Creating Effective Posters

Creating Effective Posters Forestry 544 September 2013 Dr Sue Watts Faculty of Forestry University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC CANADA sue.watts@ubc.ca

What is a poster? • A VISUAL communication tool • A clear MESSAGE • Text supporting GRAPHICS • Something readable 1-2 metres away

Usual problems • Boring title • Objectives & main pointsdifficult to find quickly • Text too small, and too much • Poor graphics • Poor layout

Your audience Usually 3 types • Specialists in your field • Related fields • Unrelated fields

Abstract • Required by most conference organizers • Tells why topic is important, what you did, what you found • Poster becomes an illustratedabstract • Do not include on poster

Titles should entice • Keep title short • Be declarative • Use past tense (why?) • Avoid initialisms, acronyms

Ineffective title The effects of nitrogen on needle length in Douglas-fir trees in the upper Squamish Valley

Declarative title Nitrogen application increased Douglas-fir needle growth

Message • State main points succinctly • All visuals and text MUST relate to those points and conclusions

Layout • Size of poster • Title across top • Intro top left • Conclusions lower right • Balance text and graphics (20/40/40) • Use columns

Figures • Line graphs • Bar graphs • Pie graphs • Pictographs • Photographs • Drawings • Gazintas • Algorithms • Maps

Graphs • Show relationships quickly • Simple and clean • Label directly (no keys or legends) • Use colours to distinguish rather than patterns • Avoid 3-D

Graphs(contin) • Use only one feature to distinguish lines (styles, coloursor symbols) • Keep to standard symbols  • Avoid  • Separate axes if needed

Photographs Value to article can range from Ø to more valuable than any text!

Drawings Can show perspective and detail (insides, layers) not possible with a photograph

Gazintas Visuals that show hierarchy, organization or interaction Tree gazintas show sub-assemblies of the same relative importance

Text • Max 1000 words per poster • Max 50 word text elements • Use phrases, active voice • Double space, left justify • Serif for text, sans-serif for titles • Titles should be sentence case

Text • Title panels min 36 point, text 24 point • Text readable from 2 m • Main title readable from 5 m EDIT RUTHLESSLY

Colours • Use light background, dark text • Max 2 - 3 colours in theme • Bright is attractive but tiring to read

Computer tools • MS PowerPoint (templates) • Adobe Illustrator and InDesign • Corel Draw • MS Excel

Reviewing • Edit to reduce text • Remove anything not relevant to message • Get colleagues to comment • Are your objectives and main message OBVIOUS? • Can the reader contact you?

Printing resources Check the UBC Media Group web site for prices and for set up information from supported programs www.mediagroup.ubc.ca

Presenting your poster • Know the location • Arrive early with supplies • Bring copies of poster as handouts • Stand at your poster when required • Have a 2-3 minute presentation prepared for when people ask

Writing your poster review • Briefly describe the location, title, content and general layout of the poster • Write a two-page report discussing the positive aspects of the poster and ways in which it could be improved • Write in complete sentences and paragraphs with no spelling errors! • Follow Strunk & White “Elements of Style” • Deadline is October 29/31, 2013

Creating Effective Posters