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Scholarly Communication and Publishing

This guide is designed for those wishing to publish their research.

Introduction

Posters are used by professionals and academics to quickly and effectively communicate important ideas to an audience. In general, readers may spend anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes interacting with your poster and your poster should be designed to inform readers regardless of where they fall on that spectrum.

The following pages will review strategies for organizing information and displaying it visually for the greatest impact on your audience:

Layout - Content Patterns

The content pattern, the way information is organized and "flows" on the poster, is important because it effects how your audience absorbs the information you are presenting.

Columns

Text and visuals on your poster should be arranged to take advantage of the way that people typically absorb visual information. If your poster includes columns, readers may tend to look at your poster from top to bottom and from left to right. For example:

Image of z layout on a poster

Poster Layout - T to B, L to R

However, there are other patterns to consider. If your poster includes boxes or other elements beyond basic columns, eye movements often fall into two design layout patterns: the F-pattern and the Z-pattern.

F-Pattern

The F-pattern refers to a viewer tendency to first scan a horizontal line across the top of the screen. This is why websites often include a long banner or navigation bar across the top of pages. Next, the viewer may often look left, vertically, for keywords, graphics, subsections, etc. at which point their eyes naturally tend to move horizontally. For example:

Image of a Poster with arrows indicating the F pattern layout

Poster Layout - F Pattern

Z-Pattern

The Z-pattern refers to a viewer tendency to start by looking in the upper left area of page, followed by the upper right area, then back down to the left just below the area where they started. This is similar to typing, when the text flows from left to right, then down to the next line, etc. This creates a triangle, which can continue as a Z-pattern (or a zig zag) all the way down the poster. For example:

Poster showing z pattern layout

Poster Layout - Z Pattern

In any pattern, whether the audience is reading top to bottom, left to right, or following the F or Z pattern, the top left area of your poster will be one of the first places your viewer looks. This area is often where you want include the most important information or what you want viewers to begin with when they're looking at your poster. Assume that your audience only has a few seconds to look at your poster--what do you want them to see and take away in those few seconds?

This content should be eye catching (e.g. a an interesting graphic) and/or include the first information you want them to see (e.g. an introduction):

Image of a poster with star in the upper left area

Poster Layout - Key Area for Introduction or Eye Catching Graphic

Layout - Symmetry

The more visually appealing your poster is, the more likely that your audience will be attracted to it and will read it. Symmetrical designs are visually pleasing and will give your poster a sense of balance.

Keep in mind that when designing a poster, symmetry of the title or horizontal top area does not necessarily need to be symmetrical with the content. Also, perfect symmetry is not always required to ensure a sense of balance, but the largest elements or the majority of elements should be symmetrical.

 

Horizontal Symmetry - when the poster content is divided on a horizontal line, the top and bottom mirror each other:

Image of poster demonstrating horizontal symmetry

Poster Layout - Horizontal Symmetry

Vertical Symmetry - when the poster content is divided on a vertical line, the left and right mirror each other:

Image of poster demonstrating vertical symmetry

Poster Layout - Vertical Symmetry

Diagonal Symmetry - when the poster content is divided on a diagonal line, each corner mirrors the other:

Poster demonstrating diagonal symmetry

Poster Layout - Diagonal Symmetry

Visuals - Basic Rules

Using visuals on posters is very important. Visual elements like pictures, graphs, charts, and tables can quickly communicate key concepts and data to your audience. However, only use visuals to convey information that can and should be absorbed quickly (e.g. trends). Text should be used when more details or precision is required (e.g. specific data).

Also, make sure that any text used in a visual follows best practices for size and font (see "Text" page on this guide). If the text in a visual is not easy to read then the visual is not enhancing the information you are presenting.

Line graph showing the the popularity of Petey

Visuals - Graph Communicating Key Data

Pictures can make posters more attractive but shouldn't be used without a specific purpose or just to fill space. They should be a high resolution and appear clearly when printed. Blurry or pixilated visuals make posters appear unprofessional and may distract viewers from your content.

Graphical elements draw attention. Your reader's eyes will naturally gravitate towards your larges or boldest visual element on your poster, so carefully select visuals that draw attention where you want it and provide information you want viewers to see first.

Image of poster with a bright graphic to draw attention

Visuals - Eye Catching Image

Visual elements like columns or boxes can help organize information, reduce white space, and improve overall appearance. They can affect the flow of information on your poster and be used to direct viewers to follow patterns.

Image of a poster with columns and boxes

Visuals - Columns and Boxes for Organization

Visuals - Image Resolution

The resolution of the digital files you use for visuals (e.g. photographs, images, charts, etc.) should be high enough that they display clearly when your poster is full size.

Two photos of Petey side by side, one with high resolution and one with low resolution

Visuals - High Resolution vs. Low Resolution Example

In general, the larger an image will be printed, the higher the DPI should be (a minimum 300 DPI is a good rule of thumb). To check an image's DPI, right-click on the image and go to "Properties" > "Details". Scroll down until you see information about the image including the DPI:

Screenshot showing where the DPI is displayed when looking at the image properties

Visuals - Checking an Image's DPI

Checking an Image's Quality at Full Size

Even if you find an image with a high DPI, you should still double-check that the image will appear clearly when printed at a larger size. To do this, you can use Photoshop (or other image-editing software; Photoshop is available on the computers in the Innovation Lab & Makerspace). Here are basic directions but for more detailed directions and screenshots, download the file labeled "Checking an Image File for Quality" on the left:

  1. Open the image in Photoshop.
  2. Using a ruler, measure the size of the image on your monitor.
  3. Calculate the percentage increase by dividing the desired dimension by the actual dimension.
  4. In Photoshop go to "Image" > "Image Size".
  5. Take the result from the above calculation (step 3) and multiply it by the height of the image in Photoshop.
  6. Edit the image height to reflect the result of the above calculation. Make sure that the “Constrain Proportions” checkbox is checked.
  7. Zoom your image to 100% size.

The image’s size on the monitor will now show how the image will appear when printed at the actual, larger size. Examine the image to see if it is grainy, inconsistent, etc. – does this quality meet your expectations for high quality image resolution?

If you need to change the size of the image, check out the file to the left called "Sizing an Image to Specific Dimensions" for directions on how to do this.

Finding a High Resolution Image

There are a number of places online where you can download high resolution images online but remember to be careful of copyright restrictions. One great way to search for high resolution images is to use Google's Advanced Image Search:

  1. Go to Google's Advanced Image Search
  2. Enter keywords for the image you are trying to find
  3. Scroll down until you see the "Narrow You Results" area
  4. Open the drop down marked "Image Size" and choose "Large" or an image with high pixels, then click search

In general, the larger an image is, the higher the resolution will be. When looking at the options under Google's "Image Size" drop down, the choices that say "Larger than ## x ##" are referring to the number of pixels on each dimension of the image.

You may also want to consider narrowing down images by "Usage Rights" to help with copyright concerns

Text

While text can be used to communicate with your audience with precision, it also takes time to absorb. Here are some important "best practices" when adding text to your poster:

  • Try to minimize text, using bullet points and phrases instead of full sentences and paragraphs
  • Use visuals instead of text whenever possible
  • Shoot for a balance of text and visuals
  • Text should be left justified to make it easier to read

Fonts

Serif fonts, like Times New Roman and Garamond, are easy to read and should be used for most text. Serif fonts are those that have small lines at the ends of characters (these lines are called "serifs"). Sans-serif fonts like Helvetica and Arial can be used for large text and do not have small lines at the ends of characters. For example:

This text (Times New Roman) uses a serif font

This text (Ariel) uses a sans-serif font

Text Size

Text should be large to make it easier to read and digest. The size of the font used can help your audience understand the hierarchy of the information being presented. These are suggested minimum sizes:

Title = 72 point

Headings = 50 point

Text = 25 point

Emphasis

As a rule of thumb, avoid emphasis in the text of your poster. This includes underlining, italicizing, making text bold, using colors other than black, using all caps, etc.

If you do need to add emphasis, use bold and use it consistently anywhere emphasis is needed. However, if you feel that you need to add emphasis to text on your poster:

  • There is probably too much text in that section.
  • You should emphasis that information in a more distinctive, other way. For example, using a new bullet point for that information, separating it from the rest of the text, or using a visual for that information instead.