Creation of an Academic Poster

Everybody who has worked on the project should be part of creating the scientific poster. This work should not be assigned to just one group member. A first working status has to be presented to somebody knowing the team and its work, as this person can give adequate feedback. In general, as many people as possible should take a look at the texts and give their feedback concerning form and substance. In any case, someone should proofread all texts before printing the poster to avoid typos.

Visual Design

The poster has to be visually obvious and appealing for any observer. Therefore, it should be highlighted by its color design and by a use of many chart and graphics. Moreover, using pictures is also important to speak to the viewer on an emotional level. The graphic elements of the poster should be in the foreground, as they will be immediately visible. A poster, containing lots of text and a boring color scheme, will often be overlooked.

Headline Formulation

Headlines should be interesting and appeal to the viewer, in the best case also on an emotional level. Next to the graphic elements, they are the most prominent feature in order to gain attention. They are supposed to cover the central messages of the poster.

Limitation to Central Aspects

In any case, an academic poster has to cover the following contents:

Informations on the background
The discussed challenge or problem
The scientific methodology
The most important results

Thereby it is important to only cover really essential information. As the space offered by a poster as well as the moment of attention by the viewer are quite limited, contents have to be made as clear and precise as possible and unimportant information has to be dropped.

Presentation of an Academic Poster

Concerning the presentation of the poster, an excellent preparation is important. Team members should prepare a “ten-seconds-speech” to persuade viewers that what has been prepared is worth stopping by and taking a look. Moreover, one should be ready for further inquiries considering project aspects not being part of the poster presentation.