Sherry Wynn Perdue

1
Poster Basics

• Sherry Wynn Perdue
• Oakland University Writing Center
• 212 Kresge Library
• [phone]
• www.oakland.edu/ouwc

2
Rhetorical Purpose

• Who is my audience?
• Mixed-discipline
• What is my purpose?
• To get my audience to read my paper and/or ask
  for more information
• For what situation/context do I compose?
• A setting ripe for information overload. Dont
  give viewers additional distractions.
• What are the conventions of the genre?
• Visual short-hand. Less is more.

3
Pivotal Design Question

• Acknowledge the limits of your influence You
  have 30 seconds at a distance to convey your
  message.
• Ask If the viewer remembers only one thing
  about my work, what will it be?

4
Entitlement

• Convey a tangible, purpose-oriented message with
  as few words as possible.
• Consider adding a sub-title if presenting a
  complex message
• Consider forming a provocative question in lieu
  of statement title

5
Headers

• Headings serve two purposes
• Provide order to the message
• Convey key points or sections, such as Research
  Design/Methods, Findings, etc.
• To be effective, consider
• Typeface Sans Serif
• Helvetica, Avant Garde, Franklin Gothic
• Size Readable from a distance (4 feet away)
• Color Contrast but clear and readable

6
Layout Concerns

• Clear progression, usually by columns from left
  to right
• Sectioned Avoid one long stream of text
• Ample white space between items
• Cropped with straight edges (dont eyeball
  alignment)

7
Resources

• The Dos and Dont s of Power Presentation by
  Steven M. Block
• Poster Presentations by The University for
  Wisconsin-Madison
• Creating Effective Poster PresentationsCreate
  Your Poster Headings by Hess, Tosney, and
  Liegel
• Designing Conference Posters by Colin Purrington

8
PPT Poster Presentation Templates

• http//www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poste
  r_templates.html?gclidCKnG8NKNwrICFeUWMgodgwgATw
• http//colinpurrington.com/wp-content/uploads/2011
  /09/postertemplateppt.zip
• http//www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poste
  r_templates.html
• http//www.genigraphics.com/other/poster_templates
  .asp
• http//colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdes
  ign

• Instead of hand-constructing your poster, you can
  use PowerPoint to create one that you then have
  printed by a professional company.
• In the alternative, you can use PPT to print
  sections of the poster, which you hand position
  on poster-board.