4. With a poster presentation,
you spend your time as a
presenter in conversation
with those who care about
your topic
Casual - yet informing
and engaging
5. Special Thanks to
Rebecca A. Wilcox, Ph.D.
Senior Program Coordinator
and the team at the
Office of Undergraduate Research
University of Texas at Austin
Guide to Creating Research Posters
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/our/poster
6. Where to Start?
It is a process
Assess your goal and
audience
Develop the content – what
you did and how you did it
Organize the material
Design the poster
Communicate – stand there
and engage
7. Message Design
Who will be the target audience for your
research project?
An uninformed audience?
A practitioner or scholar from a different field?
A practitioner or scholar from your field?
What do you hope to accomplish with your
poster presentation?
Inform your audience?
Persuade your audience?
Engage others in an ongoing process?
8. Message Design
Must have elements for a poster
Title
Collaborators and their institutional
affiliations
Strategies, materials and methods
Results, discussion, conclusion
Acknowledgments
Contact information
Optional or situational
Background/literature review
Research question/s
Future directions
Abstract or summary
It is critical to have eye appeal – use
visual elements
9. Message Design
Organize carefully
The space on a poster is too limited to present
your entire research project
Extracting important ideas and organizing
information efficiently is essential to the poster-
design process
Make Your Poster Easy to Read
Create a Logical Visual Flow
Craft the “Take-Away Message”
10. Visualization
Software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop
Page Setup
Make a large workspace - 46-50’‘x40’‘
Typically landscape orientation
Graphics
Make your poster visually appealing with
appropriate images
Graphs are less text-heavy than tables
11. Visualization: Text
• Be careful with using multiple fonts on your
poster
• The most typical are Times New
Roman, Garamond, Calabri (used here), and
Arial
• The minimum text size for a poster is 18-24 pt
• Headings should be between 30 and 60 pt
• Poster title should be over 72 pt
• Do not OVERUSE CAPITAL LETTERS or underlining
• Use bold or italicized type sparingly
12. Visualization: Colors & White Space
Colors
Use a light color for the background, dark color for
text
Avoid distracting patterns or complex background
images
When using colors to add emphasis, be consistent -
viewers look for a pattern in a series of colors
Remember some people cannot distinguish between
certain colors, such as red and green.
White Space
Divide sections by using empty, white space
13. Examples: Symmetry
Diagonal Symmetry
Vertical & Horizontal Symmetry
Asymmetry with text-heavy on left, image-heavy on right
16. Printing Posters
• Change your image size to
print – do this first
• Use large, high-resolution
images (above 300 dpi)
• Proofread your poster with
great care before you leave
the printer
Use the “Custom” setting
Set for inches
17. Printing Posters
• Some colleges will have a wide-
carriage ink jet printer
• If not, printing services and sign
companies are available
• There are also online printing
services
• If you need a more permanent
poster, consider lamination
18. Transporting & Hanging Your Poster
If you are traveling a long-distance to
NISOD with your poster, it is advisable
to use a mailing tube
When you arrive at the Austin
Convention Center, you will be
provided fasterners to hang your
poster
There will be a table for handouts or
other material
19. NISOD Poster Presentation and
Competition
• Posters will be judged
• Judges will select 1st,
2nd, & 3rd place winners
• All NISOD participants
will select a “Best of
Show” winner
• The four winning
posters will receive
prizes
20. Submit a Poster for the NISOD
Conference (May 26-29, 2013)
www.nisod.org
Call for Presentations
Questions?
director@nisod.org