Guide to Effective Poster Design | Argonne National Laboratory (2024)

Poster Design

Presenters use posters to entice audiences to: (1) read about their work, and (2) understand and remember the information presented.

Key Features

Atit* core, a posteris made up of four key features: a title, graphic(s), text,and white space. Layout, flow, and color affect the order and style of these four key features.

Title

The title is a descriptive indicator of the contents of the poster, and it should not exceed two lines of text. For your title, we recommend using 48-point font (or larger) and bold lettering.

Text

Posterstypicallyemployaround 800 words (and no more than 1000 words) of text. Your textMUST beorganized intosections and labeled withappropriate section headings so that readers can easily navigate the contents ofyour poster. The text should clearly describe theobjective of your study, the procedures used,the results obtained, andany conclusions based on theresults presented.

Graphics

Graphics must appearin contextwith the main text. When choosing graphics, alwayschoose high-resolution images (300 dpi or higher), and make sure thatthese imagesare large enough such that a person standing 5 feet away can see them.Avoid pulling low-resolution images from the web, always use captions for figures/tables, and always credit sources where appropriate.

White space

White space exists as a key feature because it is necessary for defining the borders of your presentation. It also creates “breathing room” within your poster, which helps viewers avoid feeling overwhelmed by the information being presented. Roughly speaking, 30% of your poster should consist of white space, 40% should consist of your title and text, and 30% should consist of graphic images.

Layout

There aremany design options for the layout of a poster, including numerous free templates available online. Some popular options include vertical columns, contrasting fields, and the graphic-centered designs shown above. Ultimately, theright layout for your poster will be the one that best illustrates the purpose of your report. For example, if your objectiveis to compare and contrast two different categories, a contrasting-fieldslayout will likely be abetter option than a vertical columns or graphics-centered layout.

Flow

Flow coordinates with how your readers’ eyes move around the different sections of your poster. As you are choosing your layout and labeling the different sections of your poster, you should always consider the flow of your design. In the best poster designs, the flow is logical and readers are never confused about how to find information on the poster or how to connect the dots between different sections. Above is an example of how a vertical column layout would flow.

Color

Adding color to a presentation is an excellent way to draw a reader’s gaze and define the different sections of your poster. But color should always be usedsparingly and with considerable thought. Indiscriminate changes in font and color only distract from your message; therefore, we recommend you use no more than three colors and two font types for your text. One simple way of incorporating color to your poster is to use a different color for your headings and subheadings.

Tips for Creating Posters

Use no more than two typefaces.
Use sans serif fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica. These fonts work better for posters and PowerPoints, while serif fonts are typically reserved for papers.
Write the authors’ names, collaborators’ names,and subheadings using 48-point font or larger.
Use 30 to36-point font for the narrative text.
Keep the margins of your poster and the space between columns at a minimum of 2.5 inches.
Avoid mixinglow-contrast colors (for example, yellow textagainst a white background), becauseit often makes text and imageshard to see.

Programs for Creating Posters

LaTeX (free)
PowerPoint
InDesign
Illustrator
Inkscape
PosterGenius

FAQs

Guide to Effective Poster Design | Argonne National Laboratory? ›

– Use short sentences, simple words, and bullets to illustrate your points. – Text should be broken up by including graphics or photos. – Self-explanatory graphics should dominate the poster. The success of a poster directly relates to the clarity of your illustrations and tables!

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What are the guidelines for a good poster? ›

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What is the general rule for poster layout design? ›

Headings, columns, and graphics should be aligned whenever appropriate. For example, a poster is typically broken into columns. the tops of the columns should be aligned with each other, and the sections in each column should be left justified so that each paragraph is exactly at the left edge of the column.

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What are the elements of an effective poster? ›

At its core, a poster is made up of four key features: a title, graphic(s), text, and white space.

What is the rule of thumb for poster design? ›

A good rule of thumb for maximum text use is 1/3 text to 2/3 visuals. Choose an image or two that portrays your message well. Images should be able to capture attention and also relate to the purpose of the poster. Use no more than two font types and only three or four font sizes.

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What are the three layers of a good poster design? ›

You should think of your design as having three layers. The main attention-grabber is the typography, which includes the most important keyword. Next, you have the details, such as when, where, how, and why. The detail section should be about half the size of the headline.

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What makes a bad poster design? ›

Bad Poster Design: Example

Background image is distracting. Text box backgrounds are dark, which makes text really hard to read. Text box backgrounds are all different colors, for no reason. Text boxes are different widths.

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What makes a poster look professional? ›

Visual hierarchy, negative space, a main point of focus, consistent branding and colors, and clear but fun typography all make a poster shine.

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What is the flow of a poster design? ›

Your poster should flow in the order the information should be read. This usually starts at the top of the left column, follows the column down, moves to the next column, and ends at the bottom right. Leave a lot of white space or space where only the background is visible.

How do you judge a poster design? ›

Overall appearance: The poster is legible and not cluttered with text; any visuals used are effective. Organization & flow: The components of the poster are organized in a logical flow. Clarity of content: Sufficient background information is provided and the research being communicated is easy to understand.

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What are the questions for poster evaluation? ›

Is the poster visually appealing? Does the poster present content to the viewer in an organized manner? Is there a good balance of images/figures and text? Is the poster and discussion appropriate for the general audience?

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What is a poster evaluation checklist? ›

Poster Evaluation Checklist

Basics. o Title and other required sections are present. o Complete author affiliation & contact information is included. o The poster conforms to the requirements of the conference or program where it will be presented. o Font is consistent throughout.

What are the rules of a poster? ›

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What is considered a good poster? ›

A good poster uses an appealing layout and typography along with a well-organised and constructed message that is clear and concise. The amount of text and graphics should also be appropriate. A strong social media presence will ensure that your target audience sees your poster.

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What is a good format for a poster? ›

The most suitable image format for poster creation is a high resolution JPEG (. jpg) file. The advantage of using this format is that you get a high quality image with a relatively small file size. Resolution (in relation to digital imagery) is the number of pixels per square inch on a computer screen.

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