Preparing an academic poster is a great opportunity to highlight your research and knowledge in a subject. But it can also be a good opportunity to get noticed, especially if you’re a new graduate student or a postdoc. We’ll help you prepare your poster to the highest standards.
Whether you want to pitch your poster to other academics, potential postdoc or job applicants, or even to a recruiter, we’ll show you how to create an academic poster and make it stand out from the crowd.
Working on the Academic Poster
Academic posters serve a number of functions. Although they are mostly utilized for communication and networking, they may be a powerful tool for sharing knowledge, promoting a certain component of your work, or sparking debate about specific concerns.
If this is something that you aim to achieve, then it’s the right time for you to unlock StoryboardThat and find a target poster template for your project. Besides, find below a couple of handy tips to stay on the radar when crafting your academic poster.
Tip 1 – Make It Clear What Your Poster’s Objective Is
Consider your audience and what you want your poster to accomplish. For example, do you want to pique delegates’ attention or motivate participation in a certain component of your educational practice or research? A poster should provide a clear message about its general goal and should contain suitable research question(s) or objective(s).
Tip 2 – Tailor Your Poster to the Audience
Before you start to design your poster, try to think about who your audience is and how you’ll be talking to them. What will they be interested in, what do they like, what doesn’t grab them, and what information do you have to get across? The answer to all of these questions will guide your design.
Think about the audience first, then use the information you gather to inform your poster design. And the below questions will guide you a bit:
- Who will be judging your poster, what are they interested in and what do they like?
- What is the aim and purpose of your poster?
- What do you have to tell your audience in a few words?
- What is most important to them?
- What problems does your poster aim to solve, and what questions does it aim to answer?
- What’s their current knowledge and experience?
If you’re going to try to make a point, you’ll need to put your key points in a simple and clear way. You’ll only have so much time to convey your message. One way to do this is to make sure that your main points are clear. You can do this by making your message easy to remember and understand. Another way is to draw from well-known or highly readable images.
Tip 3 – Think Carefully About What Content to Include
Everything on the poster, including text and pictures, should be closely related to the poster’s objective and emphasis. Given the constraints of space, you’ll need to be selective, focusing on the features that are most likely to pique the audience’s attention. When showing data/trends, charts and graphs can be more clear and more effective than tables.
It is critical to utilize a high resolution (at least 300 pixels/square inch) when making graphics and graphs so that they are sharp and clear. Furthermore, basic charts and graphs are typically more effective – two-dimensional graphs are usually better than three-dimensional ones. A brief legend should accompany each image and figure. It’s also a good idea to add references, your contact information, and relevant web links.
Tip 4 – Consider Your Poster’s Design and Layout Carefully
Consider how much text is required to communicate the objective and emphasis of your poster, the background, research methodology/methods (if applicable), and any findings/conclusions/take-home message(s). Aim to create an eye-catching poster with content viewable from at least two meters away.
At the same time, the design should be rational, easy to understand, and visually appealing. Content should be properly arranged and simple headers and subheadings should be used. Text that is left justified (as opposed to completely justified) is simpler to read.
Make sure your paragraphs aren’t too lengthy. Bullets can serve to break up the text, but they should not be used excessively. Text clarity can also be improved by increasing line spacing. The information sequencing/reading order should be evident.
The finest posters are balanced by carefully arranging text and images/graphics. Try not to make your poster overly busy – it’s tempting to incorporate too much information, which reduces the message’s effect. When it comes to the overall effect of essential statements, less is absolutely more.
Make It Right With the Design of Your Poster!
Posters are used by presenters to persuade audiences to (1) read about their work and (2) comprehend and recall the information offered. Both of these objectives may be addressed with the help of a well-thought-out design. A good poster draws people in with a simple, clutter-free design that includes a splash of color.
It presents information in a logical arrangement so that viewers may quickly browse through the content. Furthermore, a good poster is not word-heavy; it has only the most important information and pictures needed to communicate the story. So, this is something that you should aim for.
