Professional Development: Conference Tips I: Designing Effective Posters
Even the most experienced researchers can sometimes fall into the pitfalls of producing a conference poster that does not appeal to their audience. In this webinar, winners of the 2024 APS Poster Awards led a discussion on the best practices for designing and delivering poster presentations at conferences.
Jonathan Chia, a psychology PhD candidate at Singapore Management University and a 2024 Student Research Award recipient, shared an example of a clear and concise poster design. He described how he formatted the poster, breaking up his process into a series of easy-to-follow tips. One suggestion was to recognize the power of white space to help guide the viewer’s gaze and make reading through the study’s details easier and less distracting.
“White space is often overlooked, but it really plays quite an important role in readability, so don’t feel like you have to fill in every corner of your poster with something,” Chia said. “Remember that simplicity is key.”
Learn more about the 2024 APSSC Poster Award Winners.
Chia also emphasized the importance of being familiar with the study you are presenting and ready to have a conversation with those who come to visit your poster, reassuring attendees that it’s perfectly acceptable if you don’t have answers to every question you are asked.
“You can’t prepare for everything under the sun and that’s okay,” he said. “This is not an exam. You are just going to have a conversation with people who are interested in science, such as yourself.”
2024 RISE Research Award recipient Sreelakshmi Pushpanadh, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Pennsylvania State University, outlined eight key tips for an effective poster including clarity, interactivity, and audience engagement.
She agreed with Chia that presenters should be prepared to have a conversation with poster visitors, suggesting tools like a list of talking points or QR codes to help make information easily accessible.
“Be there, be ready to talk,” she said. “Have something on hand that you can discuss.”
Pushpanadh also shared a list of design pitfalls to avoid, such as using colors without a specific purpose, including too much jargon, and forgetting to highlight key takeaways of the study.
“Keep it clear, keep it simple, keep it engaging,” she summed up.
What you will learn:
- Best practices for designing an engaging and informative poster
- Common pitfalls to avoid when preparing a poster
- How to engage audiences during a poster presentation
Speakers
Jonathan L. Chia
Singapore Management UniversityJonathan L. Chia is a final year PhD candidate in psychology and a Presidential Doctoral Fellow at Singapore Management University. His research focuses on the intersection of aging, well-being, and advanced longitudinal methodologies. He has published his research in journals such as Social Psychological and Personality Science and Psychology and Aging.
Sreelakshmi Pushpanadh
The Pennsylvania State UniversitySreelakshmi Pushpanadh is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Pennsylvania State University. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Delhi and MA in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University. She is interested in the mental and behavioral consequences of stigma among minoritized populations, specifically across mood and substance use domains.
