HIST 3302 Sex and Society in America: Posters

The poster is a common tool used by scholar's to present their research/academic work. Posters can be an effective, visual, and inviting way to share work with others. There are many helpful tips about creating a research poster on the web. This page will provide some of the top tips and sites that can help you create a successful poster.

Before you start on your poster, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. What are the most interesting/important findings from your research? What ways is your persona unique?
2. What are some non-textual ways I can convey information on my poster?
3. What information can I share during my presentation instead of putting it on my poster?

By thinking about these questions as you being the poster designing process, you can set yourself up for a visually pleasing and effective poster.

1. Don't use too much text

This is one of the biggest mistakes that students make when creating a poster. A lot of text on a poster is boring to look at and hard to read. Remember that you will only be giving a short "lighting talk" about your poster and most people you will be presenting to will not want to take longer than a minute or two to read through your poster.

2. Use Images

Images are a great way to visually convey information. You can find images on the web, but do be aware of copyright. If you use images solely for school assignments, you generally do not have to worry about getting copyright permissions but you STILL HAVE TO CITE the source of your photo.

3. Font size and style

Your font size should be at least 24 in an easily readable font. Your title font size should be at least 72.

4. Remember "KISS"

A good rule of thumb for posters is the KISS Principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid! Basically, keep your poster easy to read, free of jargon and stick to the most interesting and important aspects of your research.

5. Break it up

Use boxes and sections to logically divide your poster. 

Powerpoint

You can create your poster in PowerPoint. Make sure that you resize the slide before you start adding content. 

Go to the Design tab, click on Slide Size, select Custom Slide Size, change to 24x36.

If you would like to have a one-on-one research consultation about your project (including poster help), please contact me to set up an appointment. You can find my information in the box below.