✦Research · 13 recordsMake a research poster

Conference posters fail by trying to be the paper: dense text nobody reads from two metres away. This decides the single finding the poster exists to show, drafts a layout led by figures, gets feedback from somebody outside the project, prints well before the conference, and practises the one-minute and three-minute versions you will give standing beside it.

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✦ Everything it creates

The whole plan, before you install it

Goal

A poster people stop at, printed in time Week 5

One message, figures first, and a practised explanation.

Design the poster Week 3

The finding first, then the layout that shows it.

  • Check the conference size, orientation and print deadlineDo firstDay 2
  • Write the single finding the poster exists to showDo firstDay 4
  • Sketch a layout led by figures, not paragraphsDo firstDay 7
  • Draft the posterDo firstWeek 2
  • Get feedback from somebody outside the projectDo firstWeek 2

Print and present Week 5

Printed early, explained in a minute.

  • Send the final file to print, with time to spareDo firstWeek 3
  • Write and practise the one-minute and three-minute versionsDo firstWeek 4
  • Print handouts or add a QR code to the paperWeek 4
✦ It puts something in the calendar

Dates you will not have to remember

Poster session

Week 514:00120 min
✦ It comes with a note

Poster checklist

Title that states the finding, not the topic Names, affiliations and a contact or QR code Introduction: two or three sentences Method: a sentence or a diagram Results: the figures, with captions that say what to notice Conclusion: what it means

From two metres away, the title and the main figure should be readable. If a section needs a paragraph, it probably needs a figure instead.

✦ Questions

Make a research poster, answered.

A title that states the finding, a short introduction, the method in a sentence or a diagram, the key results as figures, a conclusion, and contact details or a QR code to the paper. Most posters carry far too much text; aim for something readable in about a minute.
Whatever the conference specifies, which is why checking is the first task. Common sizes are A0 in much of the world and 36 by 48 inches in North America, in either portrait or landscape depending on the boards.
Have a one-minute summary ready for people passing and a three-minute version for people who stop, and ask what brought them over before launching into it. Practising both aloud is the task most presenters skip.
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