+

So you want to make a scientific poster?

A best practices guide byBrooklyn ITF Jennifer Corby

+What is a scientific poster?

A scientific poster is… A visual means for

communicating research

A (good) scientific poster… Is a conversation starter Summarizes conclusions Highlights key points Is skimmable Is concise Draws people in

+A scientific poster is not

+The BasicsComponents

Title

Headings

Text

Images

Graphs

Logo

+Headings

Organize poster content

Funnel Information

Standard headings Introduction Research Question Hypothesis Methods Results Conclusion Works Cited

+Text

Instead of writing paragraphs, which make it easy to include all kinds of extraneous information, try writing in bullet points instead. That way, your reader will be able to easily identify and digest the key ideas in your work. Wow, are you still reading this? I’m impressed. But I’ll bet you read that bullet point list first, even though the English eye is compelled to start on the left. That’s the power of bullet points!

Less is more! 300-800 total words

Use Bulleted Lists Indent subordinate ideas

Avoid the passive voice

Be concise!

+LayoutDermis and feline can be divorced by manifold methods.

Title & Authors4 Column Landscape

3 Column Landscape

2 Column Portrait

+The AestheticsHow to pack a punch

+Words, words, words

Title Seen from 10’ away Catchy!

Font 2 max Stick to sans serif

Text 18pt minimum Use upper & lower case Negative space = friend

+Graphs

I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way Ooh la la

+Data Visualization

Infographics Awesome Use Carefully!

Graphs Clearly titled axis Short, clear title

Title = Takeaway Use verbs to show

relationships No gridlines Clear plotline Clear legend

+Images

300 dpi

Use creative commons

Caption photos

Healthy Ratio

Balanced presentation

Don’t do this

+Color

Play it cool or neutral

Distinguish background from foreground with contrasting color from same family

Use sparingly to emphasize

Avoid Busy backgrounds, dark on dark, too much black

+

Enough AlreadyLet’s see some examples

+

+

Ready to make your own?Here’s what you’ll need to get started

+PowerPoint Basics

SKETCH IT OUT FIRST!!

Set Page dimensions Open Powerpoint, select Slide Layouts, then select Blank. Click on the X in the sidebar to close it (a poster is a single

slide.) Click FilePage Setup. Enter dimensions of poster in inches.

Standard sizes: 36”x48” or 48”x36” Click ok and disregard the printer size error.

Printing When finished, print small version on color printer (by

selecting “scale to fit printer”). If you can read it scaled, it will be large enough on a full scale poster.

+

Now you can walk the walk…But can you talk the talk?

+Of course you can!

Practice your 2 minute “elevator pitch” (it’s a tall building)

Talk with, not at

Use poster as visual aide

Enjoy yourself!

Just remember…

+Additional Resources

Research Guidelines and Templates: http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/governanceandorganisatio

n/aas/extrel/research_poster_guideline_aug_2014.pdf

Better Posters: http://betterposters.blogspot.com/

Sample Font Sizes: http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/baruchitfs/files/2011/1

1/Sample-Text-Sizes.pdf

Other ITF Resources: http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/boger14/2014/09/10/p

oster-resources/