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Writers' Center

Eastern Washington University

Presentation and Design

Public Speaking

Video not working? Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB2zIwahaiE. 

Posters

Posters are often used as an accompaniment to a talk or presentation, or as a substitute. You’ve probably seen posters hanging up around campus, showcasing students' research. The idea of a poster is to simplify a study and present it in a visual way, so it can be understood by a wide audience. The most important thing to remember when designing a poster (or completing any kind of published work) is to follow the guidelines given. If your instructor, or the conference you’re presenting at, wants a certain format, adhere to that format. These three rules are especially important to follow:

  1. Shorter is better: make sure that your poster does not contain too much text! Packing text onto the poster makes it difficult to read and understand.
  2. Bigger is better. No, this is not a contradiction of rule 1! Make sure your text is large enough to read, and readable against the background of the poster.
  3. Use images. The key aspect of a poster is that it is a visual medium. Include graphs, photos, and illustrations of your work.

Here are some excellent tips and templates for research posters: 

1. http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign

2. http://www.waspacegrant.org

3. http://www.personal.psu.edu/drs18/postershow/: Poster tips from Penn State