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Common Poster Mistakes
- Too long / too much text
- Text too small
- Graphs and charts difficult to read or understand
- Poorly organized / unclear flow
- Author names and contact information hard to find
Best Practices: Organization and Layout
- Use three columns that read top to bottom then left to right.
- Use plenty of white space
- Use distinct section headings
- Use consistent spacing
- Add emphasis with bold, color, italics or underline, but don’t overdo it!
Best Practices: Text
- Minimum font sizes:
- Body text should be at least 24 point (larger if space allows)
- Section headings should be at least 36 point
- Title text should be at least 72 point
- Avoid long paragraphs: keep blocks of text to 50-75 words
- Total poster word count should be between 600 - 800 words
- Keep it brief: less is more!
- Text should be readable from 5 feet away
- Use an easy to read sans serif font, such as Arial, Calibri, or Verdana
Best Practices: Design & Color
- Use a simple, coordinated color scheme, with 2 to 3 colors
- Avoid red, green, and yellow text
- The more contrast the better: darker text on a lighter background is best
Best Practices: Images
- Graphics, charts, and photos are key to visually displaying the results of your research
- Keep graphs as simple and interpretable as possible
- Label data directly on charts, graphs, etc. or provide a legend
- Be careful with web images as they are often not high enough resolution when enlarged to poster size. Try to find images that are a resolution of 300 dpi
- Be sure you have permission to use images on your poster
