Update, 8 February 2016: This post has been taken down at the request of the submitter.
Additional: Laura has started blogging here.
12 April 2012
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Gallery and Library🆕
A collection of notable posters (and a few presenters) and every known book devoted to academic conference posters.
Better Posters blog and book
Academic conference posters are often ugly, with tiny text, confusing layouts, and dubious colour schemes. This blog and book is about making posters informative and beautiful.
This blog usually updates on Thursdays.
Not the viral video. That’s #BetterPoster (singular) on social media.
Better Posters book
Out now from Pelagic Publishing and fine bookstores.
Pelagic Publishing page for Better Posters
Bookshop.org page for Better Posters (hub for local retailers)
Amazon page for Better Posters
Chapters page for Better Posters
BetterPosters@gmail.com
Want input on a poster? Submit it to be featured on the blog!
Want input on a poster? Submit it to be featured on the blog!
It's still Twitter to me, damn it
@Better_Posters is my social media feed. On other platforms, search for “DoctorZen” for my poster content (not setting up dedicated accounts elsewhere).
Email newsletter
Better Posters email newsletter, powered by Substack (no exclusive content)
BetterPosters
Hit me up on Insta!
Poster design course
If you crave a guided tour of poster creation, Animate Your Science offers an online course on poster design.
I co-authored five self-paced online tutorials here.
Key posts
Search Better Posters
What people are saying
“Every scientist should read @doctorzen Better Posters Blog. His critiques and advice are spot-on.” – Liz Neeley
“It is nothing short of The Bestest Thing Evah!!” – Ambivalent Academic
“just came across this utterly lovable site.” – Francesco Fiondella, Science@Public
“Your website is the Holy Grail of poster making.” - Alex Warnecke
“One of my all time fave blogs - disclaimer: may make you obsessed with poster design.” - Megan Kobiela
“The bible of poster making. Read.” - Dr. Becca
“Love the poster blog! I can’t even count the # times I’ve wanted to stage an intervention for a poster...” – @shwu
“All the advice is top-notch... specific information on how to make a good poster is rare.” – Science Careers
“ooooh this is a gold mine!” – Rim K
“Great blog with constantly updated resources.” - The Scientist magazine
“The ‘Go To’ place to send students when they start preparing posters for their first scientific meetings” – Bora Zivcovik
“I wish there were more blogs on this subject(.) Mostly because most scientific poster presentations are absolutely ghastly. Not just bad, or unseemly; ghastly.” – RobertSOakes
“I want to passive-aggressively run around poster sessions putting up Post-it notes with his url on every poster.” – Dominque
“Better Posters blog is A - MAZE-ING” – A. Roehrich
“I find the Better Posters site comforting. I can’t possibly be as bad as some of them there.” – Anne Jefferson
“@DoctorZen's Better Posters Blog is blowing my mind. Love it! #useful” – Elizabeth Sargent
“It’s a resource badly needed.” – John Hawks
“It’s @DoctorZen’s better poster blog’s fault as to why my poster looks classy & timeless.” – Ricardo Vilain
“Was man alles beachten muss, um ein gutes Poster abzuliefern, an dem die Kollegen auch stehen bleiben, kann man im Blog Better Posters lernen(.)” – Alles was lebt
“recommending reading @doctorzen Better Posters Blog to sci presenters. And anyone who will listen.” – @andrea1
“Should be compulsory reading for academics.” – @sthcrft
“Better Posters blog dispenses solid (much-needed) advice; recognises synergy between aesthetics+info” – Jason Priem
“I’m loving @DoctorZen’s http://betterposters.blogspot.com/ & happy to find I’ve been following the rules! Will show this to ALL students.” – @_modscientist_
“Just put up my poster, it looks fab thanks to @DoctorZen!” – @_modscientist_
“Make sure you read http://betterposters.blogspot.com” – @boris_gorelik
“Love this blog.” – Adrienne Roehrich
“Awesome resource. Thanks for making it” – Danielle Lee
“What a helpful site!” – @kristiholmes
“That is fantastic! I commend you for your efforts- improving academic posters is a worthy cause.” – @JacquelynGill
“Definitely added to RSS reader.” – @firas
“Dá boas dicas!” – @carolcorado
“Deswegen sollte auch jeder das Blog "Better Posters" lesen.” – Florian Freistetter, Astrodicticum Simplex
“(Y)our blog is very helpful!” – chrisjar
“Take note poster presenters, this is good stuff.” – Chris Pickett
“Liking Zen's Better Posters blog(.)” – Andrew McArthur
“Conference season is descending upon us, and @DoctorZen's blog will save scientists a lot of grief” – Andrea Wishart
“It's super useful especially to those of us who have a hard time figuring out what is awesome and what is eye-bleedingly terrible.” – Miriam Goldstein
“Delicious” – @UXFeeder
“very helpful! I plan to share w/other students (there are so few resources on that topic)...” – Jordan Eschler
“Looking forward to using the better (science) posters blog by @doctorzen for my next presentation” – excitedstate
“I hope this blog... gains some viewers from scientists. We need this stuff!” – Brian R. Pauw
“Lots of useful tips” – Mick Dickison
“Love this blog!” - Cindy Gooch
“Great stuff!” – Jonathan Peelle
“I highly recommend his blog for making better posters!” – Kerri Rawson
“Awesome” – Megan Kocher
“Great resource” – Louise Stanfield
“How did I not know about this blog!? WIN!” – Steven Hamblin
“Finally, someone who gets the power of the poster!!!” – Siobhan O'Dwyer
“Excellent blog” – Sue Frantz
“The blog to read if you need to make a poster (or are, like me, just obsessed with poster presentations)” – Tara Murray
“Better Posters is now officially required reading for everyone who trains with me” – Jason Zevin
“Your tips and advices are very usefull!” – Felipe Beijamini
“Your poster blog is fantastic and really helpful!” – Jimi Cullen
“@DoctorZen provides harsh but fair tips for creating effective posters” – UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development
“Great website” – Emily McGregor
“Great tip!” – Biochem Belle
“Extremely useful” - Abby Kavner
“Very useful” – Naomi Hirsch
“Good advice” – @jgarnettTSC
“Good ideas” – @astropixie
“good idea! will do next conf” – Kevin Zelnio
“That dude’s blog really helped.” – Matt Young
“If you don’t follow that blog you should!” – Jared Decker
“Great tips on how to make better research posters here” – Nieves M
“Addictive” – Mallory Choudoir
"Every academic should read the blog!" – Jo Ramasawmy
“It is nothing short of The Bestest Thing Evah!!” – Ambivalent Academic
“just came across this utterly lovable site.” – Francesco Fiondella, Science@Public
“Your website is the Holy Grail of poster making.” - Alex Warnecke
“One of my all time fave blogs - disclaimer: may make you obsessed with poster design.” - Megan Kobiela
“The bible of poster making. Read.” - Dr. Becca
“Love the poster blog! I can’t even count the # times I’ve wanted to stage an intervention for a poster...” – @shwu
“All the advice is top-notch... specific information on how to make a good poster is rare.” – Science Careers
“ooooh this is a gold mine!” – Rim K
“Great blog with constantly updated resources.” - The Scientist magazine
“The ‘Go To’ place to send students when they start preparing posters for their first scientific meetings” – Bora Zivcovik
“I wish there were more blogs on this subject(.) Mostly because most scientific poster presentations are absolutely ghastly. Not just bad, or unseemly; ghastly.” – RobertSOakes
“I want to passive-aggressively run around poster sessions putting up Post-it notes with his url on every poster.” – Dominque
“Better Posters blog is A - MAZE-ING” – A. Roehrich
“I find the Better Posters site comforting. I can’t possibly be as bad as some of them there.” – Anne Jefferson
“@DoctorZen's Better Posters Blog is blowing my mind. Love it! #useful” – Elizabeth Sargent
“It’s a resource badly needed.” – John Hawks
“It’s @DoctorZen’s better poster blog’s fault as to why my poster looks classy & timeless.” – Ricardo Vilain
“Was man alles beachten muss, um ein gutes Poster abzuliefern, an dem die Kollegen auch stehen bleiben, kann man im Blog Better Posters lernen(.)” – Alles was lebt
“recommending reading @doctorzen Better Posters Blog to sci presenters. And anyone who will listen.” – @andrea1
“Should be compulsory reading for academics.” – @sthcrft
“Better Posters blog dispenses solid (much-needed) advice; recognises synergy between aesthetics+info” – Jason Priem
“I’m loving @DoctorZen’s http://betterposters.blogspot.com/ & happy to find I’ve been following the rules! Will show this to ALL students.” – @_modscientist_
“Just put up my poster, it looks fab thanks to @DoctorZen!” – @_modscientist_
“Make sure you read http://betterposters.blogspot.com” – @boris_gorelik
“Love this blog.” – Adrienne Roehrich
“Awesome resource. Thanks for making it” – Danielle Lee
“What a helpful site!” – @kristiholmes
“That is fantastic! I commend you for your efforts- improving academic posters is a worthy cause.” – @JacquelynGill
“Definitely added to RSS reader.” – @firas
“Dá boas dicas!” – @carolcorado
“Deswegen sollte auch jeder das Blog "Better Posters" lesen.” – Florian Freistetter, Astrodicticum Simplex
“(Y)our blog is very helpful!” – chrisjar
“Take note poster presenters, this is good stuff.” – Chris Pickett
“Liking Zen's Better Posters blog(.)” – Andrew McArthur
“Conference season is descending upon us, and @DoctorZen's blog will save scientists a lot of grief” – Andrea Wishart
“It's super useful especially to those of us who have a hard time figuring out what is awesome and what is eye-bleedingly terrible.” – Miriam Goldstein
“Delicious” – @UXFeeder
“very helpful! I plan to share w/other students (there are so few resources on that topic)...” – Jordan Eschler
“Looking forward to using the better (science) posters blog by @doctorzen for my next presentation” – excitedstate
“I hope this blog... gains some viewers from scientists. We need this stuff!” – Brian R. Pauw
“Lots of useful tips” – Mick Dickison
“Love this blog!” - Cindy Gooch
“Great stuff!” – Jonathan Peelle
“I highly recommend his blog for making better posters!” – Kerri Rawson
“Awesome” – Megan Kocher
“Great resource” – Louise Stanfield
“How did I not know about this blog!? WIN!” – Steven Hamblin
“Finally, someone who gets the power of the poster!!!” – Siobhan O'Dwyer
“Excellent blog” – Sue Frantz
“The blog to read if you need to make a poster (or are, like me, just obsessed with poster presentations)” – Tara Murray
“Better Posters is now officially required reading for everyone who trains with me” – Jason Zevin
“Your tips and advices are very usefull!” – Felipe Beijamini
“Your poster blog is fantastic and really helpful!” – Jimi Cullen
“@DoctorZen provides harsh but fair tips for creating effective posters” – UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development
“Great website” – Emily McGregor
“Great tip!” – Biochem Belle
“Extremely useful” - Abby Kavner
“Very useful” – Naomi Hirsch
“Good advice” – @jgarnettTSC
“Good ideas” – @astropixie
“good idea! will do next conf” – Kevin Zelnio
“That dude’s blog really helped.” – Matt Young
“If you don’t follow that blog you should!” – Jared Decker
“Great tips on how to make better research posters here” – Nieves M
“Addictive” – Mallory Choudoir
"Every academic should read the blog!" – Jo Ramasawmy
Labels
- critiques (235)
- link roundup (131)
- design (91)
- graphics (62)
- typefaces (54)
- layout (47)
- presentation (47)
- conferences (46)
- text (43)
- for organizers (41)
- websites (39)
- reviews (37)
- software (36)
- beauty (33)
- Better Posters book (32)
- reuse (27)
- networking (23)
- posters on screens (22)
- QR codes (20)
- colour (18)
- type crimes (16)
- workshops and classes (16)
- grids (15)
- videos (14)
- posters versus talks (11)
- accessibility (10)
- titles (10)
- interviews (8)
- backgrounds (7)
- cunning plans (6)
- online posters (6)
- narrative (5)
- tables (5)
- printing (4)
- talks versus posters (1)
Posts
3 comments:
Great changes! I love the white background.
katiesci
I like the white background too! I haven't implemented any changes to this yet, but I really like your points. As for the unlabelled axis - I realised my error post-printing #rookiefail. :-)
Regarding flow - I think you're right to encourage a systematic and consistent flow in a poster, and for this one I can see that it could be rearranged. However, I think that this is less important for poster sessions where the author/designer plans to stand at the poster the whole time and give a walk through for each and every observer. This is, in fact, the norm at psychology conferences, and so the trick is to make sure that you can guide your audience through the poster effectively (a skill that should really have its own dedicated blog too!). Granted, this is probably easier when the flow is more systematic as you point out, but it's not essential. Luckily for me, this also means that I can clarify things like error bars and axis labels too - although I shall be avoiding these mistakes in the future.
All defensiveness aside, it's been very helpful to get constructive feedback on this. My colleagues all really liked this poster, and I can tell you that it was one of the clearer designs at the conference (what does that say about the rest!), but the attention to detail is eye-opening, and I think will really make a difference in my future designs! I shall send one along when I have it.
I'm glad you found some of the suggestions useful.
You're right that the reading order is less critical when someone is acting as a tour guide. And it's also true people interested enough to take the time to read it will be able to make out the path without too much difficulty. But a consistent design will generally be a stronger design.
I do write about the verbal part of a poster presentation here on the blog, although not as much as the graphics. It's easier to show examples of graphics than of the interplay between the presenter and audience.
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