[GUEST POST] Learn how to turn your academic poster from an eye sore into an eye catcher
Guest post by: Dr. Tullio Rossi & Dr. Flynn Slattery
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Picture yourself walking the halls of the conference centre during the after-lunch poster session.
You’re a little sleepy, and it’s almost wine-o’clock, but you told yourself you’ll check-out the posters to see if there’s anything interesting - and then you’ll call it a day.
You’re doing your best to avoid eye contact with the attention-starved poster presenters, but despite all your squinting, all of the posters are blurring together in a haze of long titles, hideous tables, Microsoft default color palettes, and endless paragraphs of text.
These are the tell-tale signs of the infamous, yes seemingly invincible, wall-of-text poster.
This is bad news for all of those hard-working scientists wanting to make a meaningful connection with you.
But as a silver lining, it’s good news for you. Why? Because when it’s your turn, you’re going to be the one with the eye-catching, stylish, and effective poster that captures (and holds) the attention of your next superstar collaborator.
Back to basics: what is a poster actually for?
Try to remember the academic posters you've seen at conferences or on the walls of your institution. What do they look like?
Imagine them in a nice neat pile. Now, the pile is safe inside a warm and cozy steel box.
The box is now locked…. at the bottom of the ocean…. on fire!
Let the reboot sequence begin.
If we go to conferences to meet people and network, then our posters should be networking tools above all. How? Simple, we need to make sure that our posters work as an eye-catcher and conversation starter.
Remember the adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words'? Well, it's not far from the truth.
Our brain can process images in about 150 milliseconds. So a well-designed, easy-on-the-eye poster has a far better chance of capturing attention than a wall-of-text pseudo-manuscript poster ever could - no matter how many significant p-values you have.
An effective poster is about visually broadcasting to passers-by that you are an innovative, forward thinking researcher in the field of XYZ. While a movie trailer's sole purpose in life is to get you to the cinema, your poster's soul purpose is to connect you to a potential collaborator, funder or employer.
How should a poster look?
Now that we have clarified that a conference poster should be an eye-catcher and a conversation starter, how do you design one?
Simple.
You do not need fancy software.
Can't even draw a stick-figure? No problem, you do not need to be a designer.
By following basic design principles, you can create a clear and compelling poster to wow your audience at your next conference.
Firstly, grab the attention of passers-by with an eye-catching image. It should be large and easily recognisable but only needs to relate loosely to your research. Its role is to get noticed and trigger people's curiosity so that they walk towards your poster and start an interaction.
Secondly, remember this mantra: less is more. You don't need to rush out and get a tattoo of it, but remember this as the golden rule of communication.
A poster is not a manuscript, but a visual abstract of your research. It's not the place for your 8 figures and 4 tables: get your viewer's attention with just one or two key figures.
While you're holding the scissors, let's cut your text down to size too: 250 words is plenty. I'm serious. After all, if someone is really prepared to read even this much, your poster has done its job: it's time for YOU to take over.
Thirdly, pick a style and be consistent.
"But I'm an academic, I have no style!".
Relax. Breathe. Don't be so rough on yourself, you have plenty of style!
A 'style' is simply a set of self-imposed rules. Stick to the rules, and your poster will be coherent, consistent and professional. Here are some 'rules' as examples:
All text boxes will have rounded corners
Blue and navy will be my main colours, and orange will be the 'accent' colour
All images will be 'flat-icon' style, and they'll have a consistent size
Bonus tip: e-Posters!
We love e-Posters because they force the designer to make an even more radical shift away from the design dark-ages.
"Did you just call me a designer?!". If you're designing your poster, you're a designer - welcome to the club!
So, firstly, your e-Poster needs to be suitable for screen-viewing. You may read a physical poster by scanning up and down or left and right, but a digital poster works best in one direction: usually, straight down. So long and skinny is totally cool. You can see an example of what I mean here
Next, make the most of the medium. Make it interactive with images and text as hyperlinks. You can cut down on the background reading by linking to another source, such as a publication, pre-print or even a video abstract. Provide links to your online profiles or social media, or think outside-the-box and provide a link to a scheduled Zoom Q&A or networking session. Just remember that every link is an opportunity for your viewer to be distracted away from your e-Poster. So be selective and deliberate with your choices.
This blog just scratches the surface of poster design, and we have much more helpful advice to share with you.
To learn more about designing an effective poster, with clear and practical advice, check out our FREE eBook, 'How to Design an Award-Winning Conference Poster'.
Since publishing the eBook, several researchers have contacted us to tell us that by following our step-by-step guide they earned themselves a poster award. Now it's your turn.
Simply click the button below to get your copy and bury wall-of-text posters for good.
About the authors
Tullio Rossi has a PhD in marine biology from the University of Adelaide. He is the founder and director of Animate Your Science, a company whose objective is to help scientists to get their work noticed and make a positive impact on society through the creation of video and graphical abstracts that are engaging, understandable, and shareable on social media. He is a rare breed: a marine biologist, graphic designer, and communicator all rolled into one. When Tullio is not helping scientists get discovered, he loves travelling to exotic places, exploring the underwater world, and dancing salsa!
Flynn Slattery has a background in exercise science and a PhD in respiratory health from the University of South Australia. During his PhD, Flynn realised he was weird, relishing opportunities to creating PowerPoint slides or posters, while other academics cringed at the thought. He now works a science communicator and project manager at Animate Your Science. Beyond exercise science and graphic design, Flynn loves playing football (soccer) and travelling.
