Preparing Effective Posters

-Tutorial-An overview of general layout and

design principles for the

2004 NOAA WebShop Conference & Exhibition

A Great Poster is…

• Readable

• Legible

• Well Organized

• Succinct

The Beginning…

• decide what the main message is

• measure the space you have

• lay out your elements crudely

• ELIMINATE all extraneous material

• begin making the poster components!

Considerations…

• The Bite– Presentation fallout = Titling

• The Snack– Charts & Graphs, Pictures, Tables, etc.

• The Meal– A handout – takeaway (takeout) items

Poster Layout…

• Spatial Sequence: or how people see stuff

2

4 1 5

3

Poster Layout…

• Just a suggestion

Office of Something or Other (OSO)We do stuff others can do only slower

•Meet our staff ^•Org Chart

Top ten responsibilities1.--------------- 6.---------------2.-------------- 7.--------------3.------------ 8.--------------4.------------- 9.----------------5.-------------- 10.------------

OtherStuff we do

Wewant

You toRemember

AndOtherStuff

A

A

A

A

A

A

12

24

36

48

72175

Design Elements…

• Color Scheme– Primary colors, neutrals, pastels, etc.– Use brighter/darker colors for emphasis– Use contrast to highlight important sections

• Fonts– Sizes (text > 24pt, Titles ~ 175pt)– Justification (Right, Left, Center)– Styles (Bold, Italics, Shadow, etc.)– Capitalization (All CAPS, SMALL CAPS)

– Serif vs. Sans Serif type face

Color

• Use color to tie elements together• Limit the number & amount of colors• Color choices shouldn’t compete with each

other– Warm colors tend to

come forward, while– Cool colors recede

• Use white space wiselygive the eye a chance to rest between thoughts

Poster Elements…

• Text – Large clear font face – read from 6 ft.– Bulleted text

• Use ZapfDingbats (font) for more interesting bullets – Example: , , ,

• Charts– Use the poster color scheme for chart elements

• Artwork – Use bold images– Limit small, detailed pictures– Use Clipart to convey metaphors and other concepts

graphically

Adding Images…

Poster Elements…

• Tying it all together– Provide a logical flow to the information– Use arrows or string to provide physical

links between elements– Use color to group ideas– Use clear titling to organize idea groups

Final Check & Assembly

• Stage a critique– You may understand the information, but others may not

get the whole picture

• Eliminate, Streamline, Consolidate, etc.– This is the time to make sure that only the most

important points are on the poster– Recheck the fallout from the presentation dry-run to see

if all items are included

• Snip, crop, cut, paste, stick, mount and all that other good stuff– Keep it neat and clean!– Have fun!!!