2024 Poster Guidelines
The poster sessions provide an opportunity for you to present your research one-on-one with conference attendees. You will set up your poster alongside the work of around other presenters, and people attending the conference will walk through the exhibit and ask questions about your work. We accept all types and kinds of poster formats. Use your creativity and design intuition to make something that speaks to your individual style while also conveying information in a succinct and eye-catching fashion. The panels for each poster are 4’x6′. Your poster needs to fit this space!
Please keep the following guidelines in mind:
- Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early to set up your poster. We will provide push pins for affixing your work to a board.
- Poster sessions are interactive! Practice a 2-3 minute summary of your work in advance (using the poster to guide your thoughts), and be prepared to go through this talk with everyone who passes by your exhibit. Attendees will ask questions, so you will have time to go into more depth on specific aspects of your research.
- Keep your message simple. Convey your ideas clearly with headings, sub-headings, and visual images, but DON’T overdo it. Provide enough information to give context about your work, but don’t overload your poster with too much information (remember, you will be on hand to explain in greater detail).
- Avoid small text! Use at least 16- point font and use a legible font like Times New Roman, Arial, or Garamond. Use the same font throughout your poster.
- Keep figures, tables, and photos simple. Do not print anything smaller than 5×7.
- You can use a Powerpoint slide and have it printed on a large format paper or cloth. You can also put together separate sheets to create one large-scale poster. Your campus printer or design lab can also help with this process. Here is a good guide for using Powerpoint: https://support.spoonflower.com/hc/en-us/articles/204266984-How-to-Create-a-Fabric-Presentation-Poster-from-a-PowerPoint-or-PDF.
Posters Should Include the Following Elements:
- Title (same as your abstract)
- Introduction/Objectives
- A brief summary of methods and/or sources
- Results/Conclusions
- References
- Your contact information
***Look at some examples on the Internet to see what style works best for you! Be creative and have fun, but remember to create something that other attendees can easily read to get a sense of your project (avoid wordy jargon, a density of information, and small print/images). Here is an example of a poster created for The National Women’s Studies Association conference as one example!
