MAKINGANACADEMICPOSTER
DIRECTIONSANDHOW-TO
MAKINGANACADEMICPOSTERPRESENTATION
Anacademicposterisasummaryofyourresearch,scholarly,orcreativeprojectinavisuallyengagingway.It
shouldbeacademicallysound,highlightingthecontextofyourwork(throughphotographs,maps,etc.),your
methods,andresults(withgraphs,charts,photographs,etc.).
Thepostershouldbeabletostandonitsownasaclear,logicalpresentationofyourwork,withoutany
explanationfromyou.
Preparean“elevatorspeech”–aonetotwo-minutesummaryofyourprojectthatyoucoulddelivertoanyone
duringatypicalelevatorride.Don’twaitforviewerstoaskaquestion;say,“Wouldyouliketohearaboutmy
researchinabouttwominutesorless?”Thisfreesthemfromhavingtoreadandfigureitalloutthemselves.
Thenoffertoanswerquestions.Ifyoudon’tknowananswer,admitit,speculatewiththeperson,oraskwhat
s/hethinks.
AGOODPOSTERWILL
•
Matchtheaudienceknowledgebaseandinterests
•
Focusyourmessage–whatistheonethingyou
wantpeopletoremember?
•
Conveyyourmessagevisually
•
Bereadablefromabout4-6feetaway
•
Beclearlyorganized
POSTERCONTENT
Posterstypicallyincludemanyofthesectionslisted
below
•
Title
•
Collaborators(includingyou)andtheir
institutionalaffiliations
•
Abstract
•
Background/literaturereview
•
Researchquestion/s
•
Materials,approach,process,ormethods
•
Results/conclusion(inhumanities:main
argument,insight,andsignificanceofwork)
•
Futuredirections,especiallyifthisisaworkin
progress
•
Acknowledgements
•
Contactinformation
POSTERDESIGNTIPS
•
MicrosoftPowerPointisagoodoptiontodesignposters.Besuretobeginbysettingthepagesizetoyour
finalpostersize(instructionsbelow).MoresophisticatedprogramssuchasAdobeInDesign,Illustrator,or
Photoshopareotherdesignoptions(butnotnecessary).
•
Uselargetext(yourtextshouldbeatleast18-24pt;headings30-60pt;title>72pt.)
•
Donotusemorethan2-3fontstylestotal#forrealItwillgetsloppyandhardtoread.
•
Usefontsthatareeasytoread(suchasTimesNewRoman,Garamond,Helvetica,andArial)
•
Avoidjaggededges:left-justifytextwithintextboxesorfullyjustifyblocksoftext
•
Avoidtoomuchtext(recommended:nomorethan800wordsmax)andundefinedtechnicaljargon
(dependinguponyourpotentialaudience)
•
Choosecolorscarefullyandpayattentiontocontrast.Ifindoubt,darkprintonlightbackgroundisbest.
Remember–somecolorblindpeoplecannotdistinguishbetweenredandgreen.Avoiddarkgrey
backgrounds,andpurpletext…ect.
•
Organizeandalignyourcontentwithcolumns,sections,headings,andblocksoftext
•
Whitespaceisimportanttoincreasevisualappealandreadability(thisisthe“empty”spacebetween
sections,columns,headings,blocksoftext,andgraphics).
•
Selectivelyincorporatecharts,graphs,photographs,keyquotationsfromprimarysources,maps,and
othergraphicsthatsupportthethemeofyourposter.Itisbesttoavoidusingtablesofdata.
•
Avoidfuzzyimages;makesureallgraphicsarehigh-resolution(atleast300dpi)andeasilyvisible.*If
pullingphotosfromasearchenginesuchasGoogle,afterenteringyoursearchkeywords,clickonthe
Imagestab;thiswilldisplayallimagesrelatedtoyoursearch.Animportantstepistoweedoutallofthe
smallerimages.Todothis,clickontheToolstab,thenfromtheSizedrop-downmenu,selectLarge.You
willnoticetheimageresultschangetomatchthesesettings.Whenyoumouseovereachimage,thepixel
dimensionswillappearatthebottom.Thehigherthepixels,thebetter.Anythingover2500wouldbe
best,butjusttrytoselectanimagethatmatcheswhatyou’relookingfor,withthemostpixelsas
possible.
•
Edityourpostercarefullyfortypographicorgrammaticalmistakesandimagequalitybeforethefinal
print-out(usetheprint-previewfunction)
*Cited:NorthernArizonaUniversity
SIZE
Astandardsizewillbearound36”(Width)by24”(Height).Todesignthese,itwillworkbest(andtheprinting
centeruses)MicrosoftPowerPoint,sinceitworksfortheCMCtoeffectivelyprinttheposteritselfasonegiant
slide.
POWERPOINTFORWINDOWS2010:
OnceinMicrosoftPowerPoint,gotothetab“design”,andthen
onceunderthatscreen,gotheupper-leftsideofthescreento
theicon“PageSetup”.
Inthedialogbox,youwillwanttopickthe“slidessizedfor”
optioncalled“custom”.Here,youcanmanuallyadjustthe
“Width”tobe36,andthe“Height”tobe24.Besurethatthe
slideorientationitselfisas“landscape”(i.e.longeronthe
horizontalside).
Onceyouhavethissize,youshouldbeabletocustomizethe
posterslideitselfthewayyouwouldanormalPowerPoint
slide;justbesureyouhavethekindofformatyouwantor
needtogetyourcontentontheposter.
MICROSOFTPOWERPOINT2013:
“OntheDesigntab,clickSlideSize,andthenclickCustomSlideSize.”(MSOfficeHelp)
GETTINGYOURPOSTERTOTHECMC
InorderfortheCMCtoaccessyourworktoprintit,pleasebesuretogetittotheminthefollowingways
(morethanoneispreferable,justincasetherearedifficultieswithoneoranother).Pleasesaveyourworkas
both1)aPowerPointfile,ANDas2)a.PDFfile(itshouldbepossibletosaveyourworkinPowerPointunder
“SaveAs”asaPDF).MuchoftheirworkisdoneonMacs,soifanycompatibilityissuesarisetheyhaveafile
theycanread.PleasebringyourfilesonaflashdrivetotheCMCinpersonforthemtoaccessit,andemail
thisfile(s)aswelltotheappropriateaddressasabackup
SENDTO:
TiffanySmith,SeniorGraphicDesigner,[email protected].
SteveEdwards,Creative Media Center Director,[email protected]
LOGISTICS
CreationandlaminationofeachpostertakestheCMCaround30-45minutesperposter,andtheycan
producearound1-2perhour.Keepinmindthatmanyotherstudentswillalsobeturningintheirposterstobe
printed.Becauseofthis,theyaskthatyoubudgetafewdaysforcompletionofyourwork.
PLANTOBRINGYOURPOSTERTOBEPRINTEDSTARTINGTHURSDAYANDFRIDAYOFTHISWEEK.THELATEST
YOUCANBRINGAPOSTERISWEDNESDAYAPRIL5th(firstcomefirstserve–andwaitinguntilthe5thisaHUGE
RISK)!
Theirofficehoursarefrom8amto5pm,sopleasebemindfuloftheirworkdaywhenschedulingyourposter
job.
CAREFULLYREVIEWFILES
PriortosavingthefinalpptcopyandPDF,studentsshouldlookovertheirfilestomakesureallinformationis
correct.But,errorscanbeeasilymissedandthatiswhywerecommendhavingthepptfilealongwiththePDF,
incaseweneedtogobacktothepptfiletomakechanges.Whenweopenastudent’sfile,wealwaysask
themtolookitoverasalastchancetomakesuretherearenoerrorsthatneedtobecorrected.Gettingtheir
approvalgivesthemthatchance,butalsosafeguardsusfromhavingtocoverthecostofmaterialsiftheycatch
anerroratthetimeofpick-up
PRICING
Pricingforpostersworksaccordingtothefollowing:Eachposteritselfwillcostaround$11.30,while
laminationforeachpostercostsaround$5.Laminationis*extremely*recommended,unlessyouwant
smearingandotherdefectshappeningtoyourposter.
YoucanpayCASHorCreditCard,oryoucanchargeittoyourstudentaccount–butyouMUSTcometocome
totheCMCtosignfortheposterifdoingthelateroption.