Critique: Bang your head

We have two posters today from contributor Nicole Ackermans! This first poster is from a Mount Sinai Annual Neuroscience Retreat. Click to enlarge!

Excellent concision in the text. This poster is about 300 words long.

This poster impresses with the simplicity of the text, which could carry over into its visuals. The background are the glowing effect on the title are making the poster look complicated when it isn’t.

The picture of the muskoxen provides an entry point for a viewer. I wish it was a bit bigger and clearer. The dark fur against the dark background reduces its impact. A white background, like the other graphs, might have helped. Here’s a quick mock-up.

Personally, I would have put all the headings in a row, rather than sometimes above, sometimes below the pictures. Consistency is helpful. Having the pictures above the text puts the graphics closer to eye level.

One thing you cannot see in the image above, though, is the very useful visual aid that went with the poster.

Skulls are cool.

Nicole’s second poster is from the Experimental Biology conference.

This poster is even shorter and sweeter than the first: only about 200 words! Much better contrast across the board, so it looks as crisp as it reads.

The only thing I question is the sideways section headings. I have come around to the point that generally you don’t want people to have to read sideways or tilt their heads if you can help it. But since each is only one word, and those words are the super familar “IMRaD” headings, it’s fine. 

Nicole assures me that posters were two to a board. She wasn’t leaving all that poster space unused!

I thank Nicole for letting me show her posters!