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Guidelines for Poster Presentations

Academic meetings are most successful when their content is accessible to all attendees, allowing everyone a meaningful opportunity to engage with current research. These guidelines aim to help speakers reach the broadest possible audience.

The recommendations are intended to provide guidance for designing posters for people with a broad range of characteristics such as native language, gender, race, ethnic background, age, sexual orientation, and physical diversity. This resource is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather, an evolving document.

To best serve all attendees, we recommend the following guidelines to create a more accessible poster.

Attention to detail is vital when preparing for any presentation. For posters, a general concept is that the information should stimulate discussion, not give a long presentation. Because space is limited, keep text to a minimum, emphasize graphics, and make sure every item in the poster is necessary.

Preparation and Layout

  • Over 10% of our membership is visually impaired. Using inclusive design principles will increase accessibility for visually impaired members and can also enhance the experience for all poster viewers. To download free templates and learn about how to create accessible graphs, presentations, etc. For example, How to Create Accessible Designs [Tips + Templates].
  • Check that your colors have the right amount of contrast to work in dim and bright rooms. Audience members with low vision, color blindness, and/or deaf or hard of hearing will appreciate it. Below are websites examples with more information on accessible color palettes, and a tool to choose color combinations:
  • Keep it simple – too much information leads to messy or “busy” posters. Avoid large blocks of text.
  • Remember to check conference information for poster size.
  • Include the title and authors of the poster as listed in your abstract.
  • In a traditional poster format, information within columns generally flows from left to right and from top to bottom.
    • The introduction or rationale should be placed at the upper left and the outcome/impact or concluding comments should appear at the lower right. Objectives and other information will fill the remaining space.
    • It may be helpful to use arrows or identifiers (sequential letters or numbers) to guide the reader through the poster.
    • Avoid overwhelming your audience with too many numbers, words, and/or complicated graphs.
    • Stick to two or three main points; too many can confuse the viewer.
    • Get feedback from others before finalizing.
  • It is possible to choose a format other than the traditional one. If you decide to innovate, careful study of good design principles can help you innovate successfully. The Better Posters blog and the Better Poster Gallery provide a trove of information and a gallery of posters for inspiration.

Text

  • Use short sentences, simple words, and bullets to illustrate discrete points.
  • Be concise. Avoid using jargon, acronyms, or unusual abbreviations.
  • The printed outcomes/impacts should permit observers to focus on a concise statement of your central findings that lends itself to discussion.

Fonts

  • All information should be large enough to read easily from at least 4 feet away.
  • Use large font sizes – minimum 40-point font is ideal. Text should be no smaller than 24-point font. Author(s) and affiliation(s) should be at least 42-point, subheadings should be at least 60-point. The title should be printed across the top of the poster in characters of 80-150 point.
  • Use sans serif fonts like Arial, Calibri, Century Gothic, Franklin Gothic Medium, or Lucida Sans. Choose one font and then use it throughout the poster.
  • Use left justification and a minimum of 1.5 spacing.
  • Use more than color to distinguish information (e.g., shapes and/or labels).
  • Bold is generally easier to read than highlighting, underlining, or italicizing.
  • Do not use all caps unless it is for one- or two-word headings. ALL CAPS TEXT IS NOT EASY TO READ.

Illustrations (graph, charts, photos, etc.)

  • The success of a poster directly relates to the clarity of the illustrations and tables.
  • Self-explanatory graphics should dominate the poster (at least 50% of your poster space).
  • Keep captions brief.
  • A minimal amount of text should supplement the graphic materials.
  • Graphic materials should be visible from four (4) feet.
  • Only include essential information in graphs and tables.
  • Label data lines in graphs directly, using large fonts and color. The use of legends and keys requires the viewer to take more time to interpret your message.
  • Lines in graphs should be thicker than normally provided in printed letter-sized paper reports or manuscripts.

Use of Color

  • Consider the needs of those with colorblindness when choosing colors for figures. See the above links including accessibility in PowerPoint. Do not combine red and green.
  • Overuse of color can be distracting – restrained use of 2 to 3 colors for emphasis is valuable.
  • Two to three related background colors will unify the poster.
  • Use a light background with darker photos, a dark background with lighter photos.
  • Use a neutral background (gray) to emphasize color in photos, a white background to reduce the impact of colored photos.

Additional poster presentation tips

  • Consider creating word document, PDF file, and/or webpage versions of your poster and provide a QR code or link on your poster. QR codes can be easily generated through free online software or websites (e.g., QR Code Generator). This will allow viewers to access a digital version of your poster or affiliated handouts and use screen reader software. In these electronic versions, be sure to include alt (alternative) text for figures, graphs, and illustrations (Guidelines for Creating Image Description).
  • Consider creating an audio recording of the text and description of the visual materials on your poster and provide a QR code or a link on your poster to the audio recording.
  • Face the people you are speaking to and avoid covering your mouth so they can see your lips. If you must wear a mask that covers your mouth, be sure to include alternative options, such as a QR code and voice recordings and/or wear a transparent mask.
  • Adopt good practices for gender-inclusive language. These practices are not always intuitive or automatic. The links below aim to raise awareness and guide learning:

Most of the ideas summarized here come from resources from different private and public institutions, and personal experiences. Please refer directly to the links shown below if you want to learn more:

Resource Links

  1. Venngage – How to Create Accessible Designs
  2. The Ultimate Guide to Accessible Presentation Design
  3. DLF – Delivering Presentations and Facilitating Discussions
  4. EuroPlanet Science Conference – Oral Presentation Guidelines
  5. Do-It – Equal Access: Universal Design of Your Presentation
  6. Making your talk accessible, Richard Ladner
  7. How to Make Presentations Accessible to All, W3C
  8. A Colorblind Guide to Colorful Presentations
  9. Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities
  10. Avoiding Sexist Language by Jennifer Klein, Hamilton College
  11. Good Practices: Inclusive Language, by University of Maryland
  12. LGBTQ-Inclusive Language Dos and Don’ts, by The Safe Zone Project
  13. , by GLAAD

This document is the result of joint efforts and contributions of the four DEI’s societies (ASIH, HL, SSAR, and ASE). We would like to thank you Dr. Lynne Parenti for constructive comments and edits to the final version of the document.

 

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