
• Readability : Text should be legible from a reasonable distance, typically using large fonts and concise language.
• Balance : Effective use of space, ensuring the poster is not too cluttered yet informative enough to provide a substantial understanding of the topic.

Someone standing 3–4 feet away should be able to read everything on your poster. Here are some suggested fonts and sizes:

• Sans serif: Lucida Sans, Lucida Grande; Serif:  Palatino, Book Antiqua
• Title: 72 point
• Headings/section titles: 40 point
• Body text: 24 point
• Captions: 18 point
• Limit yourself to 2–3 types of fonts in order to create consistency and unity.

A picture is worth 1,000 words. Poster content should be 60% images, 40% text. Use graphs, charts, tables, and photos to summarize and present data.

• High resolution images (150 dpi or higher) are required for printing high quality posters.
• Color mode for best results is CMYK.
• Insert images directly into PowerPoint. Don’t cut and paste, or copy and paste.
• Copy and paste Excel charts and graphs into PowerPoint.
• To adjust an image and retain proper proportion, hold the shift key on your keyboard, click, and drag the corners to scale. Enlarging images in PowerPoint is not recommended.

Additional Recommendations for Poster Design:

• Present information the way you would normally read—left to right, top to bottom.
• Use columns and line breaks to divide the poster into smaller sections. Use bullets instead of long paragraphs to summarize information.
• Maintain a good contrast between the background color and the text. Consider using a light color background and a dark text. A gradient color fill background, especially black, will print poorly and is not recommended.

Academic posters are a popular method for researchers to share their work with the academic community, allowing for direct interaction and feedback, fostering networking and further discussion.

Using Images on the Poster

When including images in an academic poster, it's crucial to ensure that they enhance the presentation and communicate the research effectively. Here are key considerations to keep in mind when selecting and using images:

Relevance:  Images should be directly related to the content of the poster. Use visuals that illustrate or clarify the research findings, methods, or concepts being discussed. Irrelevant images can distract from the main message and reduce the overall impact of the poster.

Quality:  Images must be of high resolution to avoid pixelation when printed in large formats. Typically, images should have a resolution of at least 150 dpi (dots per inch) at printed size. Low-quality images can make the poster look unprofessional and can undermine the credibility of the research. To ensure you are using high quality images, we recommend that you refrain from copying/pasting images from online sources, which are often of low quality and may be protected by copyright or licensing.

Legibility:  Ensure that any text within images (such as labels on graphs, charts, or diagrams) is legible. Font size in images should be large enough to be read from a distance that attendees will typically view the poster from, usually about 3-6 feet away.

Simplicity: Images should be simple and not overly complex. Avoid cluttering visuals with too much information. Simplified and clear diagrams, charts, and graphs are more effective in conveying information quickly and effectively.

Color Use:  Use color strategically to enhance comprehension and draw attention to key parts of the image. However, maintain a consistent color scheme that aligns with the overall design of the poster. Be mindful of color blindness and avoid combinations that might make the poster difficult to read for color-blind individuals, such as red-green contrasts.

Labeling:  All images should be appropriately labeled with captions or titles that explain what the viewer is looking at. Captions should be concise but informative enough to allow the viewer to understand the image without needing additional explanation.

Source Attribution:  If images are not original (i.e., taken from another source), it's essential to provide proper attribution to avoid plagiarism and respect copyright laws. Make sure to have the right to use the images or obtain necessary permissions, and cite the source according to academic standards.

Layout and Integration:  Images should be well-integrated into the flow of the poster. Their placement should be logical, supporting the narrative of the research. They should guide the viewer through the research story in a logical and sequential manner.

Alignment and Proportion:  Maintain proper alignment and proportion of images in relation to the text and other content on the poster. Consistent margins, alignment, and thoughtful spacing contribute to a clean and professional appearance.

Ethical Considerations:  For research involving sensitive subjects or identifiable human subjects, ensure that any photographs or sensitive information have the necessary ethical approvals and consent for public display.

These considerations help ensure that images contribute effectively to the communication goals of an academic poster, enhancing the viewer's ability to quickly grasp and retain the essential elements of the research.

Poster Size

The dimensions of an academic poster can vary based on the requirements of the conference or event where it is being displayed. However, there are a few commonly used standard sizes. Here are some typical dimensions:

• 36 x 48 inches : This size is particularly common in the United States. It provides ample space for text, images, and graphics.
• 24 x 36 inches : This is a smaller option often used for smaller venues or when the printing capabilities are limited.
• Other poster sizes that we regularly see printed are 36"x44" and 44"x44". We do not provide templates for these sizes, but may be acceptable depending on the specifics of the conference you're attending.
• Conference Guidelines : Always check the specific requirements of the conference or event. Most conferences will specify the dimensions to ensure uniformity and that all posters fit within the provided spaces.
• Content Volume : More detailed research with extensive data might require a larger poster size to accommodate all the information without appearing cluttered.
• Visibility : Larger posters are easier to read from a distance, which can be beneficial in a busy conference setting.

When preparing an academic poster, make sure to know the dimensions in advance before designing it, as resizing a finished poster can affect the layout and readability of your content.

Changing Slide Size in Microsoft PowerPoint

To identify and change the dimensions of a slide in Microsoft PowerPoint, you need to access the "Slide Size" settings, which allow you to customize the size to fit specific display requirements. Here’s how you can do it step-by-step in the latest versions of PowerPoint:

Identifying Current Slide Dimensions

• Open your PowerPoint presentation.
• Go to the “ Design ” tab on the Ribbon at the top of the screen.
• Click on “ Slide Size ” in the Customize group. This will show options such as ‘Standard (4:3)’, ‘Widescreen (16:9)’, and ‘Custom Slide Size’.If you click on "Custom Slide Size," a dialog box titled "Slide Size for" will open, which shows the current dimensions of your slides in either inches, centimeters, or pixels, depending on your settings.

Changing Slide Dimensions

• Follow the first two steps above to reach the Slide Size button.
• Click on Custom Slide Size or Page Setup (if on a Mac) to open the Slide Size dialog box.
• In the dialog box, you’ll see options for width and height. You can manually input the dimensions you want for your slides in the width and height fields. Here, you can select from a list of predefined sizes or enter custom dimensions.
• Choose your preferred slide orientation for the slides (Portrait or Landscape) under the orientation settings in the same dialog box.
• Ensure Fit: Scales down content to make sure it fits the new slide dimensions.
• Maximize : Expands your content to fill the new slide size but may cut off content that doesn’t fit.
• Note: Depending on your version of PowerPoint, it may provide a dialogue box asking if you want to scale up or scale down, depending on whether the slide size is increasing or decreasing.
• Adjust your content if necessary. Changing the slide size can alter the layout of existing content, so you might need to manually adjust text boxes, images, and other elements to ensure that your presentation still looks as intended.

Export Slide to PDF

Exporting your academic poster from PowerPoint to a PDF while maintaining the original slide dimensions is a straightforward process. The process depends on whether you're using Windows, Mac, or the web version of Microsoft Powerpoint. For full instructions, visit the Microsoft Support page and use the tabs to see the instructions for your operating environment. Please note that these instructions lead to different results than the common "Print to PDF" method, which is likely not to keep the correct file dimensions. The "Print to PDF" button is designed for making a PDF presentation printable on a standard (such as 8.5"x11") piece of paper, rather than the large format that's used for academic posters.

Additional Tips Review Your PDF : After exporting, open the PDF to verify that all elements appear as expected and the dimensions are preserved. This check is especially important if the poster contains detailed graphics or specific formatting. Consider PDF Software Settings : If you're using third-party PDF software to view or print your file, ensure that the settings in that software do not alter the scale. For example, printer settings should be set to print at actual size, not fit to page.

Printing Your Poster

You can have your poster printed either at a commercial print shop, or at a WSU printing services office. The Pullman-based Printing and Design Services department offers a full suite of printing services. The Spokane-based Printing Services office offers academic poster printing and a limited suite of lamination and mounting services for print jobs with modest dimensions.

Before submitting a print job, ensure that:

• The dimensions of the file match the dimensions that you want printed. 
• The images are a sufficiently high quality to be printed at a large scale.
• You have identified the source of funding for the poster. Posters can be printed with personal funds, and at WSU print shops can also use a budget or grant code as applicable. 

Online Resources

• Preparing a Poster Presentation | American College of Physicians
• Creating conference posters: Structure, form and content Barker, E., & Phillips, V. (2021). Creating conference posters: Structure, form and content. Journal of perioperative practice, 31(7-8), 296–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750458921996254
• An Illustrated Guide to Poster Design Rose T. M. (2017). An illustrated guide to poster design. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 81(7), 6423. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe8176423

Medical Images

• CDC Public Health Image Library
• MedPix MedPix® is a free open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics, integrating images and textual metadata including over 12,000 patient case scenarios, 9,000 topics, and nearly 59,000 images.
• National Cancer Institute Visuals Online NCI Visuals Online contains images from the collections of the Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Cancer Institute.
• National Eye Institute Media Library All photos and videos on this site belong to the National Eye Institute (NEI). Please credit ©NEI when you use any image or video from the library.
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences | Images and Video Gallery This is a searchable collection of scientific photos, illustrations, and videos.
• National Library of Medicine Digital Collections Digital Collections provides access to the National Library of Medicine's distinctive digital content in the areas of biomedicine, health care, and the history of medicine. Our unique digital collections are freely available for download worldwide and in the public domain unless otherwise indicated.
• OpenI | NIH Open Access Biomedical Image Search Engine
• smart | Servier Medical Art High-quality medical illustrations and images to enhance your educational materials, research publications, and PowerPoint presentations. Servier Medical Art has over 3000 free, up-to-date medical images licensed as CC BY 4.0.
• The Visible Human Project The NLM Visible Human Project has created publicly-available complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of a human male body and a human female body. Specifically, the VHP provides a public-domain library of cross-sectional cryosection, CT, and MRI images obtained from one male cadaver and one female cadaver. The Visible Man data set was publicly released in 1994 and the Visible Woman in 1995.
• Last Updated: Aug 8, 2024 4:12 PM
• URL: https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/posters

Creating a Poster

What exactly is a poster presentation.

A poster presentation combines text and graphics to present your project in a way that is visually interesting and accessible. It allows you to display your work to a large group of other scholars and to talk to and receive feedback from interested viewers.

Poster sessions have been very common in the sciences for some time, and they have recently become more popular as forums for the presentation of research in other disciplines like the social sciences, service learning, the humanities, and the arts.

Poster presentation formats differ from discipline to discipline, but in every case, a poster should clearly articulate what you did, how you did it, why you did it, and what it contributes to your field and the larger field of human knowledge.

What goals should I keep in mind as I construct my poster?

• Clarity of content. You will need to decide on a small number of key points that you want your viewers to take away from your presentation, and you will need to articulate those ideas clearly and concisely.
• Visual interest and accessibility. You want viewers to notice and take interest in your poster so that they will pause to learn more about your project, and you will need the poster’s design to present your research in a way that is easy for those viewers to make sense of it.

Who will be viewing my poster?

The answer to this question depends upon the context in which you will be presenting your poster. If you are presenting at a conference in your field, your audience will likely contain mostly people who will be familiar with the basic concepts you’re working with, field-specific terminology, and the main debates facing your field and informing your research. This type of audience will probably most interested in clear, specific accounts of the what and the how of your project.

If you are presenting in a setting where some audience members may not be as familiar with your area of study, you will need to explain more about the specific debates that are current in your field and to define any technical terms you use. This audience will be less interested in the specific details and more interested in the what and why of your project—that is, your broader motivations for the project and its impact on their own lives.

How do I narrow my project and choose what to put on my poster?

Probably less than you would like! One of the biggest pitfalls of poster presentations is filling your poster with so much text that it overwhelms your viewers and makes it difficult for them to tell which points are the most important. Viewers should be able to skim the poster from several feet away and easily make out the most significant points.

The point of a poster is not to list every detail of your project. Rather, it should explain the value of your research project. To do this effectively, you will need to determine your take-home message. What is the single most important thing you want your audience to understand, believe, accept, or do after they see your poster?

Once you have an idea about what that take-home message is, support it by adding some details about what you did as part of your research, how you did it, why you did it, and what it contributes to your field and the larger field of human knowledge.

What kind of information should I include about what I did?

This is the raw material of your research: your research questions, a succinct statement of your project’s main argument (what you are trying to prove), and the evidence that supports that argument. In the sciences, the what of a project is often divided into its hypothesis and its data or results. In other disciplines, the what is made up of a claim or thesis statement and the evidence used to back it up.

Remember that your viewers won’t be able to process too much detailed evidence; it’s your job to narrow down this evidence so that you’re providing the big picture. Choose a few key pieces of evidence that most clearly illustrate your take-home message. Often a chart, graph, table, photo, or other figure can help you distill this information and communicate it quickly and easily.

What kind of information should I include about how I did it?

Include information about the process you followed as you conducted your project. Viewers will not have time to wade through too many technical details, so only your general approach is needed. Interested viewers can ask you for details.

What kind of information should I include about why I did it?

Give your audience an idea about your motivation for this project. What real-world problems or questions prompted you to undertake this project? What field-specific issues or debates influenced your thinking? What information is essential for your audience to be able to understand your project and its significance? In some disciplines, this information appears in the background or rationale section of a paper.

What kind of information should I include about its contribution ?

Help your audience to see what your project means for you and for them. How do your findings impact scholars in your field and members of the broader intellectual community? In the sciences, this information appears in the discussion section of a paper.

How will the wording of my ideas on my poster be different from my research paper?

In general, you will need to simplify your wording. Long, complex sentences are difficult for viewers to absorb and may cause them to move on to the next poster. Poster verbiage must be concise, precise, and straightforward. And it must avoid jargon. Here is an example:

Wording in a paper: This project sought to establish the ideal specifications for clinically useful wheelchair pressure mapping systems, and to use these specifications to influence the design of an innovative wheelchair pressure mapping system.

Wording on a poster:

Aims of study

• Define the ideal wheelchair pressure mapping system
• Design a new system to meet these specifications

Once I have decided what to include, how do I actually design my poster?

The effectiveness of your poster depends on how quickly and easily your audience can read and interpret it, so it’s best to make your poster visually striking. You only have a few seconds to grab attention as people wander past your poster; make the most of those seconds!

How are posters usually laid out?

In general, people expect information to flow left-to-right and top-to-bottom. Viewers are best able to absorb information from a poster with several columns that progress from left to right.

Even within these columns, however, there are certain places where viewers’ eyes naturally fall first and where they expect to find information.

Imagine your poster with an upside-down triangle centered from the top to the bottom. It is in this general area that people tend to look first and is often used for the title, results, and conclusions. Secondary and supporting information tend to fall to the sides, with the lower right having the more minor information such as acknowledgements (including funding), and personal contact information.

• Main Focus Area Location of research fundamentals: Title, Authors, Institution, Abstract, Results, Conclusion
• Secondary Emphasis Location of important info: Intro, Results or Findings, Summary
• Supporting Area Location of supporting info: Methods, Discussion
• Final Info Area Location of supplemental info: References, Acknowledgments

How much space should I devote to each section?

This will depend on the specifics of your project. In general, remember that how much space you devote to each idea suggests how important that section is. Make sure that you allot the most space to your most important points.

How much white space should I leave on my poster?

White space is helpful to your viewers; it delineates different sections, leads the eye from one point to the next, and keeps the poster from being visually overwhelming. In general, leave 10—30% of your poster as white space.

Should I use graphics?

Absolutely! Visual aids are one of the most effective ways to make your poster visually striking, and they are often a great way to communicate complex information straightforwardly and succinctly. If your project deals with lots of empirical data, your best bet will be a chart, graph, or table summarizing that data and illustrating how that data confirms your hypothesis.

If you don’t have empirical data, you may be able to incorporate photographs, illustrations, annotations, or other items that will pique your viewers’ interest, communicate your motivation, demonstrate why your project is particularly interesting or unique.

Don’t incorporate visual aids just for the sake of having a pretty picture on your poster. The visual aids should contribute to your overall message and convey some piece of information that your viewers wouldn’t otherwise get just from reading your poster’s text.

How can I make my poster easy to read?

There are a number of tricks you can use to aid readability and emphasize crucial ideas. In general:

• Use a large font. Don’t make the text smaller in order to fit more onto the poster. Make sure that 95% of the text on your poster can be read from 4 feet away. If viewers can’t make out the text from a distance, they’re likely to walk away.
• Choose a sans-serif font like Helvetica or Verdana, not a serif font, like Times New Roman. Sans-serif fonts are easier to read because they don’t have extraneous hooks on every letter. Here is an example of a sans-serif and a serif font:
• Once you have chosen a font, be consistent in its usage. Use just one font.
• Don’t single-space your text. Use 1.5- or double-spacing to make the text easier to read.

For main points:

• Use bold, italicized, or colored fonts, or enclose text in boxes. Save this kind of emphasis for only a few key words, phrases, or sentences. Too much emphasized text makes it harder, not easier, to locate important points.
• AVOID USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, WHICH CAN BE HARD TO READ.
• Make your main points easy to find by setting them off with bullets or numbers.

What is my role as the presenter of my poster?

When you are standing in front of your poster, you—and what you choose to say—are as important as the actual poster. Be ready to talk about your project, answer viewers’ questions, provide additional details about your project, and so on.

How should I prepare for my presentation?

Once your poster is finished, you should re-familiarize yourself with the larger project you’re presenting. Remind yourself about those details you ended up having to leave out of the poster, so that you will be able to bring them up in discussions with viewers. Then, practice, practice, practice!

Show your poster to advisors, professors, friends, and classmates before the day of the symposium to get a feel for how viewers might respond. Prepare a four- to five-minute overview of the project, where you walk these pre-viewers through the poster, drawing their attention to the most critical points and filling in interesting details as needed. Make note of the kinds of questions these pre-viewers have, and be ready to answer those questions. You might even consider making a supplemental handout that provides additional information or answers predictable questions.

How long should I let audience members look at the poster before engaging them in discussion?

Don’t feel as if you have to start talking to viewers the minute they stop in front of your poster. Give them a few moments to read and process the information. Once viewers have had time to acquaint themselves with your project, offer to guide them through the poster. Say something like “Hello. Thanks for stopping to view my poster. Would you like a guided tour of my project?” This kind of greeting often works better than simply asking “Do you have any questions?” because after only a few moments, viewers might not have had time to come up with questions, even though they are interested in hearing more about your project.

Should I read from my poster?

No! Make sure you are familiar enough with your poster that you can talk about it without looking at it. Use the poster as a visual aid, pointing to it when you need to draw viewers’ attention to a chart, photograph, or particularly interesting point.

Sample Posters

Click on the links below to open a PDF of each sample poster.

“Quantitative Analysis of Artifacts in Volumetric DSA: The Relative Contributions of Beam Hardening and Scatter to Vessel Dropout Behind Highly Attenuating Structures”  James R. Hermus, Timothy P. Szczykutowicz, Charles M. Strother, and Charles Mistretta

Departments of Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering, and Radiology: University of Wisconsin-Madison

“Self-Care Interventions for the Management of Mouth Sores in Hematology Patients Receiving Chemotherapy” Stephanie L. Dinse and Catherine Cherwin

School of Nursing: University of Wisconsin-Madison

“Enhancing the Fluorescence of Wisconsin Infrared Phytofluor: Wi-Phy for Potential Use in Infrared Imaging”  Jerad J. Simmons and Katrina T. Forest

Department of Bacteriology: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Academic and Professional Writing

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Analysis Papers

Reading Poetry

A Short Guide to Close Reading for Literary Analysis

Using Literary Quotations

Play Reviews

Writing a Rhetorical Précis to Analyze Nonfiction Texts

Incorporating Interview Data

Grant Proposals

Planning and Writing a Grant Proposal: The Basics

Additional Resources for Grants and Proposal Writing

Job Materials and Application Essays

Writing Personal Statements for Ph.D. Programs

• Before you begin: useful tips for writing your essay
• Guided brainstorming exercises
• Get more help with your essay
• Frequently Asked Questions

Resume Writing Tips

CV Writing Tips

Cover Letters

Business Letters

Proposals and Dissertations

Resources for Proposal Writers

Resources for Dissertators

Research Papers

Planning and Writing Research Papers

Quoting and Paraphrasing

Writing Annotated Bibliographies

Creating Poster Presentations

Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper

Thank-You Notes

Advice for Students Writing Thank-You Notes to Donors

Reading for a Review

Critical Reviews

Writing a Review of Literature

Scientific Reports

Scientific Report Format

Sample Lab Assignment

Writing for the Web

Writing an Effective Blog Post

Writing for Social Media: A Guide for Academics

University Libraries

Creating an academic poster.

• Introduction to Academic Posters
• Fundamentals of Effective Poster Design
• Communicating Technical Data
• Review & Refine
• Finalize & Print

The first step to creating an impactful research poster is planning what you are going to include in your poster. This includes essential aspects such as understanding your audience, identifying key points of information, and organizing your content into a logical format. By following these guidelines, you can create a compelling and informative poster that highlights the significance of your research. 

Understand Your Audience 

Understanding your audience is crucial when creating an academic poster. Tailor your content and design to their level of expertise and interests. If your audience is composed of specialists in your field, you can use technical language and detailed data. For a more general audience, simplify your language and focus on the broader implications of your research. Knowing your audience helps you communicate your message more effectively and engage them in meaningful discussions. 

Identify Key Points 

Think about what you would like to convey through your poster. Typically, this can include the central hypothesis or research question, the methodology, key results, and/or the main conclusions. By highlighting these key points, you ensure that your audience grasps the essence of your research quickly and efficiently. 

Organizing the Information 

Once you have identified the key points to include in your poster, you will want to think about how your poster will be organized. You will want to make sure information is logical and clearly stated.  

The following include sections typically included in academic posters. However, make sure to check the poster requirements for specific sections to include.  

Title/Authors/Affiliation  

You will want to create a concise and informative title that captures the essence of your research. In this section you will also want to include all the names of contributors and their institutions or organizations with which the authors are affiliated. 

Introduction  

The introduction sets the stage for your research by providing context and background information. It captures the viewer's interest and explains key concepts that may be unfamiliar to those outside your field. Clearly state your research question or hypothesis and briefly discuss the significance and potential impact of your work. 

Materials & Methods 

Briefly describe the methods and materials used in your research, outlining the experimental or analytical procedures followed. Use figures and flow charts to illustrate the experimental design and include photographs or labeled drawings when appropriate. 

Results  

Present your key findings using clearly labeled graphs, charts, and tables. Be sure to include a brief analysis of the data, highlighting significant trends or patterns. 

Conclusions 

Summarize the main conclusions drawn from your research. You may also want to include the broader implications of your findings for the field and suggest possible directions for future research.  

References 

List all the citations you mention in your poster in the appropriate citation style required by your field or the conference guidelines.  

Acknowledgements 

Consider acknowledge any individuals, organizations, or funding bodies that contributed to your research. 

• << Previous: Introduction to Academic Posters
• Next: Design >>
• Last Updated: Aug 17, 2024 10:54 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.unt.edu/academicposter

Additional Links

UNT: Apply now UNT: Schedule a tour UNT: Get more info about the University of North Texas

UNT: Disclaimer | UNT: AA/EOE/ADA | UNT: Privacy | UNT: Electronic Accessibility | UNT: Required Links | UNT: UNT Home

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Ann Med Surg (Lond)
• v.11; 2016 Nov

How to make an academic poster

Buket gundogan.

a University College London Medical School, London, UK

Kiron Koshy

Langhit kurar.

b Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, UK

Katharine Whitehurst

Academic posters are an excellent way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. They can be used in poster presentations and serve as a summary of your project. In this how to article, we demonstrate how trainees can make and deliver a successful academic poster.

• • Academic posters are an excellent way for trainees to showcase their work at conferences and meetings.
• • When done effectively they provide a succinct and attractive summary of your project.
• • This guide aims to provide trainees with a practical and concise method to prepare their academic poster.

Academic posters, when done effectively, are a succinct and attractive way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. Unlike oral presentations, your audience may not be static so clear design and distilled content are all the more important. Similarly to oral presentations, successful posters can generate discussion amongst the audience members therefore its important to have a clear plan of what to say when stood alongside your poster. In this article, we highlight the important aspects to creating an effective academic poster.

1. Why make an academic poster?

A poster presentation allows you to summarise your project into a concise and aesthetically pleasing format. It is one of the main ways you will present your work when at conferences [1] , [2] . For this reason, you need to make sure your poster is of good quality. This guide will serve to help you with this.

2. How to prepare a poster

There are many computer programs you can use to create your poster. Many use Microsoft Publisher or PowerPoint. It is important that you are comfortable using these programs as you will likely be doing a lot of editing. If you are not familiar with these programs, librarians that are present in most universities will be able and usually willing to help you out.

2.2. Design

It is useful to attend a variety of scientific meetings to collate ideas on how to create an informative and aesthetically pleasing poster. The most important concept for the overall design is not to overly embellish the poster with formatting and pictures, as this may distract from the content. The information should be minimal, as in a slide presentation, stating only key points rather than complete sentences.

The colour system should have effective contrasting backgrounds (e.g. blue and yellow, black and white) to ensure the text is easy to read. The flow of the poster should also be logical and ideally follow a longitudinal algorithm. This should begin with aims and objectives and flow downwards in columns to methods, results, conclusions and finally references. The same format is also adopted when writing scientific abstracts. Once the poster is drafted, it is important to adhere to the instructions provided by the congress you are attempting to submit to. Failure to comply to guidelines may result in your poster not being considered for a poster award, or perhaps even result in expulsion from the meeting altogether.

Prior to submission it is also important ask as many senior colleagues for feedback on your poster as possible. They will be able to provide feedback on the overall readability of the poster, including formatting. Start preparing your poster early – one month is sufficient time to allow for revisions to be made [3] .

3. Information to include in the format – our top tips

3.1. headings.

This should be clear in bold and grab the reader's attention. It is recommended you use a short, sharp heading relevant to your study. Long scientific titles can often bore the reader and distract from the main body of text. The heading should also include the centre at which the study was conducted and the main contributory authors (as per the authorship critera of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)). Logos for the trust you are working at, as well as the conference/congress you are attending can be placed on either side of the title.

• • Title: this needs to have the largest font size of your entire poster to be eye catching. Keep the title as short as possible – it doesn't need to be a paragraph long [1] , [3] .
• • Type of manuscript: whether systematic review, research article or another manuscript type.
• • Authors: include everyone who has contributed [4] .
• • Affiliations: should come directly under authors. This should show which organisations are represented by the authors and/or where the research took place and also contact details.

3.2. Main body

This should follow a logical structure guiding the reader through the poster. The more concise your poster, the better – approximately 100 words per section is ideal [5] , [6] . It is very important that your poster is not wordy. Too much text can be off-putting for the audience. The structure should follow a simple abstract outline.

These are the following sections we recommend as a rough guide, but do check the requirements at your specific conference:

• • Introduction

This should include a short background of the topic to set the context and state the main aims and objectives of your piece of work. What differentiates your work from your competition? Why is your work novel in the field?

• • Methods

The methods section (poster space permitting) should include basic parameters including target sample, setting, duration of study, inclusion/exclusion criteria, statistical techniques, key interventions assessed and primary outcome measures.

• • Results

The results section should include data analysis and stratification and should only include the results which answer the stated hypothesis. Moreover, essential to the results section is the inclusion of pertinent and key graphs, graphics, images and tables. These need to be large enough for the audience members to see and be as attractive and clutter-free as possible.

• • Conclusion

The conclusions must derive directly from the results section and answer solely what has been proposed at the start of the paper. Obvious confounders and limitations should also be acknowledged. Key improvements as well as potential for project expansion should also be considered.

• • References

Only cite key references integral to your study, as references are wordy and space consuming. Use a smaller font to the main body text to reduce this.

3.3. Templates

Your host institution or the conference may require you to use a specific template for the poster. This may include a logo, colour scheme or a certain layout. You should check this before you start designing your poster.

Numerous templates for designing poster exist online and within your local trust library. Computer software may also have inbuilt templates to assist with the design process.

3.4. Tables and figures

It is a good idea to include graphs/images/tables as this will make your poster look more aesthetically pleasing [1] , [6] , [7] . They can also provide more information without crowding the poster with text. Make them colourful, though avoid colours that clash with the text colour [8] . Tables and figures can add new information or graphically present what has already been said in the poster. The arrangement of figures and tables varies and there is no universal rule, however figures interspersed within text is popular and looks attractive. Furthermore, ensure that the figures and images chosen are of a good resolution to avoid blurring when printed and presented.

3.5. Font size

The conference may specify this, however, generally for the main body, size 24 is used for text and size 32 for titles. The introduction section at the top of the poster should have a larger font than this [2] .

3.6. Colour

It is a good idea to stick to one or two colours for main text; anymore and your poster may look too busy. It is also important to check colours in advance at the place you wish to print your poster, as certain colours may come out in a different way to that expected [9] .

3.7. Printing

Make sure to factor in the time (and cost) of printing the poster if this is required. Some companies will print the same day, while others may take longer. Check with your host institution/conference if they use a specific company, as they may be able to provide a discount.

3.8. Electronic posters

A growing number of conferences are using electronic posters (e-posters), which are screens that display an electronic copy of your poster, rather than a paper version. These can either be static images which are laid out similarly to a paper poster, or they can be slide shows of your work, which are displayed like a PowerPoint presentation which then go on rotation at the conference. They may also include videos and animations, so bear this in mind when you are selecting content for your poster [7] , [8] .

4. On the day

Poster presentations are generally more relaxed than oral presentations. You will need to arrive on time to put your poster up – bring extra pins or Velcro tabs as these aren't always in supply. Many presenters also place a plastic pocket to the bottom or side of their poster on the day which provides a small version of their poster for readers to take away – this can be useful.

Delegates of the conference will usually be able to look at the posters throughout the day or during tea/lunch breaks. However, there will usually be a set time when judges will inspect the posters. During this time, you will need to stay with your poster, perhaps present it and answer the questions which the judges or audience members will have.

4.1. Presentation

While presenting, the intention is to guide the reader through your poster which if organised in a logical order, should not be read off but simply used to illustrate your point. What you say can then be substantiated by pictures which you can refer to for emphasis. Do keep your presentation succinct and highlight the salient points of your study. Moreover, its good practice to provide some background to your work at the start – it may sound obvious, but the audience may not necessarily know why this work is important and it is up to you to set the scene on the relevance of the project.

It's a good idea to refresh your memory on your project and be familiar with it before the presentation as the audience will likely have questions and there are often prizes for the best posters. Examples of common questions to prepare for include: how your work may be relevant to current clinical practice, how can it be developed further and what the limitations of your study were.

Attire is also often overlooked. You must maintain a professional appearance throughout and this can often add hidden points to your poster score under presentation. Be friendly and approachable and if there are any questions left unanswered, acknowledge this and offer to develop your study further.

• • Academic posters are a good way to showcase your work.
• • Preparing posters in advance is vital.
• • Stick to a clear format which is easy to read from 1 m away.
• • Practice your presentation in advance and think about questions you may be asked after your presentation.

Sources of funding

No funding received.

Author contribution

BG, KK, LK, KW contributed to writing the paper.

Conflicts of interest

Buket Gundogan.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Scientific Posters

Characteristics of a scientific poster.

• Organized, clean, simple design.  
• Focused on one specific research topic that can be explained in 5-15 minutes.
• Contains a Title, Authors, Abstract, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion, References and Acknowledgements.
• Has four to ten high-resolution figures and/or tables that describe the research in detail.
• Contains minimal text, with figures and tables being the main focus.

Scientific Poster

A scientific poster ( Fig.1 ) is an illustrated summary of research that scientists and engineers use to present their scientific discoveries to larger audiences.   A typical poster is printed on paper with dimensions of 36-inches (height) by 48-inches (width).    

Figure 1. Scientific Poster

Posters are displayed at events such as symposiums, conferences and meetings to show new discoveries, new results and new information to scientists and engineers from different fields.   A large event can have hundreds of posters on display at one time with scientists and engineers standing beside their individual posters to showcase their research. A typical interaction between a poster presenter and an audience member will last 5-15 minutes.

Scientific posters are organized systematically into the following parts (or sections): Title, Authors, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments and References ( Table 1 and Fig. 2 ).   Organizing a poster in this manner allows the reader to quickly comprehend the major points of the research and to understand the significance of the work.  

Table 1. Characteristics of a Scientific Poster

The most important parts of a scientific poster will likely be its figures and/or tables because these are what an audience will naturally focus their attention on.   The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is certainly true for scientific posters, and so it is very important for the poster’s author(s) to create informative figures that a reader can understand.   The “ideal” figure can be challenging to create.   Providing too much information in a figure will only serve to confuse the reader (or audience).   Provide too little information and the reader will be left with an incomplete understanding of the research.   Both situations should be avoided because they prevent a scientist from effectively communicating with their audience.  

Authors use different sizes of font for their poster text ( Table 2 ).   The general rule is to use a font size that can be read from a distance of 3-feet (1 meter), which is the approximate distance that a person will stand when viewing a poster.   The largest fonts (e.g., 40-120 point font) will be used for the title, author list and institutions.   Section headings will use 30-40 point font.   Section text, table captions, figure captions and references will typically use 20-30 point font.   Font sizes smaller than about 20-points can be difficult for an audience to read and should only be used for the References and Acknowledgements sections ( Table 2 ).  

Table 2. Poster Font Size and Style

A poster abstract contains all text (no figures, no tables) and appears at the beginning of the poster ( Fig. 2 ).   An abstract is one paragraph containing 200-300 words in length.   The Introduction section ( Fig. 2 ) appears after the abstract and typically contains 100-200 words of text, a figure(s) and/or table(s) and a caption for each figure and table consisting of 25-100 words for each caption.   The Material and Methods sections ( Fig. 2 ) appears third and consists of 100-200 words of text, a figure(s) and/or table(s) and a caption for each figure and table consisting of 25-100 words for each caption.   This is followed by the Results section and Discussion section ( Fig. 2 ).   Each of these sections contain 100-200 words of text, a figure(s) and/or table(s) and a caption for each figure and table consisting of 25-100 words for each caption. Sometimes these two parts of a poster are combined into one large section titled Results and Discussion.   Some posters contain a Conclusion section, which follows the Discussion section. The example shown is Figure 2 does not contain a Conclusion section.   The final parts of a poster are the References and Acknowledgements sections ( Fig. 2 ).  

Figure 2. Parts of a Scientific Poster

An audience will focus most of their attention on the poster title, abstract, figures and tables.   Therefore, it is important to pay particular attention to these parts of a poster.   A general rule is that less text is best and a figure is worth a thousand words.   The text contained within a poster should be reserved for the most important information that a presenter wants to convey to their audience.   The rest of the information will be communicated to the audience verbally by the scientist during their presentation.  

Its very important for a scientist to thoroughly understand all the data and information contained within their poster so that they can effectively communicate the research to an audience both verbally (i.e., during their presentation) and visually (i.e., using the figures and tables contained within the poster).   It is also important that the References section of a poster contains a thorough summary of all publications pertinent to the research presented in the poster.   This way, if an audience member wants more information on a particular topic (e.g., instrument, technique, method, study site) the presenter can direct the audience to the publication(s) where more information can be found.              

Scientific Posters: A Learner's Guide Copyright © 2020 by Ella Weaver; Kylienne A. Shaul; Henry Griffy; and Brian H. Lower is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Subject guides

Dissertation survival guide: posters and presentations.

• Choosing a topic
• Literature searching
• Evaluating your sources
• Methodology & Data Analysis
• Referencing

Posters and presentations

On some courses, you may be asked to create a poster or presentation to present part of your dissertation or project.

Use the resources below to help you put together a high-quality poster, and present in a confident and professional way.

Always check your Brightspace module, and assignment brief, for any specific guidance you need to follow on the layout and format of your poster or presentation.

Presentations

Nervous about giving a presentation? Use the links below to help you practice and deliver in a confident, professional way.

• PowerPoint Presenter Coach In Office365 (available to all Huddersfield students), PowerPoint has a built-in "presenter coach" feature. Use this to practice your presentation, and get real-time feedback on the speed and clarity of your speech.
• Record your presentation If you need to record a version of your presentation to upload online, use these instructions for recording voiceover to PowerPoint.
• Presenting in Teams If you need to give an online presentation using Microsoft Teams, here are some instructions on sharing your PowerPoint in a Teams meeting.
• Develop your presentation skills Use these LinkedIn Learning online courses to develop your presentation skills.

Some courses may require you to produce a poster showing part of your research findings. Or, you may wish to present your work at an academic conference. See the links below for advice on presenting your work with a poster.

• How to create a research poster Simple step-by-step guide from New York University.
• How to design an award-winning poster More detailed advice on taking your poster design to the next level, from London School of Economics.
• How to create a better research poster in less time YouTube video with advice on making an eye-catching poster that can be easily read from a distance.
• << Previous: Referencing
• Last Updated: Aug 28, 2024 11:24 AM
• URL: https://hud.libguides.com/dissertation
• Library Services
• email: [email protected]
• tel: 01484 473888
• University of Huddersfield
• Brightspace
• I.T. Support

Creating Effective Posters

• Poster Design
• Creating Posters
• Elements of a Research Poster
• Poster Templates
• Citation Styles
• Presenting Your Poster
• Poster Examples

What is a Research Poster?

"A large-format poster is a document that can communicate your research at a conference, and is composed of a:

• introduction to your research question
• an overview of your methods/novel approach
• your results
• an insightful discussion of your conclusion
• previously published articles that are important to your research  
• an acknowledgement of the assistance and support you received from others"

 Credit: Colin Purrinton ,  Swarthmore College

The Periodic Table of Poster Elements

Example layout of a poster

I: Introduction and Research Question

Your introduction sets the stage for the project and serves to give the reader an overview! It should peak their interest.  Best practices include:

• Put your topic within context of published literature
• Provide a description and justification of your experimental approach
• Hint at why your subject is ideal for such research
• Give a clear hypothesis
• Minimize the background information and definitions - include just what is relevant!
• Don't repeat your abstract

Approximate word count:  200 words  

Font size for your introduction:   

Headings: about 44 pt

Main text:  about 32 pt

II: Methods

Here, describe your experimental equipment and the research methods you used.  In addition to the text, you might want to add:

• Figures or tables to help describe the design
• Flow charts to describe the experimental procedures
• Pictures or labeled drawings of the organism or the equipment used

Approximate word count: 200 words

Font size for your methods or research question section:  

Captions for your figures:  about 28 pt

III: Results and Findings

This section analyzes your data and explains if your experiment worked out, or if you were not doing an experiment, what your research findings were. Things to include are:

• Data analysis
• Supporting charts, figures, images, or tables
• Supporting information for your argument
• Legends or pictures that can stand on their own and help the viewer with an understanding

Approximate word count: 200 words.

Font size:  

Captions:  about 28 pt

V: Conclusions and Future Research

This is where you will sum up your poster and remind readers of your hypothesis and the results of your research. A few things to include:

• Focus on the take home message
• Was your hypothesis supported? 
• Why the results are conclusive & interesting
• Relevance of your findings to other published work

Approximate word count: 300 words 

VI: Acknowledgments and References

This is the part where you will credit those who helped you produce this research. Key things to include are:

• Those who funded your research
• Sources that you used during your research
• Credit for those who provided supervision and mentorship
• Credit for any figures used in your poster
• Links to a full report, if necessary 

The text on this section will vary with the number of credits necessary, but will generally stay under 100 words. 

Your poster can be customized to what your research looks like! Not all posters have each section - it depends upon what you are communicating. Some posters will have more or less text, some will have more figures and photographs than others, some will have sections detailing specific parts of their research not included in this template. 

Remember - people will be viewing your poster from multiple feet away! Include only the most important points about your research. 

Credit: University of California, San Diego Libraries. 

Poster Creating Tips

How to make a better academic poster

• << Previous: Creating Posters
• Next: Poster Templates >>
• Last Updated: May 13, 2024 2:47 PM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.cwu.edu/creatingposters

• Locations and Hours
• UCLA Library
• Research Guides
• Research Tips and Tools

Poster Presentations

• Size, Layout, and Text

Elements of a Poster

Change size in powerpoint, using the ruler, grid, and guides in powerpoint, more powerpoint training, template resources, font choice, text alignment.

• Colors and Images

Your poster should include these elements:

• Author(s), with affiliations and emails

If your poster is a representation of a research study, you will want to include the following sections:

• Introduction or objective
• Conclusions and/or discussion
• Acknowledgements

If your poster is a representation of an event or other kind of project, you may want to forego formal abstract sections in favor of the 5 Ws:

• Who (introduce the author, organization, or community)
• What (what did you do? how did you do it?)
• Where (where did you do it?)
• When (when did it take place?)
• Why (what are the outcomes, implications, or future possibilities?)

To change the size in Powerpoint:

• Go to the Design tab and choose "Slide Size" (it's on the right size of the ribbon)
• Choose "Custom Slide Size"
• Change "Slides sized for:" to "Custom"
• Fill in your desired width and height. 

Click the View tab to see checkboxes that will allow you to turn on the Ruler, Grid, and Guides (click the image below to see a screenshot).

Ruler : Allows you to see the dimensions of your slide. You'll see a vertical and horizontal ruler.

Grid : By default, the gridlines are 1 inch apart. Right click in white space of your poster to get more options for spacing. This enables precise alignment.

Guides : By default, you'll get one horizontal and one vertical guide placed in the center of your poster. Right click on a guide to add more guidelines, or to delete one. You can use Guides to invisibly define columns of your poster, margins, and more. This gives you manual control, alternatively, you can use Smart Guides (see below).

Smart Guides : Powerpoint has a built-in system for showing you alignment as you move objects around. The video below demonstrates what Smart Guides look like.

Once you've got your slide layout set, you'll want to start creating Shapes and Text Boxes. Here are some tips and tricks for working with objects:

• Use Ctrl+D to duplicate any object.
• Then you can format them all at once, identically!
• You can also group them, for easier movement and alignment (right click to see the Group option).

Most posters are landscape (horizontal) orientation. The title/author(s) will be across the top, with 3–4 columns below that contain the rest of the poster elements. Make sure you leave plenty of white space in your design—a poster crammed full of text and images is very difficult to read.

Here is an example of a 2 column poster layout using the 5 Ws for headings (who, what, where, when, and why):

Use the links below to download this template and other similar templates in two sizes: 24x36 and 36x48. These templates include a variety of placeholder elements for photos and figures.

• 2 column Powerpoint template, size 24x36
• 3 column Powerpoint template, size 24x36
• 3 column Powerpoint template, size 36x48
• 4 column Powerpoint template, size 36x48

Below are some additional web resources where you can search for templates. Keep in mind that you may need adjust the size of a template for your own poster. Alternatively, you can use the resources on this page to design your own layout in Powerpoint.

• David Geffen School of Medicine poster templates Although this is labeled for the sciences, the information can be used in many disciplines.
• Penn State poster template
• PhD Posters
• MakeSigns.com poster templates
• The body of your poster should have a minimum 24 point font . Viewers should be able to read your smallest text from a few feet away.
• The title of your poster should have a 50+ font size, depending on the size of your poster and the length of the title.
• Do not use all uppercase letters for the title or body of the poster.
• Avoid using more than 2 or 3 different fonts in one poster.
• Stick with basic fonts like Times New Roman or Georgia for serif, or Arial or Helvetica for sans-serif. Avoid elaborate, difficult-to-read, or cartoon-like fonts.

• In general, left-align your text boxes (with the possible exception of your title and any image captions). Avoid centering the text on your whole poster.
• << Previous: Home
• Next: Colors and Images >>
• Last Updated: Nov 9, 2023 2:31 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucla.edu/posters

How to Create a Research Poster

• Poster Basics
• Design Tips
• Logos & Images

Poster Design Guides and Tips

• Academic Posters Edinburgh Napier University student success how-to guide for academic posters.
• Designing Conference Posters Colin Purrington, a PhD and former professor, breaks down how to design conference posters and a list of do's and don'ts.
• Creating an Effective Scientific Poster (PDF) University of Guelph, Integrative Biology Undergraduate Curriculum Committee 2011/2012. Covers preparation, design principles, software guide, and a checklist for assessing your poster.
• Poster Presentations: Designing Effective Posters University at Buffalo research guide by Fred Stoss, Biological Sciences Librarian.

Free PowerPoint Templates

• Genigraphics
• MakeSigns.com
• Poster Presentations
• << Previous: Poster Basics
• Next: Logos & Images >>
• Last Updated: Jul 9, 2024 5:34 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/posters

Reference management. Clean and simple.

The key parts of a scientific poster

Why make a scientific poster?

Type of poster formats, sections of a scientific poster, before you start: tips for making a scientific poster, the 6 technical elements of a scientific poster, 3. typography, 5. images and illustrations, how to seek feedback on your poster, how to present your poster, tips for the day of your poster presentation, in conclusion, other sources to help you with your scientific poster presentation, frequently asked questions about scientific posters, related articles.

A poster presentation provides the opportunity to show off your research to a broad audience and connect with other researchers in your field.

For junior researchers, presenting a poster is often the first type of scientific presentation they give in their careers.

The discussions you have with other researchers during your poster presentation may inspire new research ideas, or even lead to new collaborations.

Consequently, a poster presentation can be just as professionally enriching as giving an oral presentation , if you prepare for it properly.

In this guide post, you will learn:

• The goal of a scientific poster presentation
• The 6 key elements of a scientific poster
• How to make a scientific poster
• How to prepare for a scientific poster presentation
• ‘What to do on the day of the poster session.

Our advice comes from our previous experiences as scientists presenting posters at conferences.

Posters can be a powerful way for showcasing your data in scientific meetings. You can get helpful feedback from other researchers as well as expand your professional network and attract fruitful interactions with peers.

Scientific poster sessions tend to be more relaxed than oral presentation sessions, as they provide the opportunity to meet with peers in a less formal setting and to have energizing conversations about your research with a wide cross-section of researchers.

• Physical posters: A poster that is located in an exhibit hall and pinned to a poster board. Physical posters are beneficial since they may be visually available for the duration of a meeting, unlike oral presentations.
• E-posters: A poster that is shown on a screen rather than printed and pinned on a poster board. E-posters can have static or dynamic content. Static e-posters are slideshow presentations consisting of one or more slides, whereas dynamic e-posters include videos or animations.

Some events allow for a combination of both formats.

The sections included in a scientific poster tend to follow the format of a scientific paper , although other designs are possible. For example, the concept of a #betterposter was invented by PhD student Mike Morrison to address the issue of poorly designed scientific posters. It puts the take-home message at the center of the poster and includes a QR code on the poster to learn about further details of the project.

• Anticipate who your audience during the poster session will be—this will depend on the type of meeting. For example, presenting during a poster session at a large conference may attract a broad audience of generalists and specialists at a variety of career stages. You would like for your poster to appeal to all of these groups. You can achieve this by making the main message accessible through eye-catching figures, concise text, and an interesting title.
• Your goal in a poster session is to get your research noticed and to have interesting conversations with attendees. Your poster is a visual aid for the talks you will give, so having a well-organized, clear, and informative poster will help achieve your aim.
• Plan the narrative of your poster. Start by deciding the key take-home message of your presentation, and create a storyboard prioritizing the key findings that indicate the main message. Your storyboard can be a simple sketch of the poster layout, or you can use digital tools to make it. Present your results in a logical order, with the most important result in the center of the poster.
• Give yourself enough time to create a draft of your poster, and to get feedback on it. Since waiting to receive feedback, revising your poster, and sending the final version to the printers may take a few days, it is sensible to give yourself at least 1-2 weeks to make your poster.
• Check if the meeting has specific poster formatting requirements, and if your institution has a poster template with logos and color schemes that you can use. Poster templates can also be found online and can be adapted for use.
• Know where you will get your poster printed, and how long it typically takes to receive the printed poster.
• Ensure you write a specific and informative poster abstract, because specialists in your field may decide to visit your poster based on its quality. This is especially true in large meetings where viewers will choose what posters to visit before the poster session begins because it isn’t possible to read every poster.

➡️ Learn more about how to write an abstract

The technical elements of a scientific poster are:

• Images and Illustrations

Don’t be tempted to cram your entire paper into your poster—details that you omit can be brought up during conversations with viewers. Only include information that is useful for supporting your take-home message. Place your core message in the center of your poster, using either text or visual elements. Avoid jargon, and use concise text elements (no more than 10 lines and 50 words long). Present your data in graphs rather than in tabular form, as it can be difficult for visitors to extract the most important information from tables. Use bullet points and numbered lists to make text content easy to read. Your poster shouldn’t have more than 800 words.

Poster sections should have a logical visual flow, ideally in a longitudinal fashion. For example, in an article on poster presentations published in Nature , scientific illustrator Jamie Simon recommends using the law of thirds to display your research—a 3-column layout with 3 blocks per column. Headings, columns, graphs, and diagrams should be aligned and distributed with enough spacing and balance. The text should be left-aligned while maintaining an appropriate amount of "white space' i.e., areas devoid of any design elements.

To ensure the title is visible from 5 meters away, use a sans serif 85pt font. The body text should use a minimum of 24pt serif font so that it can be read from a one-meter distance. Section headings and subheadings should be in bold. Avoid underlining text and using all capitals in words; instead, a mixture of boldface and italics should be used for emphasis. Use adequate line spacing and one-inch margins to give a clean, uncluttered look.

Appropriate use of color can help readers make comparisons and contrasts in your figures. Account for the needs of color-blind viewers by not using red and green together, and using symbols and dashed lines in your figures. Use a white background for your poster, and black text.

Include no more than 4 figures, with a prominent centerpiece figure in the middle of the poster of your study system or main finding. Dimensions for illustrations, diagrams, and figures should be consistent. When inserting charts, avoid gray backgrounds and grid lines to prevent ink consumption and an unaesthetic look. Graphics used must have proper labels, legible axes, and be adequately sized. Images with a 200 dpi or higher resolution are preferred. If you obtain an image from the internet, make sure it has a high enough resolution and is available in the public domain.

Tools for poster design include Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Illustrator, In Design, Scribus, Canva, Impress, Google Slides, and LaTeX. When starting with the design, the page size should be identical to the final print size. Stick to one design tool to avoid formatting errors.

Have at least one proofreading and feedback round before you print your final poster by following these steps:

• Share your poster draft with your advisor, peers, and ideally, at least one person outside of your field to get feedback.
• Allow time to revise your poster and implement the comments you’ve received.
• Before printing, proofread your final draft. You can use a spelling and grammar-checking tool, or print out a small version of the poster to help locate typos and redundant text.

Before giving a poster presentation, you need to be ready to discuss your research.

• For large meetings where viewers of your poster have a range of specialties, prepare 2-3 levels for your speech, starting with a one-minute talk consisting of key background information and take-home messages. Prepare separate short talks for casual viewers with varying levels of interest in your topic, ranging from "very little" to "some".
• Prepare a 3-5 minute presentation explaining the methods and results for those in your audience with an advanced background.
• Anticipate possible questions that could arise during your presentation and prepare answers for them.
• Practice your speech. You can ask friends, family, or fellow lab members to listen to your practice sessions and provide feedback.

Here we provide a checklist for your presentation day:

• Arrive early—often exhibition halls are large and it can take some time to find the allocated spot for your poster. Bring tape and extra pins to put up your poster properly.
• Wear professional attire and comfortable shoes.
• Be enthusiastic. Start the conversation by introducing yourself and requesting the attendee’s name and field of interest, and offering to explain your poster briefly. Maintain eye contact with attendees visiting your poster while pointing to relevant figures and charts.
• Ask visitors what they know about your topic so that you can tailor your presentation accordingly.
• Some attendees prefer to read through your poster first and then ask you questions. You can still offer to give a brief explanation of your poster and then follow up by answering their questions.
• When you meet with visitors to your poster, you are having a conversation, so you can also ask them questions. If you are not sure they understand what you are saying, ask if your explanation makes sense to them, and clarify points where needed.
• Be professional. Stand at your poster for the duration of the session, and prioritize being available to meet with visitors to your poster over socializing with friends or lab mates. Pay due attention to all visitors at once by acknowledging visitors waiting to speak with you.

A scientific poster is an excellent method to present your work and network with peers. Preparation is essential before your poster session, which includes planning your layout, drafting your poster, practicing your speech, and preparing answers to anticipated questions. The effort invested in preparing your poster will be returned by stimulating conversations during the poster session and greater awareness of your work in your scientific community.

➡️ How to prepare a scientific poster

➡️ Conference presentations: Lead the poster parade

➡️ Designing conference posters

A scientific poster can be used to network with colleagues, get feedback on your research and get recognition as a researcher.

A scientific poster should include a main heading, introduction, methods, results, conclusion, and references.

An e-poster is a poster fashioned as a slideshow presentation that plays on a digital screen, with each slide carrying a sliver of information.

A handful of tools can be used to design a poster including Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher, Illustrator, In Design, Photoshop, Impress, and LaTeX.

Start the conversation by introducing yourself and requesting the attendees' names, affiliations, and fields of interest, and offering to explain your poster briefly. Alternatively, you can give attendees ample time to read through your poster first and then offer to explain your poster in 10 seconds followed by questions and answers.

Home Blog Design How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How are research posters like High School science fair projects? Quite similar, in fact.

Both are visual representations of a research project shared with peers, colleagues and academic faculty. But there’s a big difference: it’s all in professionalism and attention to detail. You can be sure that the students that thrived in science fairs are now creating fantastic research posters, but what is that extra element most people miss when designing a poster presentation?

This guide will teach tips and tricks for creating poster presentations for conferences, symposia, and more. Learn in-depth poster structure and design techniques to help create academic posters that have a lasting impact.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• What is a Research Poster?

Why are Poster Presentations important?

Overall dimensions and orientation, separation into columns and sections, scientific, academic, or something else, a handout with supplemental and contact information, cohesiveness, design and readability, storytelling.

• Font Characteristics
• Color Pairing
• Data Visualization Dimensions
• Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Scientific/Academic Conference Poster Presentation

Digital research poster presentations, slidemodel poster presentation templates, how to make a research poster presentation step-by-step, considerations for printing poster presentations, how to present a research poster presentation, final words, what is a research poster .

Research posters are visual overviews of the most relevant information extracted from a research paper or analysis.   They are essential communication formats for sharing findings with peers and interested people in the field. Research posters can also effectively present material for other areas besides the sciences and STEM—for example, business and law.

You’ll be creating research posters regularly as an academic researcher, scientist, or grad student. You’ll have to present them at numerous functions and events. For example:

• Conference presentations
• Informational events
• Community centers

The research poster presentation is a comprehensive way to share data, information, and research results. Before the pandemic, the majority of research events were in person. During lockdown and beyond, virtual conferences and summits became the norm. Many researchers now create poster presentations that work in printed and digital formats.

Let’s look at why it’s crucial to spend time creating poster presentations for your research projects, research, analysis, and study papers.

Research posters represent you and your sponsor’s research 

Research papers and accompanying poster presentations are potent tools for representation and communication in your field of study. Well-performing poster presentations help scientists, researchers, and analysts grow their careers through grants and sponsorships.

When presenting a poster presentation for a sponsored research project, you’re representing the company that sponsored you. Your professionalism, demeanor, and capacity for creating impactful poster presentations call attention to other interested sponsors, spreading your impact in the field.

Research posters demonstrate expertise and growth

Presenting research posters at conferences, summits, and graduate grading events shows your expertise and knowledge in your field of study. The way your poster presentation looks and delivers, plus your performance while presenting the work, is judged by your viewers regardless of whether it’s an officially judged panel.

Recurring visitors to research conferences and symposia will see you and your poster presentations evolve. Improve your impact by creating a great poster presentation every time by paying attention to detail in the poster design and in your oral presentation. Practice your public speaking skills alongside the design techniques for even more impact.

Poster presentations create and maintain collaborations

Every time you participate in a research poster conference, you create meaningful connections with people in your field, industry or community. Not only do research posters showcase information about current data in different areas, but they also bring people together with similar interests. Countless collaboration projects between different research teams started after discussing poster details during coffee breaks.

An effective research poster template deepens your peer’s understanding of a topic by highlighting research, data, and conclusions. This information can help other researchers and analysts with their work. As a research poster presenter, you’re given the opportunity for both teaching and learning while sharing ideas with peers and colleagues.

Anatomy of a Winning Poster Presentation

Do you want your research poster to perform well?  Following the standard layout and adding a few personal touches will help attendees know how to read your poster and get the most out of your information. 

The overall size of your research poster ultimately depends on the dimensions of the provided space at the conference or research poster gallery. The poster orientation can be horizontal or vertical, with horizontal being the most common.  In general, research posters measure 48 x 36 inches or are an A0 paper size.

A virtual poster can be the same proportions as the printed research poster, but you have more leeway regarding the dimensions. Virtual research posters should fit on a screen with no need to scroll, with 1080p resolution as a standard these days. A horizontal presentation size is ideal for that.

A research poster presentation has a standard layout of 2–5 columns with 2–3 sections each. Typical structures say to separate the content into four sections; 1. A horizontal header 2. Introduction column, 3. Research/Work/Data column, and 4. Conclusion column. Each unit includes topics that relate to your poster’s objective.  Here’s a generalized outline for a poster presentation:

• Condensed Abstract 
• Objectives/Purpose
• Methodology
• Recommendations
• Implications
• Acknowledgments
• Contact Information 

The overview content you include in the units depends on your poster presentations’ theme, topic, industry, or field of research. A scientific or academic poster will include sections like hypothesis, methodology, and materials. A marketing analysis poster will include performance metrics and competitor analysis results.

There’s no way a poster can hold all the information included in your research paper or analysis report. The poster is an overview that invites the audience to want to find out more. That’s where supplement material comes in. Create a printed PDF handout or card with a QR code (created using a QR code generator ). Send the audience to the best online location for reading or downloading the complete paper.

What Makes a Poster Presentation Good and Effective? 

For your poster presentation to be effective and well-received, it needs to cover all the bases and be inviting to find out more. Stick to the standard layout suggestions and give it a unique look and feel. We’ve put together some of the most critical research poster-creation tips in the list below. Your poster presentation will perform as long as you check all the boxes.

The information you choose to include in the sections of your poster presentation needs to be cohesive. Train your editing eye and do a few revisions before presenting. The best way to look at it is to think of The Big Picture. Don’t get stuck on the details; your attendees won’t always know the background behind your research topic or why it’s important.

Be cohesive in how you word the titles, the length of the sections, the highlighting of the most important data, and how your oral presentation complements the printed—or virtual—poster.

The most important characteristic of your poster presentation is its readability and clarity. You need a poster presentation with a balanced design that’s easy to read at a distance of 1.5 meters or 4 feet. The font size and spacing must be clear and neat. All the content must suggest a visual flow for the viewer to follow.

That said, you don’t need to be a designer to add something special to your poster presentation. Once you have the standard—and recognized—columns and sections, add your special touch. These can be anything from colorful boxes for the section titles to an interesting but subtle background, images that catch the eye, and charts that inspire a more extended look. 

Storytelling is a presenting technique involving writing techniques to make information flow. Firstly, storytelling helps give your poster presentation a great introduction and an impactful conclusion. 

Think of storytelling as the invitation to listen or read more, as the glue that connects sections, making them flow from one to another. Storytelling is using stories in the oral presentation, for example, what your lab partner said when you discovered something interesting. If it makes your audience smile and nod, you’ve hit the mark. Storytelling is like giving a research presentation a dose of your personality, and it can help turning your data into opening stories .

Design Tips For Creating an Effective Research Poster Presentation

The section above briefly mentioned how important design is to your poster presentation’s effectiveness. We’ll look deeper into what you need to know when designing a poster presentation.

1. Font Characteristics

The typeface and size you choose are of great importance. Not only does the text need to be readable from two meters away, but it also needs to look and sit well on the poster. Stay away from calligraphic script typefaces, novelty typefaces, or typefaces with uniquely shaped letters.

Stick to the classics like a sans serif Helvetica, Lato, Open Sans, or Verdana. Avoid serif typefaces as they can be difficult to read from far away. Here are some standard text sizes to have on hand.

• Title: 85 pt
• Authors: 65 pt
• Headings: 36 pt
• Body Text: 24 pt
• Captions: 18 pt

If you feel too prone to use serif typefaces, work with a font pairing tool that helps you find a suitable solution – and intend those serif fonts for heading sections only. As a rule, never use more than 3 different typefaces in your design. To make it more dynamic, you can work with the same font using light, bold, and italic weights to put emphasis on the required areas.

2. Color Pairing

Using colors in your poster presentation design is a great way to grab the viewer’s attention. A color’s purpose is to help the viewer follow the data flow in your presentation, not distract. Don’t let the color take more importance than the information on your poster.

Choose one main color for the title and headlines and a similar color for the data visualizations. If you want to use more than one color, don’t create too much contrast between them. Try different tonalities of the same color and keep things balanced visually. Your color palette should have at most one main color and two accent colors.

Black text over a white background is standard practice for printed poster presentations, but for virtual presentations, try a very light gray instead of white and a very dark gray instead of black. Additionally, use variations of light color backgrounds and dark color text. Make sure it’s easy to read from two meters away or on a screen, depending on the context. We recommend ditching full white or full black tone usage as it hurts eyesight in the long term due to its intense contrast difference with the light ambiance.

3. Data Visualization Dimensions

Just like the text, your charts, graphs, and data visualizations must be easy to read and understand. Generally, if a person is interested in your research and has already read some of the text from two meters away, they’ll come closer to look at the charts and graphs. 

Fit data visualizations inside columns or let them span over two columns. Remove any unnecessary borders, lines, or labels to make them easier to read at a glance. Use a flat design without shadows or 3D characteristics. The text in legends and captions should stay within the chart size and not overflow into the margins. Use a unified text size of 18px for all your data visualizations.

4. Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Finally, the last design tip for creating an impressive and memorable poster presentation is to be mindful of the layout’s alignment, margins, and white space. Create text boxes to help keep everything aligned. They allow you to resize, adapt, and align the content along a margin or grid.

Take advantage of the white space created by borders and margins between sections. Don’t crowd them with a busy background or unattractive color.

Calculate margins considering a print format. It is a good practice in case the poster presentation ends up becoming in physical format, as you won’t need to downscale your entire design (affecting text readability in the process) to preserve information.

There are different tools that you can use to make a poster presentation. Presenters who are familiar with Microsoft Office prefer to use PowerPoint. You can learn how to make a poster in PowerPoint here.

Poster Presentation Examples

Before you start creating a poster presentation, look at some examples of real research posters. Get inspired and get creative.

Research poster presentations printed and mounted on a board look like the one in the image below. The presenter stands to the side, ready to share the information with visitors as they walk up to the panels.

With more and more conferences staying virtual or hybrid, the digital poster presentation is here to stay. Take a look at examples from a poster session at the OHSU School of Medicine .

Use SlideModel templates to help you create a winning poster presentation with PowerPoint and Google Slides. These poster PPT templates will get you off on the right foot. Mix and match tables and data visualizations from other poster slide templates to create your ideal layout according to the standard guidelines.

If you need a quick method to create a presentation deck to talk about your research poster at conferences, check out our Slides AI presentation maker. A tool in which you add the topic, curate the outline, select a design, and let AI do the work for you.

1. One-pager Scientific Poster Template for PowerPoint

A PowerPoint template tailored to make your poster presentations an easy-to-craft process. Meet our One-Pager Scientific Poster Slide Template, entirely editable to your preferences and with ample room to accommodate graphs, data charts, and much more.

Use This Template

2. Eisenhower Matrix Slides Template for PowerPoint

An Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool to represent priorities, classifying work according to urgency and importance. Presenters can use this 2×2 matrix in poster presentations to expose the effort required for the research process, as it also helps to communicate strategy planning.

3. OSMG Framework PowerPoint Template

Finally, we recommend presenters check our OSMG Framework PowerPoint template, as it is an ideal tool for representing a business plan: its goals, strategies, and measures for success. Expose complex processes in a simplified manner by adding this template to your poster presentation.

Remember these three words when making your research poster presentation: develop, design, and present. These are the three main actions toward a successful poster presentation. 

The section below will take you on a step-by-step journey to create your next poster presentation.

Step 1: Define the purpose and audience of your poster presentation

Before making a poster presentation design, you’ll need to plan first. Here are some questions to answer at this point:

• Are they in your field? 
• Do they know about your research topic? 
• What can they get from your research?
• Will you print it?
• Is it for a virtual conference?

Step 2: Make an outline

With a clear purpose and strategy, it’s time to collect the most important information from your research paper, analysis, or documentation. Make a content dump and then select the most interesting information. Use the content to draft an outline.

Outlines help formulate the overall structure better than going straight into designing the poster. Mimic the standard poster structure in your outline using section headlines as separators. Go further and separate the content into the columns they’ll be placed in.

Step 3: Write the content

Write or rewrite the content for the sections in your poster presentation. Use the text in your research paper as a base, but summarize it to be more succinct in what you share. 

Don’t forget to write a catchy title that presents the problem and your findings in a clear way. Likewise, craft the headlines for the sections in a similar tone as the title, creating consistency in the message. Include subtle transitions between sections to help follow the flow of information in order.

Avoid copying/pasting entire sections of the research paper on which the poster is based. Opt for the storytelling approach, so the delivered message results are interesting for your audience. 

Step 4: Put it all together visually

This entire guide on how to design a research poster presentation is the perfect resource to help you with this step. Follow all the tips and guidelines and have an unforgettable poster presentation.

Moving on, here’s how to design a research poster presentation with PowerPoint Templates . Open a new project and size it to the standard 48 x 36 inches. Using the outline, map out the sections on the empty canvas. Add a text box for each title, headline, and body text. Piece by piece, add the content into their corresponding text box.

Transform the text information visually, make bullet points, and place the content in tables and timelines. Make your text visual to avoid chunky text blocks that no one will have time to read. Make sure all text sizes are coherent for all headings, body texts, image captions, etc. Double-check for spacing and text box formatting.

Next, add or create data visualizations, images, or diagrams. Align everything into columns and sections, making sure there’s no overflow. Add captions and legends to the visualizations, and check the color contrast with colleagues and friends. Ask for feedback and progress to the last step.

Step 5: Last touches

Time to check the final touches on your poster presentation design. Here’s a checklist to help finalize your research poster before sending it to printers or the virtual summit rep.

• Check the resolution of all visual elements in your poster design. Zoom to 100 or 200% to see if the images pixelate. Avoid this problem by using vector design elements and high-resolution images.
• Ensure that charts and graphs are easy to read and don’t look crowded.
• Analyze the visual hierarchy. Is there a visual flow through the title, introduction, data, and conclusion?
• Take a step back and check if it’s legible from a distance. Is there enough white space for the content to breathe?
• Does the design look inviting and interesting?

An often neglected topic arises when we need to print our designs for any exhibition purpose. Since A0 is a hard-to-manage format for most printers, these poster presentations result in heftier charges for the user. Instead, you can opt to work your design in two A1 sheets, which also becomes more manageable for transportation. Create seamless borders for the section on which the poster sheets should meet, or work with a white background.

Paper weight options should be over 200 gsm to avoid unwanted damage during the printing process due to heavy ink usage. If possible, laminate your print or stick it to photographic paper – this shall protect your work from spills.

Finally, always run a test print. Gray tints may not be printed as clearly as you see them on screen (this is due to the RGB to CMYK conversion process). Other differences can be appreciated when working with ink jet plotters vs. laser printers. Give yourself enough room to maneuver last-minute design changes.

Presenting a research poster is a big step in the poster presentation cycle. Your poster presentation might or might not be judged by faculty or peers. But knowing what judges look for will help you prepare for the design and oral presentation, regardless of whether you receive a grade for your work or if it’s business related. Likewise, the same principles apply when presenting at an in-person or virtual summit.

The opening statement

Part of presenting a research poster is welcoming the viewer to your small personal area in the sea of poster presentations. You’ll need an opening statement to pitch your research poster and get the viewers’ attention.

Draft a 2 to 3-sentence pitch that covers the most important points:

• What the research is
• Why was it conducted
• What the results say

From that opening statement, you’re ready to continue with the oral presentation for the benefit of your attendees.

The oral presentation

During the oral presentation, share the information on the poster while conversing with the interested public. Practice many times before the event. Structure the oral presentation as conversation points, and use the poster’s visual flow as support. Make eye contact with your audience as you speak, but don’t make them uncomfortable.

Pro Tip: In a conference or summit, if people show up to your poster area after you’ve started presenting it to another group, finish and then address the new visitors.

QA Sessions 

When you’ve finished the oral presentation, offer the audience a chance to ask questions. You can tell them before starting the presentation that you’ll be holding a QA session at the end. Doing so will prevent interruptions as you’re speaking.

If presenting to one or two people, be flexible and answer questions as you review all the sections on your poster.

Supplemental Material

If your audience is interested in learning more, you can offer another content type, further imprinting the information in their minds. Some ideas include; printed copies of your research paper, links to a website, a digital experience of your poster, a thesis PDF, or data spreadsheets.

Your audience will want to contact you for further conversations; include contact details in your supplemental material. If you don’t offer anything else, at least have business cards.

Even though conferences have changed, the research poster’s importance hasn’t diminished. Now, instead of simply creating a printed poster presentation, you can also make it for digital platforms. The final output will depend on the conference and its requirements.

This guide covered all the essential information you need to know for creating impactful poster presentations, from design, structure and layout tips to oral presentation techniques to engage your audience better . 

Before your next poster session, bookmark and review this guide to help you design a winning poster presentation every time. 

Like this article? Please share

Cool Presentation Ideas, Design, Design Inspiration Filed under Design

Related Articles

Filed under Google Slides Tutorials • August 20th, 2024

How to Insert an Emoji in Google Slides

Add a creative touch to your slides by learning how to insert an emoji in Google Slides. Step-by-step instructions and third-party extensions list.

Filed under Design • August 14th, 2024

Creating Custom Themes for PowerPoint and Google Slides

Do you want your slides to go beyond the average result from a template? If so, learn how to create custom themes for presentations with this guide.

Filed under Google Slides Tutorials • August 13th, 2024

How to Curve Text in Google Slides

Despite Google Slides not offering a native tool for this, there are multiple ways to curve text in Google Slides. Check them out here!

Leave a Reply

summernights.org

Creating a topnotch dissertation proposal poster, introduction.

Posters are extensively used in the academic field. For a fact, a number of conferences include presentations of posters in their current programs. What is more, posters in research sum up research or data in a succinct and impressive approach in order to aid properly publicize it and come up with substantial discussion.

How can you construct an exceptional poster for your dissertation proposal?

Before anything else, it is fundamental to learn more about what dissertation proposal poster is. This pertains to a combination of a concise text that is mixed with pictures, graphs, tables as well as other presentation formats. Indeed, the researcher needs to stand by the poster demonstration at a conference while other participants could come and take a glance at the presentation and afterwards collaborate with the author.

Where do you start?

When working on a poster, take in mind that it is very valuable to be able to answer questions such as how you could visually share your research with the participants of the conference; what is the most astounding, engrossing and substantial findings from your research work, what form of data could you communicate at the time of your discussion which shall highly complement your poster and if it is useful to make us of images, photos, graphs and charts?

When creating your poster, you have to make sure that you only include vital data that is readable. The title must draw the interest of your target attendees and must be short. The word count should roughly be 300 by up to 800 words. In the same way, it is a must to use fonts, color and graphics effectively; your text must be to the point and pointed out clearly.

Aside from these, make use of headlines, numbering as well as bullets so that it is going to be easy to read. The layout should be clean and consistent. Do not forget to include your name, acknowledgments as well as your institutional affiliation.

Overall, a poster presentation incorporates graphics and text to present the project in a manner that is prominently accessible and engrossing. Moreover, this enables you to demonstrate your work to a larger audience of other scholars and also to discuss and obtain feedback from responsive viewers.

The formats in presenting posters actually vary from discipline to discipline. Whatever the format may be, take into account that your poster should clearly convey what you did, why you did it, how you did it and what your work actually contributes to a greater field of human knowledge and in the area of study.

Poster Samples

Looking at samples of real student posters can help you generate ideas and define your goals. As you get started, it may be helpful to look at examples of finished posters.

Below are a number of sample posters created by UT undergraduates. There is a brief discussion of each poster highlighting its greatest strengths and areas where there is room for improvement.

• More than one type of visual aid
• Logical order for sections
• Acknowledgments

Room for improvement

• Background may be distracting, or detract from content
• Sections and images are not aligned
• Too many visual components clutter poster

• White space
• Legible text and graphics
• Reports preliminary results
• All participants listed as authors, with affiliations provided
• Lacks Citations and Acknowledgements
• Labeling of images/graphics
• Inconsistent text alignment
• Color-saturated background

• Clearly defined research questions
• Effective use of visual aids
• Clear organizational structure
• Bullets break up text
• Technical language/undefined acronyms (accessible to limited audience)
• Narrow margins within text boxes
• Too many thick borders around boxes
• Uses UT seal instead of college or university wordmark

• Clear introductory material
• Use of bullet points
• Logical flow
• Color-coding in graphics
• Lacks references section
• May not be accessible to all audiences (some technical language)
• No need for borders around sections (the blue headers are sufficient)

• Compelling visual aids
• Strategic use of color
• Clear sections
• Inconsistent fonts in body text
• Abstract section mislabeled
• Bullet points are great, but only if they’re used judiciously

• Parameters of study well defined
• Clearly defined research question
• Simple color scheme
• Use of white space
• Discussion of Results
• Minor formatting misalignments
• Unauthorized use of UT seal (use wordmark instead)

• Venn diagram in discussion
• Consistent graphics
• Multiple types of visual aids
• Light text on dark background
• Color backgrounds should be avoided, especially dark ones
• Unlabeled, non-credited photos

• Easy to read
• Use of shapes, figures, and bullets to break up text
• Compelling title (and title font size)
• Clean overall visual impression
• Many sections without a clear flow between them
• Lacks acknowledgements

• Use of images/graphics
• Clear title
• Accessible but professional tone
• Length/density of text blocks
• Tiny photo citations
• Connections between images and descriptive text
• Vertical boxes unnecessary

• Compelling title
• Font sizes throughout (hierarchy of text)
• Simple graphics
• Lacks clear Background section
• Relationship of Findings and Conclusion to Research questions

• Use of visual aids
• Uneven column width
• Center-justfied body text
• Lacks “Methods” section

• Use of bullets
• Too many different font styles (serif and sans serif, bold and normal)
• Concise interpretation of graphics

• Accessible visual structure
• Clear, simple graphics
• Fonts and font sizes
• Analysis of graphic data
• Discussion of significance
• Lacks author’s affiliation and contact information

• Balance among visuals, text and white space
• Data presented in visual format (SmartArt)
• Accesible to many audiences (simple enough for general audience, but enough methodological detail for experts)
• Some more editing needed
• When targeting an expert audience (as in the methodology section), should also report statistics ( r, p, t, F, etc.)

• Large, clear title
• Creative adaptation of sections
• Use of lists (rather than paragraphs)
• Accessible to diverse audience
• Connection between visuals (sheet music) and content

• Strategic use of color for section headers
• Labeling and citation of images
• Accessible to a broad audience
• Wide margins around poster edges
• Slightly text-heavy
• Data referenced (“Methodology”) but not discussed

What is my next step?

Begin working on the content for your poster at Create Your Message .

• Search Research
• Eindhoven Artificial Intelligence Systems Institute
• Institute for Complex Molecular Systems
• Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute
• Eindhoven Institute for Renewable Energy Systems
• Artificial Intelligence
• Smart Mobility
• Engineering Health
• Integrated Photonics
• Quantum Technology
• High Tech Systems Center
• Data Science
• Humans and Technology
• Future Chips
• Research Groups
• Other labs and facilities
• Researchers
• Applied Physics and Science Education
• Biomedical Engineering
• Built Environment
• Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
• Eindhoven School of Education
• Electrical Engineering
• Industrial Design
• Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences
• Mathematics and Computer Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• National Grants
• International Grants
• TU/e Distinctions
• Sectorplans
• Research assessments
• Winners TU/e Science Awards
• Research Support Network

Information Systems IE&IS

The Information Systems (IS) group studies novel tools and techniques that help organizations use their information systems to support better operational decision making.

Create value through intelligent processing of business information

Information Systems are at the core of modern-day organizations. Both within and between organizations. The Information Systems group studies tools and techniques that help to use them in the best possible way, to get the most value out of them.

In order to do that, the IS group helps organizations to: (i) understand the business needs and value propositions and accordingly design the required business and information system architecture; (ii) design, implement, and improve the operational processes and supporting (information) systems that address the business need, and (iii) use advanced data analytics methods and techniques to support decision making for improving the operation of the system and continuously reevaluating its effectiveness.

We do so in various sectors from transportation and logistics, mobility services, high-tech manufacturing, service industry, and e-commerce to healthcare.

Against this background, IS research concentrates on the following topics:

• Business model design and service systems engineering for digital services.
• Managing digital transformation.
• Data-driven business process engineering and execution.
• Innovative process modeling techniques and execution engines.
• Human aspects of information systems engineering.
• Intelligent decision support through Artificial Intelligence and Computational Intelligence.
• Data-driven decision making.
• Machine learning to optimize resource allocation.
• All IS news

Research Areas

We work on Information Systems topics in three related research areas.

Process Engineering

Process Engineering (PE) develops integrated tools and techniques for data-driven decision support in the design and execution of…

AI for decision-making

AI for Decision-Making (AI4DM) develops methods, techniques and tools for AI-driven decision making in operational business process.

Business Engineering

Business Engineering (BE) investigates and develops new concepts, methods, and techniques - including novel data-driven approaches - for the…

Application domains

We focus on the application of Information Systems in the following domains.

Transportation and Logistics

Information Systems facilitate monitoring and planning of transportation and logistics resources. By doing so, they ultimately help to…

Service Industry

Service organizations, including banks, insurance companies, and governmental bodies, fully rely on information provisioning to do their…

Information Systems are the backbone of modern health(care) ecosystems. They are critical for clinical research, clinical operations, and…

Information Systems focuses on the business architecture design of new mobility solutions that are safe, efficient, affordable and…

Smart Industry

The digital transformation of industry is leveraged by Information Systems providing integrated data and process management and AI-enabled…

Meet some of our researchers

Banu aysolmaz, zaharah bukhsh, karolin winter, laurens bliek, isel grau garcia, pieter van gorp, laura genga, alexia athanasopoulou, maryam razavian, hendrik baier, oktay türetken, konstantinos tsilionis, baris ozkan.

• Meet all our researchers

ENFIELD & EAISI event: Human Centric AI

Together with EAISI, ENFIELD will present key findings on ongoing projects, available funding for researchers and collaboration…

EAISI lecture of Visiting Professor Chiara Ghidini

Process, Data, Conceptual Knowledge, and AI: What can they do together? Chiara Ghidini is a full professor at the Free University of…

Annual AI Conference ELA - Siemens 2024

The Euregio AI Triangle (RWTH Aachen, KU Leuven and TU Eindhoven) and Siemens are cordially inviting all AI enthusiasts and interested…

Recent Publications

• See all publications

Our most recent peer reviewed publications

Acceptance of Mobility-as-a-Service: Insights from empirical studies on influential factors

A revised cognitive mapping methodology for modeling and simulation, topic specificity, a reference architecture for reverse logistics in the high-tech industry, business models and process models.

Open source

We encourage innovation from our research. This is why we share the open-source codes from our research projects.

• Link to our open source codes

Work with us!

Please check out the TU/e vacancy pages for opportunities within our group. 

If you are a student, potential sponsor or industrial partner and want to work with us, please contact the IS secretariat or the Information Systems group chair,  dr.ir. Remco Dijkman

Visiting address

Postal address.