Poster Design Guidelines

Follow these design guidelines for your Celebration of Scholarship poster presentation.

If you need help with content, confer with your faculty adviser. Your poster needs to be scholarly, original research.

Your faculty adviser must approve the content of your poster. Once you and your faculty have finalized the poster content, you can create a design of your poster using a template: horizontal template or vertical template (the vertical design is preferable). The poster can be designed by you or a professional graphic/art service (such as the UW Oshkosh Graphics and Presentations Design/Presentations Lab, located in Polk Library Room 5) at your own expense.

The UW Oshkosh Graphics and Presentations Design/Presentations Lab is not staffed to help you write the content of your poster. You should rely on lab staff to help with graphic design only. 

If you need professional assistance with your design, first create a rough design of your poster using a template: horizontal template or vertical template (the vertical design is preferable). Then give your design to Julie Thyssen in the Graphics and Presentations Design/Presentations Lab for fine-tuning. If your design is final but just needs fine-tuning, you must submit your design (must be a pdf, InDesign or PowerPoint document) to Julie by no later than April 4.

If you need start-to-finish assistance with your poster design, you must meet with Julie by no later than March 25.

Julie Thyssen
(920) 424-1348
thyssen@uwosh.edu

Poster Design Tips

• Posters should be constructed to be mounted on screen flexes (covered with fabric) that we will provide. You'll hang your poster with T-pins or Velcro (provided.)
• Posters should be no larger than 36" x 48" if the UW Oshkosh Graphics and Presentations Design/Presentations Lab is printing your poster. Otherwise, posters can be 46" x 46". A vertical design is preferable.
• Less is more. Your poster should not be text-heavy or appear crowded. If you want to communicate details, could you provide a handout with more information? (But note that no exhibits, models or computers may be used with the poster.)
• Can your information be communicated graphically through a chart, diagram, etc.?
• Regarding the hierarchy of information presented on your poster, emphasize your main point (thesis) graphically with a larger font size, higher placement or color. (But don't use too many colors!)
• Chunk information to represent conceptual relationships (text boxes, bullets, etc.).
• Keep in mind that placement of text over a graphic makes reading difficult.
• Double-check spelling and grammar. (Have someone else read it, too.)