poster presentations that get noticed

Poster Presentations that get noticed

...for the right reasons!

Why a poster?

• Show your creative side

• Public speaking nervousness – allows you to engage on a one-to-

one basis

• Allows you to personally interact with people who are interested

in your topic

• Visible and accessible e.g. Slideshare, Twitter

• Reach more people

• Can be viewed any time at a conference

Everything starts with an idea...

Project New Service Innovative Workflow

Look at the conference themes for inspiration

Emerging Roles & Skill

Set

Collaboration

Poster Guidelines

A&SL Conference 2015• Address current challenges

in your library• Research you are engaged

in• Future projects• First ideas, work-in-progress

and best practice

CONUL Annual Conference 2015

• The Digital Library• Diversity and

Internationalism• Emerging Roles and Skills• Library Space• Resource Discovery• Partnerships• Unique and Distinctive

Collections

Where to start?

• Browse online for inspiration• Draft, draft and draft again• Content, words, flow, clarity, font size and

type, spelling, layout, illustrative material, photographs

• Follow the guidelines• Quick impact and attract immediate interest

The Design Process

• Formulate and articulate your idea

• Know your target audience

• What do you want to achieve with the poster?

• Be brave!

Content and Words• Your message• First time viewers• Be concise• Title • Ability to stand alone• Use a logical pathway• Not too much text• Tell a story• Author, affiliations and

contact details

Layout and Colour

• Try to create a ‘visual sequence’

• No need to fill every inch – white space is good

• Two/three main colours• Be consistent e.g. Use

one colour for all headings

Typeface1. This is a big one. You have to develop a hierarchy in your

design’s typography. Use a hierarchy that makes sense. The headline should always be the biggest, boldest text. The sub-headline should be differentiated somehow. It doesn’t have to be bold, but it should be larger than the other headline sections, if you have different body paragraphs. The body copy should be smaller, while still being legible. Any footnotes should be the smallest and placed at the bottom of the page, below the text. Also any asides should be made to stand out differently as well. You could use a different color, or you could italicize the text

2. This is a big one. You have to develop a hierarchy in your design’s typography. Use a hierarchy that makes sense. The headline should always be the biggest, boldest text. The sub-headline should be differentiated somehow. It doesn’t have to be bold, but it should be larger than the other headline sections, if you have different body paragraphs. The body copy should be smaller, while still being legible. Any footnotes should be the smallest and placed at the bottom of the page, below the text. Also any asides should be made to stand out differently as well. You could use a different color, or you could italicize the text

Typeface

• Use one typeface, max. two – will distract otherwise

• Be consistent• Use ample spacing between lines• Keep in mind spacing between subject areas• Be concise – keep sentence length short• Use ‘special effects’ sparingly e.g. Italic, bold• Avoid acronyms

Illustrative Material

• Photographs• Charts and Graphs• Quotes• Icons• Good resolution• Logos• Reference any images

you use

Feedback

• Look for an honest opinion

• Listen to the constructive feedback

• Try out the suggested changes...

• ...or get a second opinion

Some Examples

Far too much text!

Background colour distracting

Text boxes different widths, not separated from each other – no

white spaces

Graph illegible

No headings

Messy and unclear heading

Clip art old-fashioned

No affiliations, author?

Posters should be a visual representation not long

batches of text

Still too much text

Graphs too small

Title area is clear

NB contact information

What makes a good poster?

• Interesting and well thought out content

• Flow and clarity

• Easy to read typeface and size

• Correct spelling and nice layout

• Use of illustrative material to catch the eye

Maynooth University

Centre for Teaching and Learning Annual Poster

Showcase

Maynooth University Centre for Teaching and Learning Annual Poster Showcase

Maynooth University Centre for Teaching and Learning Annual Poster Showcase

Centre for Teaching and Learning Annual Poster Showcase

Eye catching

Colour and white space

Layout

Heading

Use of pictures

Little text

Self-Service in UCD Library by Christine Cullen

Winner of Best Poster at CONUL Annual Conference June 2015

Continuing Professional Development in Librarianshipby Laura Connaughton (MU)

Winner of Best Poster at Academic and Special Libraries Annual Conference February 2015

Eye catching

Use of colour

Layout

Heading

Use of icons

Little text

Picture Perfect Presentationsby Niamh O’Sullivan (IBTS)

Winner of Best Poster at Health Sciences Libraries Group (HLSG)

May 2015

Eye catching

Use of colour

Layout

Heading

Logical flow

Clarity

Infographics

• Increasingly popular• Visual• Easy and free to create• Lots more scope than

e.g. Powerpoint• Templates already

designed – you just need to populate it

Upcoming Conferences

• Academic and Special Libraries Annual Conference 2016– Call for posters (&papers)

• LILAC in UCD in 2016– Great opportunity as it is local but with a large

international attendance

In Conclusion

• Try it out

• Follow the poster guidelines

– Size

– Orientation

– Professionally printed

• Ask for opinions – accept them graciously

Useful Sources• LAI CDG Bloghttps://laicdg.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/designing-an-academic-poster/

• Scientific Poster Tutorialshttp://www.makesigns.com/tutorials/poster-design-layout.aspx

• Graphic Design Tipshttp://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/

• Designing conference postershttp://colinpurrington.com/tips/poster-design

• Example of poor poster designhttp://colinpurrington.com/2012/example-of-bad-scientific-poster/

Guidelines and TipsPoster Design: Guidelines & Tips by Helen Fallon and Brian Dempseyhttp://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/4625/1/HF_poster_guidelines.pdf

LAI Career Development Blog – Designing an Academic Posterhttps://laicdg.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/designing-an-academic-poster

Designing Conference Postershttp://colinpurrington.com/2012/example-of-bad-scientific-poster/

Free Software for Poster Design• Piktochart – Infographic Creator http://piktochart.com/

• Nerdgraph Infographicshttp://www.nerdgraph.com/

• Visual.lyhttp://visual.ly/

• Infogramhttps://infogr.am/

MS Powerpoint

Thank You

Laura.Connaughton@nuim.ie / 01 708 3429

@lozconn

References• https://laicdg.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/designing-an-academic-poster/

• http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/

• http://education.byu.edu/identity/academic_posters.html

• http://colinpurrington.com/2012/example-of-bad-scientific-poster/

• CONUL Conference Posters on Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/conulconference

• Connaughton, Laura and Payne, Val (2015) The Summon Discovery Tool: Its Implementation and Impact on Usage Statistics in Maynooth University. In: CONUL Annual Conference, 3rd/ 4th June, 2015, Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, Co. Westmeath. (Unpublished)

• Cullen, Christine (2015) Self-Service in UCD Library. In: CONUL Annual Conference, 3rd/ 4th June, 2015, Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, Co. Westmeath. (Unpublished)

Reference for Images Used• Backhanded Compliment http://www.chicagonow.com/lipstick-lollipops/files/2014/06/backhanded-compliment.png

• Standing out from the crowd (slide 1, apples)https://www.clicky.co.uk/2014/03/standing-out-from-the-crowd-the-holy-grail-of-advice/

• Lightbulb, slide 2 (Fer Gregory)https://www.flickr.com/photos/freg/4898274127/sizes/l

• The Design Process, slide 5http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2007/03/designers_are_t.html

• What to show picture (Austin Kelon)https://medium.com/show-your-work/10-ways-to-share-your-creativity-and-get-discovered-7fb5fdfbc068

• Toast (Brittany Wright)http://wrightkitchen.com/

• Good Typography, slide 8 http://www.creativebeacon.com/good-typography-essential-guide/

• Apples in order (Brittany Wright)http://wrightkitchen.com/y2nw75k59pu5xp0rms8tuc6vjdsu90

• Happy apple, sad apple (Lukasz Holeksa)https://www.flickr.com/photos/130659121@N02

• Poster Presentation PGCD WPPhttp://www.glogster.com/nmp2012/wwp-academic-poster/g-6ljcd66c8dpumm1k4nkc1a0

• Professional Templatehttp://www.slideserve.com/nevan/professional-template-for-a-48x36-poster-presentation