Design for two distances
A poster is read from across the room (does this look interesting? what is it about?) and then up close (a 3-minute read of the argument). The title and a one-line takeaway must land from six feet; the detail rewards someone who steps in. If it only works up close, most people walk past.
Layout and flow
Use a clear reading path — columns top-to-bottom, or numbered sections. Put a plain-language takeaway sentence near the top under the title. Group content into a few blocks (background, methods, results, meaning, next) with generous white space. Do not fill every inch; empty space is what makes it readable.
Text
Far less than you think. Short phrases and bullet fragments, not paragraphs. Title readable at ~72–100 pt, section headers ~36–48 pt, body ~24–28 pt minimum. One or two fonts. High contrast. If a section needs three paragraphs, it belongs in the talk, not the poster.
Figures carry the poster
Your best result should be a large, clean, self-explanatory figure — with axis labels, units, a legend, and a one-line caption stating the finding ("X increased with Y, r = 0.86"). A good figure does more than any block of text. Remake small journal figures at poster scale; do not paste in a 200-pixel screenshot.
The two pitches
Prepare a 30-second version (the hook and the takeaway) for people passing by, and a 3-minute walk-through (question → approach → key result → meaning → next) for people who stop. Practice both out loud. Bring small cards with your name, contact, and a link to the full work.
Printing and the day
Use the campus poster-printing service; submit a day or two ahead, especially near a symposium when the queue is long. Check the required dimensions for your venue. Bring pushpins or clips, a backup PDF on your phone, and water. Stand to the side of your poster, not in front of it.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.