A scientist walking past posters is often like a shopper who wants to browse products while the sales assistant remains discreetly in the sideline, only to step in at the customer’s request. As for presenters, they stand to the side of their work, hands clasped, avoiding eye contact until directly engaged by the passer-by. Meanwhile, their posters seem like large print versions of extracts from published papers and slides, mounted as a collage of sorts, top to bottom, left to right.
Is the picture familiar?
A good poster is much more than a collage. A good poster catches and engages the audience's interest, while keeping high the accuracy and detail in the information shared. It must carefully balance attention-drawing designs and information-rich text. Yet, even the perfect poster only gets the job half-done. How do you dialogue with the audience around your poster?
In this course, you will learn both skills, and how to choreograph a walkthrough of your poster. The course covers basic design concepts such as color choice, visualizing information, and information flow, but also concise writing and choosing what and how much to include to support your presentation. You will learn how to turn the fleeting glimpse of a hurried passer-by into the prolonged gaze of an interested scientist.
The best poster presentations are more than just award winning memorable posters - they're memorable presentations given by memorable people.