Developing a Poster Presentation

Original Editor - Amanda Ager

Top Contributors - Ewa Jaraczewska, Amanda Ager, Jess Bell and Kim Jackson  

Page Owner - Amanda Ager as part of the One Page Project

Introduction

A poster presentation comes in many different forms today. This page addresses the details of a more formal, research-based presentation of your work. A poster presentation provides a visual representation of your work (for example, a clinical case study, a newly developed program or a scientific study) through text, charts, graphs, and other visual aids. A poster presentation allows viewers and knowledge users to read your research material at their own leisure and to interact with you—perhaps asking questions about your methods or your key findings. (2) Posters range in size, and you can usually present your poster arranged in a portrait or landscape orientation. Posters can also be in-person or presented virtually. To start with, your poster should start a conversation. A poster is not a wall-mounted essay, but more of a colourful abstract. Your poster aims to grab the attention of your audience, which in turn will generate interest in your area of work. Research posters summarise information or your work concisely and attractively to help publicise it and generate discussion.

Please note for the purpose of this page, an academic poster, scientific poster, or clinical poster are all referred to as a poster presentation. These terms are used synonymously.

When developing your poster presentation, answer these three questions:

1. What is the most important/interesting/astounding finding from my research project?
2. How can I visually share my research with conference attendees? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, or images?
3. What kind of information can I convey during my talk that will complement my poster?

Why are you creating a poster presentation?

• There are a number of reasons why you might create a poster and being clear about your audience and purpose is the first thing to consider.
• It might be a requirement of your degree programme or clinical placement.
• You may aim to present your research findings at an academic conference.
• Perhaps you are part of a public engagement event and want to express complex material in an accessible way for a non-specialist audience.

Define what you want your poster to do, for example:

• To help others learn something about your work.
• To introduce a new and interesting perspective on a topic.
• Present a clinical case or the development of a new programme.
• Engage with colleagues, share ideas and network.
• To help you gain experience with openly communicating and talking about your work, in a precise way.

Why are poster presentations important?

Because it represents: you, your work, your research or clinical supervisors, your team and laboratory, your sponsors and, most of all, they highlight the importance of your topic. Moreover, they:

• Demonstrate expertise
• Demonstrate attention to detail
• Allow you to practicse public speaking
• Learn and share about the most current results in your field
• Deepens the understanding of a topic
• Opportunity for teaching and learning
• Share ideas
• Create collaborations and build your network
• Most importantly - it gives you a professional experience.

Where will you find poster presentations?

• Conferences
• Symposia
• Hallways
• Informational Days
• Team meetings
• Digital conferences or meetings

How to submit a poster presentation

Step Two: Planning your presentation

The first step to preparing a poster for a conference is to know exactly what message you want to convey in your poster. You may want to report a case study, describe a new program or report your findings from a systematic review or study. You may have some research findings to report or even a research protocol of an intended future project.

Step Three: Writing an abstract

Many conferences or events require you to present your work initially in the form of an abstract. This will help the organisers judge the merit of your presentation and assign a presentation format to your submission (for example, a symposium, guided discussion, podium presentation, poster presentation or e-poster).

An abstract is in essence a short summary of your work. Typically there will be instructions concerning the abstract structure (whether you should use sub-headings, font type, font size, word count etc). The most important quality of the abstract is that it is clear and concise. You will want to include the most important details concerning your work but it is often best to avoid including fine details in the abstract. As with all academic styles of writing, statements requiring references within the abstract must be referenced but it is advisable to limit the need for references in the abstract.

An example of a typical abstract structure:

Title: This should be clear and concise, eye-catching and punchy.

Background: This section needs to use only the key background literature to provide context for the subsequent work reported.

Aims/purpose: This needs to clearly give the reader an impression of the aim/purpose of the research and what they should expect to learn from reading the poster.

Methods: Key information regarding the methods used/proposed to be used should be highlighted here. Typically this would include some mention of the participants involved (the sample), equipment and procedures and timescales over which the study took place.

Results: The key results are often presented in this section. Statistical support is preferred where possible but endless lists of mean values and associated p-values should be avoided. Be selective and make sense that the results selected for presentation fit well with the general story conveyed within the abstract as a whole. Conclusion: This section is used to wrap up the story, to convey the most important interpretation of the results and to make any important suggestions for relevance to the field or further work that now needs to be carried out. Avoid finishing with ‘further research is now required’ as often this is obvious and superfluous to the overall story. Word count = Typically 250 -300 words Your abstract will help you highlight the most important aspects of your work and also help you plan your poster presentation.

Step Four: Designing your poster Further information about designing your poster can be found below on this page.

Step Five: Printing your poster The final step is to print out your poster. This step should be considered almost as soon as you think about designing the poster, as it is important to be aware of printing timescales. Contact your local printing service to get an idea of their turnaround time. Your chosen printer could offer a same day service or could take in excess of a week to turn around if busy or if the poster needs to be sent off site for purposes such as lamination. The weight of the paper will determine how expensive the print is but also how robust the poster is to travel (the thicker, the more robust). Lamination serves as an additional protective layer to the poster, typically increasing the lifespan of your poster, making it more resistant to rain but also making it heavier to transport and more expensive. You can also consider a fabric poster which is easier to transport and hang up. Fabric posters can be more expensive that paper posters.

How to design your poster presentation

Take your time to conceptualise your poster. What are your key headings? What graphs or images do you want to include? What colour scheme will you choose?

There are many examples of poster presentations online. Take some time to review different designs to decide your tastes and what elements you would like to include in your own design.

Prior to finalising your poster, it is important to 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 in the process, one month is sufficient time to allow for revisions to be made.

It is always prudent to submit your poster to a conference a few days before the deadline, incase they experience technical difficulties with everyone trying to submit their proofs at the same time. Often conferences will require a PDF copy of your poster ahead of time, in addition to the printed poster for the in-person event.

Key Elements

Title All authors Affiliations Headings Introduction/background Methods Results Conclusions References

Other information to mention in the bottom corner (usually in a smaller font):

Type of manuscript (if published work) Funding Ethical approval QR code to your research or professional website (for example: LinkedIn, ResearchGate etc).

Poster Design

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.

Font size: The conference or event may specify this; however, generally, for the main body, size 24-48 pts, is used for text and size 72-120 pts for titles.

Types of the font: Use a sans serif font (such as Arial) as these are much easier to read. It can be effective to use a different typeface for headings and subheadings. Helpful hint: If you print your poster on a standard sheet of paper, you should be able to read all of it - including text in figures - comfortably. If you can't, your text is too small.

Your poster must be legible from a distance; you should be able to read your smallest text from a meter away easily. The main poster title needs to be readable from about 5 metres away. Text justified to the left is easier to read. Another tip is not to have your line spacing too close; use one-and-a-half or double spacing. It’s best to avoid italic text, as it is more difficult to read and less accessible. If you want to emphasise a point or suggest importance, use bold or change the font size instead. Suggested Font Sizes by Section Title: 72-120 pt. Subtitle: 48-80 pt. Section headers: 36-72 pt. Body text: 24-48 pt.

Font should be legible fonts like: • Times New Roman • Arial • Garamond • Berkeley UC Davis Medium

Do not use illegible fonts like: • Brush Script • Use the same font throughout your poster • You should not use less than 16 pt. Font Logos:

Remember to advertise your institution or your affiliations.  Always include your clinic, university, or funding logos, for example.  Use high-quality images.  Ask your institution for  a high quality image, preferably without a background.  Do not simply cut and paste a logo from the internet, there is a high probability that the image will be poor quality, low resolution and will be pixelated once printed. 

Poor quality images will make your poster look poor quality too. You will be judged on your attention to detail.

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.

Selecting colours from a colour wheel to produce a harmonious effect can help increase readability. The three main palettes to look at are: Complimentary, Monochromatic, and Analogous.

Now let's move towards another important element to consider - your choice of colour. This is not simply about your personal preferences, but what will be the most professional and best representation of your work.

Colour: The use of colour - Selecting colours from a colour wheel to produce a harmonious effect can help increase readability. The three main palettes to look at are: Complimentary, Monochromatic, and Analogous. Complementary: Complementary colours are two colors that are on opposite sides of the colour wheel, for example: yellow and purple, blue and orange, red and green. One other thing you may notice is that a pair of complementary colours are made up of one cool colour and one warm colour. Simultaneous contrast occurs due to a natural illusion when you place two complementary colours next to one another. Both colours will appear brighter and grab a viewer's attention.

[image complementary colour wheel] Monochromatic: Monochrome means one colour. Monochrome colours are all the varieties of a single hue - including different tints, shades, and tones. A monochromatic colour scheme will range between lighter and darker versions of the base colour or hue. For example, using green as your primary colour, and employing various shades of green on your poster to create different sections, shadings and effects. A monochromatic design is perfect for creating visual cohesion. PAUSE

[image monochromastic colour wheel]

Analogous: Analogous colour palettes create designs that are incredibly harmonious and easy to look at. Colours on an analogous wheel are like next to each other on the wheel, for example: such as blue, blue-green, and green. They usually match well and create comfortable designs. Analogous colour schemes are often found in nature and are harmonious and pleasing to the eye. So this is something to think about when you’re designing your poster. PAUSE

[image analogous colour wheel]

It is a good idea to stick to one or two colours for the main text; any more 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 differently than expected.

If you want to learn more about colour theory, take a look at different design websites or YouTube videos. See what you find visually appealing, and perhaps less appealing. Take your time to plan your design. Your colour choices will be fundamental to the impact of your poster.

Use the following elements to build a contrast and build your poster Size Position Colour Texture (ie dots in your graphs) Shape (of your text boxes for example) Orientation Images ​​Images Try to keep your graphs/ images and figures above 13cm x 15 cm. This is a good size relative to the size of an A0 sheet and will enable your images and graphics to be seen clearly. Your graphic elements should be relevant to the subject matter, clear, to the point, and attractive. Also, it can be a good idea to crop your image. Make it easy for your audience to understand WHY you included an image. Do not include images as fillers. Every element should be purposeful. Image File Types There are many types of digital image, and each of them have attributes which make them the best format for the job. The most suitable image format for poster creation is a high resolution JPEG (.jpg) file. The advantage of using this format is that you get a high quality image with a relatively small file size. Resolution Resolution (in relation to digital imagery) is the number of pixels per square inch on a computer screen. The higher this number is, the greater the quality of the picture. Use images with a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch (DPI). This will give you greater flexibility when resizing your images on the poster. Avoid low resolution images from web pages. They can appear clean and in focus on the screen, but when printed large will look soft and pixellated. Captions:

In graphics where the meaning isn’t immediately obvious, It is good practice to provide a caption that is short and to the point underneath the image.

Graphs: Graphs should be clean and simple to understand but most importantly show any relationships as clearly as possible. All text on the graph needs to be clear and concise, and must follow the same text styles as the rest of the poster. Clearly titled axes and ticks

• No gridlines to detract from the plotted points 

• Clear plot lines • A clearly defined legend • A short clear title

How to decide what information should be on your poster? If you are struggling with what you should include in your poster, try the MosCow method. MoSCoW method.

If you have a lot of text and you are struggling to prioritise what to include, try the MoSCoW technique. With the point of your poster in mind, organise the text into these categories: Must have Should have Could have Won’t have.

You could divide a blank page up into these four categories to help decide the importance of your information.

You can immediately remove the text that you categorise as “won’t have”, but also leave out “could have”, and really question what is in “should have”. “Must have” is the only category of information that definitely needs to go on a poster.

Printing your poster

Common programs and software to design your poster include:

Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Publisher Canva Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Photoshop After Effects Impress Picktochart LucidPress

Standard academic poster sizes are: A0 (841x1189mm), A1 (594x841mm) and A2 (420x594mm), but posters can be produced to any size up to 1250mm wide and as long as 15 metres.

What makes an “excellent” poster?

Important information should be readable from about 1 meter away Title is short and draws interest Word count of about 500 to 1000 words total, roughly 100 words per main section The text is clear and to the point Use of bullets, numbering, and headlines make it easy to read Make effective use of graphics, colour and fonts Have a consistent and clean layout (do not overcrowd your poster) Includes acknowledgements, your name and institutional affiliations

Common Mistakes (1)

Showing the same intricate multipart figures that you used in a research paper Have too much text (and in a font size too small Objective/main point is not instantly obvious. Poor quality graphics (Use blurry images copied from the Internet) Poorly organised poster components. Jagged edges, chaotic or untidy impression. Too much colour (Remember that some individuals are colour-blind) A dark or black background for your poster.

E-Posters (online presentations)

A growing number of conferences and meetings 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 slideshows 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. (6, 7, 8)

E-poster presentation provides a good learning opportunity to the upcoming medical graduates. Through electronic display, research work presentation is more meaningful, which is in line with a recent study conducted with nursing students stating that e-posters provided more learning opportunities.[3,4]

Benefits of E-posters (4)

Wider dissemination of poster exposure, through the internet. Exposure of your work, past the dates of the event/conference. E-posters are more cost-effective (no printing costs). Changes in the posters can be made till the last minute easily as per the requirements without bearing the extra cost. Digitalization not only reduces cost but also protects the environment by going paperless.(5)

Software and the Hard Copy

For the actual software creation of a poster, you should ideally start and end with the same software. Some examples of software include (but are not limited to): PowerPoint, QuarkXPress, InDesign, LaTeX, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Inkscape, Canva etc. It is important that you are comfortable using these programs, as you will likely be doing a lot of editing. (6).

Templates may be found online and adapted for your purposes to facilitate this process. Once completed, a poster should be printed professionally (a printing company with experience with producing scientific posters, may be able to help you with quality control and ensure your final poster is not pixilated).

Once printed, your poster should be carried in a carry tube. If travelling by air, it should be hand luggage.

If the conference organisers fail to specify how the poster will be mounted, it is advisable to take along adhesive tape, pins/tacks, scissors, Velcro etc.

Additional Resources

Arcila Hernández L, Chodkowski N, Treibergs K. A Guide to Implementing Inclusive and Accessible Virtual Poster Sessions. J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2022 Mar 30;23(1):e00237-21. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00237-21. PMID: 35496707; PMCID: PMC9053039. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9053039/

Soon CSL, Tudor Car L, Ng CJ, Tan NC, Smith H. What Is the Utility of Posters? Qualitative Study of Participants at a Regional Primary Healthcare Conference in Asia. Med Sci Educ. 2022 Nov 3;32(6):1405-1412. doi: 10.1007/s40670-022-01657-z. PMID: 36345366; PMCID: PMC9631582. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9631582/

Ross-Hellauer T, Tennant JP, Banelytė V, Gorogh E, Luzi D, Kraker P, Pisacane L, Ruggieri R, Sifacaki E, Vignoli M. Ten simple rules for innovative dissemination of research. PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 Apr 16;16(4):e1007704. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007704. PMID: 32298255; PMCID: PMC7161944. https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007704

Poster Presentations (Michigan State University) https://urca.msu.edu/posters Retrieved 02 Jan 2023.

Making an Impact with your Poster (University of Liverpool, 2012): https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/computingservices/printing/making-an-impact-with-your-poster.pdf

Selecting images and accessing non-copyright images. Although this page is about adding images to Physiopedia, you will find a helpful list of websites and software that support non-copyright images. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Adding_images

Erren TC, Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for a good poster presentation. PLoS Comput Biol. 2007 May;3(5):e102. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030102. PMID: 17530921; PMCID: PMC1876493. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876493/ (open access)

Berg J, & Hicks R. Successful design and delivery of a professional poster. J Am Assoc Nurse Pract. 2017 Aug;29(8):461-469. doi: 10.1002/2327-6924.12478. Epub 2017 Jun 28. PMID: 28657658. (not open access) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28657658/

Bingham R, O'Neal D 3rd. Developing great abstracts and posters: how to use the tools of science communication. Nurs Womens Health. 2013 Apr-May;17(2):131-8. doi: 10.1111/1751-486X.12021. PMID: 23594325. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23594325/ Gundogan B, Koshy K, Kurar L, Whitehurst K. How to make an academic poster. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2016 Sep 6;11:69-71. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2016.09.001. PMID: 29225822; PMCID: PMC5714380. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29225822/

Grech V. WASP (Write a Scientific Paper): Preparing a poster. Early Hum Dev. 2018 Oct;125:57-59. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2018.06.007. Epub 2018 Jun 21. PMID: 29937094. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29934101/ Naseem S, Rafi S, Qazi MA, Mangrio S, Bareach G, Naeem Z. Conventional to virtual poster presentation in scholars' day during coronavirus disease-19 lock down: Medical students' performance and perspective. Int J Health Sci (Qassim). 2021 Nov-Dec;15(6):23-27. PMID: 34912185; PMCID: PMC8589832. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8589832/

Newsom LC, Miller SW, Chesson M. Use of Digital vs Printed Posters for Teaching and Learning in Pharmacy Education. Am J Pharm Educ. 2021 Jun;85(6):8307. doi: 10.5688/ajpe8307. Epub 2021 Jan 19. PMID: 34315702; PMCID: PMC8341229. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8341229/