Presentation Posters

Creating an effective and engaging poster presentation for a college course can be tricky and time-consuming, especially if you have never had to create one before. There is a lot of information out there to wade through when you are looking for help with content, visual references, and the mechanics of actually putting your poster together. This page on the Explore Visual Rhetoric blog site was created in order to give you a place to start your search.

As there are many applications and disciplines that might require a poster presentation, the resources and suggestions on this page are general in nature. However, some discipline-specific resources can be found here, as well (e.g., Humanities-specific), and are noted in the sub-categories where they are found.

Every effort will be made to ensure the content of this site is kept up-to-date; however, “to err is human; to forgive, divine”, as the old saying goes. If you find a broken link or any issue with the content, please let us know on the contact page.

Good luck and happy poster presenting!

Quick Links to content on this page:
Content Poster Examples Visual References Mechanics

Content

The Content section of this resource bin holds references to websites and that will help you to determine what you should and should not include in your poster. As your presentation space is limited to the size of poster allowed within the parameters of the project, your presentation needs to be concise and to the point. Getting your main idea across with a first glance is important to draw your audience in and make them want to know more. Holding their attention with engaging visual references is also a key factor to a successful poster presentation. The following references convey some important details to include in your poster, with details on specifics like graphs and photographs following in the Visual References section.

Poster Elements

It just makes sense to start off with something close to home, so the first reference for creating an effective presentation poster is from Northern Arizona University (NAU). This comprehensive site offers advice on honing in on your main idea, poster content basics, design tips, and links to examples of effective posters. There are also additional references to those found in this resource bin, including an informative video from a Stanford professor.

Northern Arizona University. (2015). Making An Academic Poster Presentation. University College. Retrieved from website: http://nau.edu/Undergraduate-Research/Poster-Presentation-Tips/

This journal entry includes ten basic but important rules for students to consider when creating poster presentations. You will learn how to define the purpose of your poster, sell your idea to your audience, determine an appropriate layout and format, and add your personality to your poster. As space is limited, thinking about the most important points of your presentation and using them in the main sections of your poster will get your design off on the right track.

Erren, T., and Bourne, P. (2007). Ten Simple Rules for a Good Poster Presentation. PLOS Computational Biology. (May, 2007, DOI: 10.1371.journal.pcbi.0030102) Retrieved from website: http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030102

This website was created by faculty from three different universities: University of North Carolina (Hess – Forestry), University of Miami (Tosney – Biology), and Oregon State University (Liegel – Forestry). There is some really good information for students to draw from to create effective, compelling, and engaging posters. They offer information from start to finish for students to produce posters that will draw in their audience and keep the student and audience focused on the main point of the poster. The presentation posters in the Examples section are from this website and include positive and negative feedback.

Hess. G., Tosney, K., and Liegel, L. (2013). Creating Effective Poster Presentations: An Effective Poster. Retrieved from website: http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/

While this website is geared toward science-related posters, the same sound principles can be applied to presentation posters in any discipline. The Scientist—an online and in print repository for all things science—worked with researchers and graphic designers to come up with this comprehensive approach to poster making. Here you will find tips for design and formatting, writing clear content, a checklist for those who will be printing their posters, and a few additional resources.

Zielinska, E. (2011). Poster Perfect: How to drive home your science with a visually pleasing poster. The Scientist. Retrieved from website: http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/31071/title/Poster-Perfect/

The website referenced here is another comprehensive guide to creating a presentation poster that will draw in your audience while making your main points clear and concise. You will find information here on what a poster presentation is, how to determine your audience, required content, how to design your poster, and how to actually present your poster when the time comes.

The Writing Center. (2007). Poster Presentations. University of Wisconsin – Madison. Retrieved from website: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/presentations_poster.html

Calling all Humanities and Social Sciences majors; this references is for you! While a lot of the information repeats some of the information in other references, there is specific guidance for posters created for the humanities and social sciences disciplines here.

University of Maryland. (2015). Creating a Research Poster in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research. Retrieved from website: http://www.ugresearch.umd.edu/researchposter.php

Examples

Click on the thumbnails of the poster examples below to see a full size version on the webpage where they are located and to see background information and discussion points.

		Southern Flounder Exhibit Poster This poster was presented at the annual Zoology Department Symposium for graduate students at North Carolina State University. It won the award for best poster presentation at the symposium.
		Suburban Greenways Bird Habitat Poster This poster was presented at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (2005).
		Manatees Poster This poster was created for a graduate biomathematics course at North Carolina State University. It was thereafter presented at several other venues focused on biological conservation.
		Gene Flow in Lions Poster This poster was presented as class project in the final poster session for Modeling Biological Systems at North Carolina State University.
Note: The three Poster examples above are found on the Hess, Tosney, and Liegel website referenced on page 3. They can all be found here: http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/ExamplePosters.html
	The Festival of St. John the Baptist in Renaissance Florence Poster Sample Humanities Poster created and designed by Elizabeth Tobey, 36 x 48 inches in landscape layout, for the University of Maryland.
Note: The Poster example above is found on the University of Maryland website referenced on page 3. This poster can be found here: http://www.ugresearch.umd.edu/documents/tobeypaliosample.pdf Visual References Adding visual references to your posters helps you to explain your points and concepts more easily to your audience. The important thing to keep in mind is that any graphic or visual you use needs to illustrate the point you are trying to make and not just be thrown in to take up space. Besides photographs and illustrations, graphs and charts can assist you in telling your story, allowing your audience to ‘see’ what you are trying to say. The following links will be a good starting place to determination of what type of graph or chart would best suit your presentation. Graphs and Charts The Microsoft Office Suite of software products is a good place to start in your search for colorful and meaningful graphs and charts to convey meaning in your presentations. Microsoft. (2015). Create a chart from start to finish. Microsoft Office support page for Excel. Retrieved from website: https://support.office.com/en-US/article/Create-a-chart-from-start-to-finish-a745775f-98d9-4c63-bfa8-9c00cd03ff0c Creating a chart using Microsoft Excel can add credibility and a visually appealing graphic to support specific data in your poster. Depending on the version of Excel you are using, you can find supporting tutorials and instructions regarding how to create charts with spreadsheets here: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-a-chart-387F3D53-C182-426B-89AF-161322EF593F?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US Pie charts are another way to show your data in a visual way that will grab the attention of your audience. Whether you include corresponding numbers to the pie pices or not, your audience can visualize the breakdown with few words. You can find a detailed guide on how to create pie charts in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel here: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Add-a-pie-chart-812DCCCE-9E44-41C6-9091-225C7C3DF3E0?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US SmartArt graphics in Microsoft Word are yet another way for you to visually define an important part of your poster. Without the need for expensive and complicated illustration software, you can easily create flow charts, organization charts, and process maps using SmartArt graphics that you can input your own labels and text. You can find a detailed set of instructions on this Microsoft website: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Learn-more-about-SmartArt-graphics-344C80F1-3B25-4E1D-BFA1-96BB4759F12A?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US Photos and Stock Images Photographs and stock images add visual appeal to your presentation poster and allow you to illustrate an idea or concept with few words. However, setting up and taking just the right photo can be a challenge. Furthermore, paying for stock images on a college student’s budget may be impossible. The following references may offer you an alternative to time-consuming photo shoots and costly stock photography. Apple, Inc. (2015). Get help with the camera on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod. Apple Support. Retrieved from website: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203040 As the Apple iPhone is one of the most popular cell phones used by college students, this reference offers some general instruction on how to work with the camera on your iPhone to get the perfect image for your presentation poster. Stockvault. (2015). We love to share photos. Retrieved from website: http://www.stockvault.net/ Finding appropriate stock images for a presentation poster on a college student’s budget has been difficult… until now. “Stockvault’s sole purpose is to collect and archive medium and high resolution photographs that designers and students can share and use for their personal and non-commercial design work.” Brilliant! Click on the link above to begin your search for free images. Fotolia. (2015). Retrieved from website: https://us.fotolia.com/ Another stock photography bank, fotolia offers thousands of images at discount prices, some as low as .74 cents each. If you can’t find what you need on the free Stockvault site, fotolia may have what you are looking for. The choice of fonts in your presentation is an important decision. One rule of thumb to follow is using no more than two or three fonts in a single poster. Typically, your copy will be more readable if you use a san-serif font (e.g., Arial, Tahoma, or Verdana) for your headings and subheadings, and a serif font (e.g., Times New Roman, Garamond, or Book Antigua) for your body copy. Fancy and fun fonts look cool, but can often take away from readability and comprehension of your material. The following references discuss font usage in greater detail. Paradi, D. (2015). How to Select and Use Fonts on Presentation Slides. Think Outside The Slide. Retrieved from website: http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/how-to-select-and-use-fonts-on-presentation-slides/ While this reference was written pertaining to PowerPoint Presentations, the same principles apply to using fonts in a Presentation Poster. This website, created by Dave Paradi—author of many books on PowerPoint use and the recipient of Microsoft’s PowerPoint Most Valuable Professional Award—discussed font categories, sizes, and effects that will enhance your poster’s content. Linotype Library. (2015). Poster Fonts. Monotype GmbH. Retrieved from website: http://www.linotype.com/2248/poster-fonts.html?PHPSESSID=45da900dadba604fd0ffb0c28f0f7523 One of the foremost names in fonts and font services, Linotype has been around for more than 100 years. The reference above is one of many font libraries included in the Linotype family of fonts. This website explains how to use fonts to your best advantage for posters, with large examples and links to usage samples so you can easily see how the font will look up close and from a distance. Most of the fonts outlined on this site are available on standard font loads in Microsoft Office products. The Mechanics Materials and Construction The materials you can use to create your presentation poster vary greatly. Depending on the specific requirements of your poster project, you will need poster board, glue or other adhesives, markers, and—most importantly—an imagination. This section offers some ideas for effectively constructing your presentation poster in a way that will allow it to be transported from where you create it to where it will be presented without damage, and points to some retailers where you can purchase what you need to get started. Michaels. (2015). Craft and art supplies. Flagstaff, AZ location info retrieved from website: http://locations.michaels.com/AZ/FLAGSTAFF/9608/index.html?utm_source=Michaels&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=Michaels%2BLocator Michaels offers a plethora of art and craft supplies for almost any budget. Here you will find everything you need to create you presentation poster. Staples.com. (2015). Presentation Boards. Retrieved from website: http://www.staples.com/Presentation-Boards/cat_CL140934 The Staples location in Flagstaff is in Woodlands Village. They carry most of the materials you will need including poster boards, markers, glue, and printing services if you plan to create your poster digitally and have it printed. Transporting Your Poster Once you have completed your presentation poster, you will need to transport it to the place where you will be presenting to your audience. Why risk losing pieces of your poster to the elements during transport when you can ensure its safety in a shipping box or packing container at an affordable price? The links below offer a couple of alternatives that could be reused many times during your college career and beyond. Light Impressions. (2015). Website: http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/shipping-boxes-16-1-4-x-20-1-4-x-7-8/shipping-boxes/ U-Haul. (2015). Website: http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Boxes/Mirror-picture-boxes/Large-Mirror-Box?id=8696 Parting Thoughts The creation of a Presentation Poster is an opportunity to learn about a specific topic, share that knowledge with others, and have fun in the process. If a student is armed with the right information on how to build an engaging and effective presentation that illustrates the main point and communicates that point to the audience, the assignment of creating a presentation poster can be a rewarding experience. Hopefully, the information contained in this resource bin will help guide you through that rewarding experience and culminate in a presentation poster you can be proud of. The additional resources below offer further opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in writing your text (Bartholomae), understanding your audience (Lunsford), finding your inner child (Svitak), and adding style and personality to your poster (Zinsser). Good Luck! Additional Resources Bartholomae, D. (1986). Inventing The University. Journal of Basic Writing, Vol. 5, No. 1. Retrieved from website: https://bblearn.nau.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/1157-NAU00-ENG-561-SEC001-19963.NAU-PSSIS/Reserves%20Files/Bartholomae_Inventing_the _University.pdfPSSIS/Reserves%20Files/Miller_Teaching_the_Histories_of_Rhetoric_as_a_Social_Practice.pdf In this article David Bartholomae insists that in order to write, all writers must “imagine for themselves the privilege of being ‘insiders’–that is, of being both inside an established and powerful discourse, and of being granted a special right to speak.” (Bartholomae, p. 10) In this way, a writer can be free to put to paper the actual thoughts and intuitions that come to mind without feeling inferior or less than knowledgeable of a specific discipline. It gives students the ability to take part in their educations (inventing the university) in a way that changes with the times and remains relevant to future generations. Students should feel free to show their knowledge in their posters, and not just copy from sources. They should be free to write what they know and feel scholarly when producing a nice piece that others can learn from. Lunsford, A., and Ede, L. (2014). Among the Audience. (Ch. 15, p. 194) in The Routledge Reader on Writing Centers and New Media. Lee, S., and Carpenter, R. (Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. According to Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa Ede in their chapter Among the Audience, “…the relationship between writer and message and medium (or media) is complex and full of reciprocity.” (Lunsford, p. 198) They make the point that the traditional roles of writer and audience are rapidly changing within our now digital world. These ever-changing roles are a result of the participatory communication we all work with in digital media applications. Students should consider more than just their audience and the context of their main points; and think about the poster as a whole and how, visually, it will draw in the reader/viewer and get them to want to read more. Sitvak, A. (2010). What adults can learn from kids. TED talk. Retrieved from website: http://www.ted.com/talks/adora_svitak?language=en In Adora Svitak’s TED Talk, her argument for adults to open their minds to “childish” ideas is well-executed and effective. Students can find a sense of freedom to have fun with their poster presentations and really engage their audience with surprises (possibly with pop-ups like in childrens’ books) and colorful graphics. In this way their presentations will jump out to those passing by and they will have fun in the process of working on their posters and not consider them a chore. Zinsser, W. (2006). On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. (30th Anniversary ed.) Southern Methodist University. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. William Zinsser’s On Writing Well is an easy to read book about writing non-fiction. There is a wealth of information on the subject of style and adding personality to your writing. The skills learned in reading this short but informative book can help to improve your writing skills, which will ultimately be helpful in creating the text that will appear in your poster presentation.