I bet, at some point in your life, you were struck by an attractive poster that made you stop and pay attention to the detail. That's what posters are meant for. 

A Poster is a powerful communication medium often used for film promotion, events, job openings, sales at the shop and so on. Sometimes posters are used for thesis or project presentations at educational institutions. If you are also up for creating a poster for any purpose, you have to abide by some yays and nays to make it a successful one at one go! 

 

Here, I am sharing some important tips on the do’s and don'ts of making a poster that you can follow as a guide. 

 

Do’s and Don'ts of Making a Poster

 

A poster is a small piece of paper where you need to gather information to express something you want the audience to know and respond to. The space is limited, and you have to be very precise and explicit to send the message effectively. Hence, first of all, you need to focus on the main three aspects of the poster: planning, designing and presentation. Planning includes the format, design, layout and so on. I will begin with the poster space first: 

 

Poster space, style and placement 

 

✅ Know the required format or poster space you have. Based on the space, you need to think of the content 

✅ For the poster style, you can choose one large poster or create individual columns or pages to present your data. 

✅ Place the poster in a place where people will easily see and comfortably read the content. 

 

❎Refrain from last-minute poster designing. You might end up missing some of the key requirements. Also, it won't bring out any expected and effective results. 

❎Avoid using too many styles in one poster. It will look chaotic 

❎Don't place the poster in a position where the audience has to look up or bend down

 

Layout and format

 

✅First, you need to think of a layout and format 

✅Draw a draft to present the information in a concise way

✅Choose a light colour background for the academic poster 

✅ Choose large font for the title and focus on the important details 

✅ Use graph for easy understanding 

✅ Highlight important facts if needed 

✅ Prefer using simple and straightforward sentence formation 

✅ You can italicize some information instead of underlining 

✅ Try to make a cohesive poster using background colour, shapes, and fonts to guide the reader through the poster

 

❎ Avoid adding too many images, texts and highlights 

❎Refrain from using more than three types of fonts 

 

Content

 

✅ Before making the poster, think of the target audience

✅ Start the poster with a catchy yet conceptual title 

✅ Highlight the title, sub-title and core contents 

✅ Use keywords for easy understanding and remembering the topic 

✅ Always prefer to use simple and easy-to-understand sentence formation 

✅ Incorporate attractive features like clipart, graphs, animation or graphical illustration. 

✅ If you are presenting the poster, then the poster will work as a guide for you. 

✅ If there is no presentation of the poster, then it must be self-explanatory 

✅ The poster must have a good visual representation 

✅ Use space and keep an empty spot to explain the story 

✅ For academic poster, make a clear hypothesis and present the data in a logical way 

✅ To support the thesis, you can go from left to right or a top-down approach 

✅ For poster presentation, always practice beforehand in front of a demo audience (e.g., colleagues)

 

❎ Refrain from using acronyms and parentheses 

❎ Avoid using too much information or long texts 

❎ After the first draft, remove the details that are redundant and unnecessary 

❎ Don't use extremely bright colours that look unprofessional and painful for the eyes to visualize

 

Use the right software

 

✅ There is much software available now for poster creation. Choose the right one based on your skills and expertise 

✅ For beginners, PowerPoint is the best option

✅ Try Adobe Illustrator, Corel or InDesign if you have the knowledge and skills. You can get professional quality results with this software. 

 

❎ Avoid using too many software and tools or mixing them. 

 

Proofread and spell check

 

✅ Always check for grammatical errors and spelling before printing 

✅ Print in standard A3 format or the format required 

 

Tips on a poster presentation

 

  • Always plan ahead of time for research, draft creation, gather resources and follow a schedule if necessary. 

  • Keep the poster design clean and tidy. Remember, less is more. 

  • For posters, the landscape style will be more unique and effective compared to the portrait style.

  • Don't make the poster too tiny that it becomes hard to read for the audience. Remember, the minimum font size should be 14.

  • For the headings and subheadings, Calibri is popular and well-accepted.

  • For the content body, you can use fonts like serif or Cambria. 

  • If you need to present the poster in front of an audience, begin your presentation with a general opinion about the project you have done. 

  • You can engage the audience with questions or let them lead first; then, you proceed to the details gradually. 

  • Always smile and make eye contact with the audience so that they feel valued. 

  • After the presentation, open up a question-answer session or group discussion (for academic poster).

  • Pay attention to the audience's remarks and insights.

  • Appreciate the audience for feedback. 

  • If you are printing a poster via a poster company, then make sure to convert it into the right format. Consult with experts or the printing company for the best advice. 

  • Always print a poster first, ahead of time (at least 48 hours) for correction and modifications. 

 

Final thought 

 

The purpose of creating a poster in a way that stands out and grabs the attention of the audience. It's often used for presentation, promotion and published in journals. Whether you publish it online or post it on the wall, it demands to be unique, attractive and informative at the same time. Here are the do’s you should follow to make an effective and successful poster.