Center for Family and Demographic Research

Preparing a well-organized, creative display that is visually pleasing to both you and your audience communicates your text and data efficiently. 

• Your poster should enhance conversation.
  • Be selective and include major points that are clear and concise.
  • Save interesting, nonessential information for informal discussion during your presentation. 
• Remember, your poster is a visual representation of your research findings.
  • Use a mixture of text, charts, tables, and photographs.
  • Design your text and graphics to be viewed from a distance of 3-4 feet.

Basic Outline

Include…

Text

Headings and Titles…

• Font Style        Sans Serif (without “feet” such as Arial or Tahoma)
• Font Size         30-point minimum
• Emphasis        Bold, italics
• Use Upper and lowercase text (avoid ALL UPPERCASE).
• Use bulleted lists frequently to avoid large amounts of text.
• Arrange material in columns to read from left to right.

Body…

• Font Style        Serif (with “feet” such as Times New Roman or Garamond)
• Font Size         24-point minimum
• Emphasis        Bulleted lists, bold, italics, color

Graphics, Illustrations, and Photographs

• Choose concise, clear, complete, and simple graphics.  Distribute complex or dense data in a handout.
• Number all graphics and label with a title and source. 
• Produce any photographs with a matte finish to reduce glare.
• Ensure you have permission to reproduce photographs and graphics created by others.
• Keep it simple and avoid clutter…use sufficient white space.
• Avoid hand drawings.

Design and Layout

• Use a minimum of 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Use sufficient white space between graphics and text to avoid clutter.
• Limit your paragraphs to no longer than 15-20 lines.  Break up longer sections of text with bulleted lists or graphics.
• Place the title, authors, and affiliations near the top (¼) of the poster, and keep the main body of the poster in the lower (¾) of the poster.

Presentation

• Prepare a short (1-2 sentences) overview of your key findings.
• Stand near poster for the entire period.
• Prepare a handout or business card to distribute.
• Thank viewers for stopping by your poster.