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Poster Design: Tips for Creating a Successful Poster

Purpose of Academic Posters

Posters, in general, are an effective means of communicating complex information in a simplified and approachable format.

Effective posters will have not much time to convey its message.  Therefore the message being delivered has to be done clearly, easily and without much preamble or other context given.

An essential element to creating an effective poster is paying mind to the aesthetics of it – it must be visually pleasing.  You have to visually pull in your audience member to talk to them.

Poster Overview

  • Remember: A poster is a visual presentation and should be designed that way. Make it about an idea, and present that idea visually.

  • Catch the audience's attention, and have a visual element that ties it together.

  •  Keep text to a minimum.  Don't try to put everything on the poster. Use it to spark conversation.
  • Use color sparingly.  You want your poster to be united.
  • On the other hand, you want your audience to be able to understand it without verbal explanation.

  • Let them know what question you were trying to answer or your idea.

  • Where did that answer or your idea lead? Or where could it lead?
  • Make the content practical, if you can.  How can this be applied to other people?
  • The guidelines of the conference or your assignment should be exactly followed.  In fact, if any of this advice runs contrary to that, disregard it!

Design tips were adapted from the following sources: &