Creating scientific posters

Creating a good scientific poster is not easy. You have to develop a whole new range of skills: You need to summarise your entire study in 17.25 words (well, maybe a few more) and 6 pictures. You need to make these 17.25 words and 6 pictures really BIG so that the leading professor in your field can still read your results even though they are 7 metres away (being plied with Moet by a competitor for your dream post-doc position). And you need to arrange your big words and big pictures in an aesthetically pleasing way. You need, in effect, to become a graphic designer. This is a tall order when you have spent the last 5 years studying cognitive science.

The aim of this page is to provide a crash-course in creating a good scientific poster.

First, you need to do some research. The following links provide background information about the general aim of presenting a poster and how a poster should be designed to achieve that aim:

• http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/
• http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/posteradvice.htm
• Effective Scientific Posters Quick Reference (pdf)
• Be a Better Author (pdf)
• 60-second Poster Evaluation (pdf)

Second, you need some examples of good posters. Most of the examples were kindly donated by researchers at MACCS:

• Example 1
• Example 2
• Example 3
• Example 4
• Example 5
• Example 6
• Example 7
• Example 8
• Example 9
• Example 10
• Example 11
• Example 12
• Example 13

Third, you need printing. Recent changes in policy at Mac Uni means that it is far easier (and cheaper) to use the University Printery. Visit www.printery.mq.edu.au for more information.