Poster Presentation Guidelines

Posters should be readable by viewers from distances of at least 3 feet/91.44 centimeters away. The message should be clear and understandable. Your poster should be formatted in landscape orientation and not larger than 48 inches/121 cm in height x 96 inches/242 cm in width. Push pins will be provided to affix your poster to the poster board.

The following guidelines have been prepared to help improve the effectiveness of poster communication.

1. Initial Sketch - Plan your poster early.  Focus your attention on a few key points.  Try various styles of data presentation to achieve clarity and simplicity.  Does the use of color help?  What needs to be expressed in words?  Suggest headlines and text topics.
2. Rough Layout - Enlarge your best initial sketch, keeping the dimensions in proportion to the final poster. Ideally, the rough layout should be in full size. A blackboard is a convenient place to work. Print the title and headlines. Indicate text by horizontal lines. Draw rough graphs and tables. This will give you a good idea of proportions and balance. Ask associates for comments. This is still an experimental stage.
3. Final Layout - The artwork is complete. The text and tables are typed but not necessarily enlarged to full size. Now ask, is the message clear? Do the important points stand out? Is there a balance between words and illustrations? Is there spatial balance? Is the pathway through the poster clear?
4. Balance - The figures and tables should cover slightly more than 50% of the poster area. If you have only a few illustrations, make them large. Do not omit the text but keep it brief. The poster should be understandable without oral explanation. Detailed information should be provided in smaller type below the heading. Details of methodology should be brief and should be placed at the end of the legend.
5. Topography - Avoid abbreviations, acronyms, and jargon. Use a consistent font throughout.
6. Eye Movement - The movement (pathway) of the eye over the poster should be natural, down the columns or along the rows. Size attracts attention. Arrows, pointing hands, numbers, and letters can help clarify the sequence.
7. Simplicity - Resist the temptation to overload the poster. More material may mean less communication. Simple use of color can add effective emphasis.

Accessibility Guidelines

A special thanks to the DEI committees of the four societies that participate in the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH): the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH); the American Elasmobranch Society (AES); Herpetologists League (HL); and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) who made the guidelines from which these have been derived.

Layout and design

• In a traditional poster format, information is arranged in three columns and generally flows from left to right and from top to bottom.
• There is no need to put the abstract on the poster.
• Ensure your background and text have sufficient contrast, but also avoid a stark white background.

Font

• Use at least size 24 font for regular text, 60pt for headings, and 80-150pt for your title.
• Use sans-serif fonts like Calibri and Arial for readability.
• Bold words for emphasis rather than using all caps, underlines, or highlight.

Text

• Left align text without justification.
• Avoid special effects like shadows.
• Avoid large blocks of text.
• Use a minimum of 1.5 spacing.
• Use short sentences, simple words, and bullet points.
• Avoid jargon.

Images and figures

• Ensure figures are colorblind-friendly. You can check your images here.
• Use shapes, patterns, and/or labels to indicate differences, categories, or labels rather than just color.
• Label data lines on graphs directly and avoid reliance on keys when possible.
• Lines in graphs and labels should be thicker than they would be for a typical document

Additional Tips

• Consider making an audio recording of your talk with descriptions of visual elements that can be put on a website and accessed through a QR code (QR Code Generator).
• Consider putting your presentation online and provide alt text for images so those with visual impairments can fully experience your poster even if you’re not near it. (Guidelines for making image descriptions).
• Use gender-inclusive language (Guide to gender-inclusive language).

While the default assumption is to allow open discussion of SVP presentations on social media, presenters have the right to request that attendees not disseminate the contents of their talk. The following icons may be copied and included on slides or posters to clearly express if you do not want your results posted:

 

Recording (photographing, audio taping or videotaping) any presentation/session is PROHIBITED, except by individuals authorized by SVP or by first authors who want to photograph their own poster presentation.