Academic poster

What is an academic poster?

An academic poster is a visual way of communicating information.

It needs to grab attention and convey a message in a clear and compelling way using a
mixture of text and graphics.

Academic posters are academic, this means they should be written in a formal style and
referenced.

Academic posters are designed so others can read and understand the information quickly.

What to include
Your content needs to be clearly and logically laid out using headings and subheadings.

If you are reporting information you could adopt a report structure for your poster, but if
you are providing a solution to a problem you may find an analytical style more appropriate.

Reporting upon your research Providing a solution to a problem

• Title • Title
• Introduction • Situation
• Method • Problem
• Results • Possible solutions
• Discussion • Evaluation of those solutions.
• Conclusions • Implementation of the chosen
• References solution
• Conclusions
• References

Planning your content

Be guided by the learning outcomes and topic.

A poster needs precise and concise communication so spend time identifying your key
points, be specific and use plain English, not jargon.

What information do you want to include?

What information do you want the reader of your poster to know?

Decide upon any pictures, diagrams, charts, graphs or photos that help communicate
the information to the reader of your poster.

Academic posters require referencing to show evidence of your reading and research
so you should always provide a reference list or bibliography.

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Design and layout
Once you have decided upon the content think about how are you going to arrange your
information?

• Keep referring to the purpose of your poster.

• Choose a layout that matches its purpose. For example, think about whether you are
going to choose a circular design that flows from section to section or columnar
design that will be read in the same way as a newspaper for the information you
want to display.
• The reader will need to know how to read your poster so decide whether you are
going to number the sections or use arrows as a guide.

Layout tips:
• Have a clear point of entry for the reader
• Have a logical structure. What information do you want to reader to know?
• Avoid over-simplification and over-complication in your design. Don’t use loads of
fonts and colours, make it look business like and professional.
• Use space and margins to avoid overcrowding your poster

Remember that your poster must have visual impact and be clear and legible from about a
metre away.

Examples.
There are many examples of academic posters on the internet; search for academic posters
and look in images. Hopefully you will get inspiration on how to design your poster.

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