1. How to Prepare a Scientific Poster for BIOS 312
Dr. Mary Purugganan
Cain Project in Engineering & Professional Communication

2. Posters Present a Challenge
Posters must be lean and clean
Posters must stand alone

3. Today’s Plan
Review design principles
Critique samples

4. What’s YOUR News? What investigation did you conduct?
What was the purpose?
Why does your work matter? What sets it apart?
What are your methods?
What are your results?
What are your conclusions?
What did you find out that you want to communicate to others?…
What is the investigation? Why? Why does it matter?
Methods?
Results?
Conclusions?
Make sure-- objectives in purpose MATCH conlusions-- and that RESULTS support CONCLUSIONS (conclusions should not introduce any new ideas)

5. Connect with the Audience
Why are they interested?
What are their backgrounds?
How will they benefit?
What are their questions?

6. Make Key Points Accessible
Create accurate, informative title
Include introductory summary / abstract or objectives
Use forecasting statements to introduce or summarize each section
Define jargon
Use message headings
Design your poster to make THE NEWS ACCESSIBLE…easy to process by the audience…Typical poster audiences include participants at a scientific meeting, strolling down the the hallway of the convention center. In your case, you will have a captive audience, but they need to be guided with the key points clearly defined.
Help them get to the point of your poster:
Spend a good amount of time thinking about your title. What is the point of the poster? What do you want to tell audiences you did? Don’t extrapolate here! Don’t be sheepish about your accomplishments. Be accurate and informative.
Include SUMMARY or ABSTRACT
FORECAST CONTENT of each section
USE HEADINGS
AVOID JARGON or UNDEFINED ACRONYMS that will intimidate the audience (varied: water systems engineer and microbiologist in same audience)

7. Message headings Results of Cell Proliferation Assay
Concentration of Cells Vs. Time in Different Media Conditions
Cell Proliferation Increases with Serum Percentage of Media
First two headings: accurate but don’t have a message. Last heading: superior--it communicates the conclusion the authors made.

8. For layout, visualize the key points: How do you see the information?
Your information can usually be visualized. How do you see the information you want to convey? It’s usually a guide to your layout.

9. Match visualization to layout
Left-to-right flow in vertical columns
Left-to-right flow in horizontal rows
Centered image with explanations
Two fields in contrast
Design your poster in a layout that is APPROPRIATE for your key points.

10. L-to-R Flow in Vertical Columns
Title & Authors
Most commonly seen. English readers read this way.
Flows top to bottom, left to right

11. Title & Authors Methods Results Table 1 Fig 2 Goals Conclusions
Problem
Methods
Results
Table 1
Fig 2
Goals
Conclusions

13. L-to-R Flow in Rows
Title & Authors
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

15. Centered Image & Explanations
Title & Authors
Abstract
If YOUR NEWS is that you have CREATED A DEVICE or found out something unique about a CHEMICAL REACTION, you may want to HIGHLIGHT A GRAPHIC in the middle of your poster.

17. Two Fields in Contrast Title & Authors
Have you created a new way of doing something? (OLD VS. NEW) Do you want to contrast two methods or devices?

19. Guide the Reader Scale expresses relative importance
Indenting shows subordination
As in this example
White space directs gaze
Color adds emphasis or coherence

20. Font Style and Size Title (~6 – 8 words) Headings (~3 words) Text
Sans Serif font (Arial, Helvetica) pt
Headings (~3 words)
Sans Serif (Arial, Helvetica) pt
Text
Sans Serif (Arial, Helvetica) or Serif (Times)
pt.
Audience will be five feet away. Font sizes should be readab le from a distance.

21. If you design a poster that looks like this . . .

23. your audience will react like this

24. Fat Text - - to - - Lean Text
The ideal anesthetic should quickly make the patient unconscious but allow a quick return to consciousness, have few side effects, and be safe to handle.
Ideal anesthetics
Quick sedation
Quick recovery
Few side effects
Safe to handle

25. Principles of Explanation
Tag image with explanations
Interpret, don’t just show, data

26. Protein X is located in nucleus and cytoplasm of some cells
Results of immunolocalization of protein x
How do I read the data? What does it mean? Audience needs guidance.

27. Protein X is located in nucleus and cytoplasm of some cells
Cytoplasmic localization
Nuclear localization was common
Cytoplasmic localization was observed in some cells
Nuclear localization
Arrows and labels clearly indicate what was seen and help reader know why conclusions were drawn.

28. Common Errors in Poster Visuals
Size
Colors
Labels
Units
“Chart junk”
Significant figures
and error bars
Some don’t know how to represent results using figures and graphs (instead use words)
Many of these problems stem from the fact that students don’t know how to adjust the default settings in MatLab or Excel, which they use to generate their figures and graphs (or they’re too lazy).
Size of legend, points, labels, lines too small.
Colors lack contrast. Most important line is in the least visible color. Gray background on graphs. Tick marks too light
Labels absent from important points, units not included on axes, oddly named, imprecise
Title not as descriptive as they could be. Or descriptive titles duplicated in results bullet
Duplicate title, boxes, grid lines,
Significant digits halfway across the paper, no error bars

29. Rate of seedling growth at three different temperatures
This is an example of Microsoft Excel defaults used in generating a line graph. Note the duplication of title which may occur if you title your graph within the graphing program and then import that graph into your poster.
“Default” design: ineffective

30. Rate of seedling growth at three different temperatures
30oC
25oC
20oC
Improved: gray removed; gridlines removed; legend removed and lines labelled instead; box around graph removed; axes made thicker.
Designed: more effective

31. Details Matter! Check for consistent formatting
Check grammar and spelling
Use a correct bibliography

32. Communicate with Confidence
Talk to audience
Stand up straight
Integrate gestures
Use voice to convey enthusiasm
Adjust pacing

33. Sample Posters