Title: Should convey the "issue," the approach, and the system (organism); needs to be catchy in order to "reel in" intoxicated passersby. [Maximum length: 1-2 lines.]

• The number one mistake is to make your poster too long. Densely packed, high word-count posters are basically manuscripts pasted onto a wall, and attract only those viewers who are for some reason excited by manuscripts pasted onto walls. Posters with 800 words or less are ideal. For those who feel that their experiment somehow warrants an exception to this brevity advice (i.e., "everyone"), find a friend to help you edit, asking them, "What text, figure, or table could I possibly delete or modify?" To view your word count in Powerpoint, go to the File menu and select Properties.

• Avoid titles with colons. Titles with colons are, on average, longer than a normal title (Lewison and Hartley 2006) and so take longer to read. Coloned titles are sometimes devised in order to inject humor into an otherwise mind-numbing poster topic (e.g., "Mind-numbingly boring: brain MRIs of bored versus anesthetized adolescents," "Attack of the Crohn's: contribution of chromosome 16 allelic variants to inflammatory bowel disease progression," or "Colonectomies: making your titles less pretentious"). The other motivation for using colons is to provide greater detail about the general topic introduced by the first clause, which is purposefully vague so as to interest a wider viewership (e.g., "Causes of obesity: additive effects of inactivity and ad libitum feeding on yearly weight gain in Homo sapiens"). Although humor and clarity are great, it is better to achieve them without a grammatical crutch, especially if the crutch is extremely overused. If you absolutely must have a coloned title, just be sure it's not overly silly and that it doesn't force you to spill onto a third line. And lest you think I'm the only one on the planet who thinks colons are annoying: please conduct this search. (By the way, in recent years I have seen the rise of titles with two colons: these are even clunkier: the reasons are really, really obvious.)
  

Titles with colons: now even scientists are using them. Reason for popularity of colons: I don't know. Data: Lewiston and Hartley 2005. Colons: why, God why?

• Format the title in "sentence case" (e.g., "Font abuse in inbred versus outbred populations of  Homo sapiens”). Do not use “title case” (e.g., "Font Abuse in Inbred Versus Outbred Populations of Homo Sapiens") or “all caps” (e.g., "FONT ABUSE IN INBRED VERSUS OUTBRED POPULATIONS OF HOMO SAPIENS"). Both styles obscure useful naming conventions that depend on font formatting (e.g., Latin binomials, genes, alleles). A more general reason is that sentences formatted in title case and all caps have been shown (by science!) to require a few extra milliseconds for brains to interpret. It is true, of course, that most posters and journal titles used to be set in either "title case" or "all caps," and thus many older scientists will invariably defend these styles "To The Death" or "TO THE DEATH." Part of the reason they used to be typeset this way is to distinguish the titles from the rest of text...but now titles (especially for posters) can be in a really, really big font, and hence the reader doesn't need additional cues that the text is a title. [For those of you who think I'm just being annoying about all this, please read the wonderful article on the psychology of word recognition by Kevin Larson.]

• Use a non-serif font (e.g., Helvetica) for title and headings and a serif font (e.g., Palatino) for body text (serif-style fonts are much easier to read at smaller font sizes).

• Do not "bullet" or otherwise punctuate section headers. The use of a larger font size for headers, coupled with a simple “bolded” format, is sufficient for demarcating sections.

• The width of text boxes should be approximately 40 characters (on average: 11 words per line). Lines that are shorter or longer are harder to read quickly (according to research!).

• Avoid blocks of text longer than 10 sentences.

• Whenever possible, use lists of sentences rather than blocks of text.

• Use italics instead of underlining.

• When using acronyms and numbers (e.g., ATP, 666) within the body of text, scale down the font size by a couple of points so that their sizes don't overpower the lowercase text, which they would do if you left them at the default size. Use of "small caps" will sometimes do the trick, but this effect varies with different fonts and with different software.

• Set line spacing of all text to be exactly 1, in case you have used super- or subscripted text.

• Do not trust the "tab" feature to insert the correct amount of space when you are indenting a paragraph (the default is usually too big). Set the tab amount manually, with the ruler.

• Correct any errors in spacing wit hin and between _ words, especially before and after __italicized__text. Note that you can use a single space between sentences (the "double space" convention was needed for typewriters, and we are slow to lose the habit). Use the Search/Replace feature to globally “replace” all double spaces with single spaces, and to locate locations where too many spaces occur between words.
  

• Avoid using dark backgrounds. There are numerous reasons for this, but probably the most important is that dark backgrounds make designing graphics a royal pain. To make your graphics work on a dark background you would need to either invert the figures so that they stand out against a dark background or you would need to frame your figures in white boxes. Both of these are time intensive, and the latter chews up white space unnecessarily. It's better to just use a light background. And you save on ink, too, so the media people won't put a hex on you.
  

Opt for light backgrounds (left) so that you don't need to house them in boxes (right). [Tortoises drawn by my sister, Teal!]

• Approximately 8% of males and 0.5% of females have some degree of color-vision deficiency (example). Because there are so many different kinds of deficiencies, it is sometimes hard to remember which colors and color combinations are "safe." To test whether you've made a terrible mistake in this regard, you can load an image of your poster onto the internet (as a PDF or JPG) and run it through the free Vischeck service, or you can download their Photoshop plugin that does the same thing: in both cases you will see your poster as color-deficients see it. In general, avoid using red and green together, and opt to use symbols and patterns instead of colors whenever possible. If you want to delve into the details of a particular color, refer to the Internet Technical Groups's interactive Java program or their color table. See the Rigden article, below, for an excellent overview of color deficiency conditions and how to design for them.

• Similarly, if you have a color sensitivity mutation and don't know it, you might inadvertently design posters that are difficult for wild types to interpret. Or just plain ugly. If you're curious, you can test your color perception online (and get your pulse elevated for free). For the litigious and fun-averse, please use the tepid version, instead. White males of European descent are especially encouraged to test themselves--they are disproportionately color deficient (see Keegan and Bannister 2004, below, for a likely consequence).

• If you are creating images on the computer, note that screen color (RGB mode) is different than printed, mixed-ink mode (CYMK). If you want your image to print as you see it, avoid RGB (i.e., change the mode to CYMK in Photoshop).

• Complete the entire poster on a single platform. Switching from PC to Mac or Mac to PC invites disaster, sometimes in the form of lost image files or garbled graph axes. Even if you are lucky enough to transfer content across platforms, switching in this way often creates printing problems in the future.

• Graph titles are not appropriate for manuscripts, but they are great for posters. Having short, informative titles helps to lead the viewer more effortlessly through your poster.

Sample graph modified for poster presentations. This would be a terrible graph for a manuscript, but title and illustrations (though juvenile) help convey important information to the reader. Data are from the Gallup Organization.

• If you can add miniature illustrations to any of your graphs (e.g., as above), do it! Visual additions help attract and inform viewers much more effectively than text alone. Tables benefit from this trick as well.

• Most graphing applications automatically give your graph an extremely annoying key that you should quickly delete if you can directly label the different elements (as above). Interpreting keys is sometimes very difficult, and you should do anything in your power to make your graphs easy on the brain.

• Acronyms and other shorthands for genotypes, strains, and the like are great when talking to yourself but are terrible for communicating with others. On your graphs, use general, descriptive terms that would make sense to somebody who is not familiar with your research area. You can always add the strain ID in parenthesis: "Control genotype (Col-0)".

• Y-axis labels aligned horizontally are much, much easier to read, and should be used whenever space allows. Viewers with hypertrophied, inflexible neck musculature will be especially appreciative.

• All graphs should have axis labels formatted in "sentence case" (not in "Title Case" and not in "ALL CAPS").

• Never give your graphs colored backgrounds, grid lines, or boxes. If your graphing program gives them to you automatically, get rid of them, and curse the programmers as you do it. If you personally know one of those programmers, do something even more severe like break their fingers.

• Never display two-dimensional data in 3-D. Three-dimensional graphs look adorable but obscure true difference among bar heights. People who insist 3-D graphs are cool are covert operatives from USA Today.
  
  
• On the topic of good graphs: if you have a spare couple of months, I highly suggesting immersing yourself in all the materials at http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/. Order all of his books if you can afford them. And go to his seminars. And follow the blog. There's probably even a Tufte doll that you could hot glue to your computer display. Buy that, too.

• Make sure that details on graphs and photographs can be comfortably viewed from 6 feet away. A common mistake is to assume that axes labels, figure legends, and numbers on axes are somehow exempt from font-size guidelines. On the contrary, most viewers will read only your figures!

• Powerpoint does not allow "wrapping" of text around inserted figures, so if you want this option for a particular section, you need to construct the paragraph or section as a separate Microsoft Word file (which does allow text to wrap), and then insert this Word file into your Powerpoint poster by the menu command, Insert:Object (select the "create from file" option). When you want to change anything, you merely double-click the section and the Microsoft Word file will be called up, magically, for you to edit.

• Never, ever incorporate "web" graphics without extreme caution. Most web images have 72 dots per inch of resolution, but printing at that resolution looks absolutely terrible, and the figure will be a huge turn-off to prospective viewers. And never, ever assume that your mentor has, or can find, a high-quality image to give you -- if they have anything, it is usually something pulled off the Internet. If you have access to a digital camera, use it to get a high quality photograph of your study setup or organism (e.g., your Drosophila mutant, a close-up of your Arabidopsis in flower). Memory space is cheap on a digital camera, so take 100 photographs to ensure that at least one has crisp detail, good composition, non-distracting background, etc. Sometimes to get the perfect shot you will need to seek out a microscope that has a camera attached to it. Run your best image through Photoshop to adjust contrast, image size, and sharpening. It should look professional when printed; if it does not, start over. If you're looking for a good generic photograph of something, I highly recommend searching through Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/); then you just send an e-mail to the owner and ask whether you can use his/her wonderful photograph in your poster, with proper credit of course).
  

• If you include a photograph, add a thin gray or black border to make it more visually appealing. Just remember not to overpower the image with an overly thick line. Choose a line color that is subtly pleasing but barely noticeable to the viewer.

Photograph with and without an added border

• Institutional logos are great on departmental letterhead and college athletic caps, but are really rather obnoxious on posters. This is because your institution's name is already on the poster in the address below the title, and thus the logo adds absolutely nothing except recognizable branding. And because they are invariably nicely designed, logos always undermine the visual impact of the (important!) images of your research. For exactly the same reasons, please do not include your family's coat of arms, regardless of how prestigious a bloodline you think you come from. But if you are somehow genetically predispositioned to use logos on your poster, make sure that they are small (1" for maximum dimension) and corraled into the Acknowledgement section along with, perhaps, logos of funding organizations. E.g., never, ever put a logo at the top of your poster.
  
  

  Swarthmore College logo (left) and seal (right). Please do use the logo for your business cards to hand out at conference, but don't put it on your poster. The College seal is reserved for official college business such as printing onto you diploma, if you manage to graduate someday.

  
  
• If you are gluing higher resolution (e.g., 1200 dpi) images or photographs onto your 300-dpi poster, choose matte finishes for illustrations whenever possible to minimize glare for viewers standing off to the side of your poster at crowded sessions).
  
  
• If your topic is related to an audio subject, do not pass up the opportunity to include a button-activated sample of your featured sound on your poster. Record your sample sound and then affix the device (sample shown below) to an empty area in the appropriate section. Fill the picture frame with an illustration of the sound-generating organ or the beast itself, and indicate where on the photograph the viewer should press to activate the sound. You can get these anywhere (e.g., Radio Shack or Targé) for about $10, or you can buy them on the Internet. Talkingproducts.co.uk has a lot of different kinds, and will even custom make a gizmo for you, if you want. The one below is from Walmart, and is sold for under $10 for a pack of three. You'll have the most gimmicky, well-visited poster in the whole session! If you don't do research on amusing noises, but still want a gimmicky, well-visited poster, consider lodging one of these gizmos in your Introduction area (perhaps, "Press this button for a 10 second overview of my poster," for when you are away from your poster); here's an example. Or you can ask people to leave a message for the next viewer, which will generate a huge amount of interest in your poster even if your research is garbage.
  
  

  Photograph of a recordable postcard that can be used to add sound files to your poster. (Put your cursor over the image for instructions on how to access hidden mp3 file.)

  
  
• If you wish to show your poster viewers a whole bunch of photographs, go out and buy one of those digital photo frames and cram it full of photographs. You can get a 4x6" version for about $100, and smaller, keychain-sized ones for as cheap as $10. Check Google for options. Whatever you get, just think up some clever way to attach it to your poster, and give written instructions to viewers about how they should use it. E.g., "This photo frame contains 30 photographs of grass blades, taken every 24 hours; to watch grass grow, just press START." Of course, if you get one of the expensive ones, you should also buy a motion alarm so that envious conference attendees don't walk off with it. Another option is to save your photographs to your iPod, and then just let the photos advance automatically; just figure out how to attach the iPod to the poster, and remember to detach the thing when you walk away from your poster (can't trust those science nerds when it comes to iPods).
  
  
• Although a minority at most meetings, people with visual impairements would undoubtedly appreciate your research summarized in Braille. For a nice overview, check out Sarah Lewthwaite's thoughts on the options.
  
  
• If your topic is related to olfaction, make sure that one of your figures is a scratch-n-sniff. If your topic is related to a vile odor, perhaps put the odor into a plastic bag next to an invitation to "open the bag, if you dare." They (yes, "they") also make odor bags for companies that do odor research. Sold under the title, "odor bags," not surprisingly.
  
  
• If your topic is related to texture (e.g., thorns), make sure that you glue onto your poster an actual object, rather than a photograph. Here is an example.
  
  
• If you have information that only some viewers might find interesting, use a "hidden panel" approach. Just print your interesting extras onto your poster, but cover the area with a hinged piece of poster board onto which you can glue something else. Zoos do this a lot (e.g., "Why is the giraffe's neck so long? Lift this panel to read about the answer."). Overuse of this would be annoying, but there are circumstances where it can really liven up an otherwise mind-numbing poster.
  
  
• If you have three dimensional data or complex molecular structures (examples; more examples), there are software programs (here's one listing) that can generate stereoscopic images that are viewable with cheap 3-D glasses. Here are directions on making your own stereoscopic setup for about $19.98 (before tax) using Legos and two novelty keychain cameras. If you want to be especially nice to all viewers, have the stereoscopic figure hidden under a hinged panel that displays the normal figure. Have a pouch near the figure so that viewers can help themselves to glasses even when you have abandoned your poster in search of more beer.
  
  
• Format your Literature cited contents according to the inflexible rules (all 1282.17 grams of them) that the Council of Biology Editors (CBE) has set forth. References that are only haphazardly formatted mark a poster, and you, as unprofessional. When asking somebody to proof your poster, specifically ask them to be super-critical of your citation style. Keep your reference font size the same as the size of the normal body text.
  
  
• Always write, "data are," not "data is." This directive is because "data" is a plural noun. I have contacted many, many editors of journals, publishers of style manuals, and even the president of the American Association of Type A People, and all of them condemn the rising frequency of "data is" usage. One might say that lots of influential people write "data is." Well, the data might support that statement, but the prevalence of bad grammar doesn't make bad grammar less bad. Look for an article soon in Science Editor on this topic, and please e-mail it to your friends and family. And please send mail to John Sall (sall@sas.com), and ask him to stop using "data is" in SAS's JMP output and manuals. Misuse of "data" in data-analysis software is nothing short of moronic. It might even be a crime against humanity.
  
  
• If your poster is really bad, you might consider attaching a bag of candy or chips to the easel to lure visitors. If you situate yourself a few posters away, you can then pounce on people as they help themselves. If they have taken your food offering, they will feel obliged to stay and talk to you.

Presenting your poster

• If you are obsessive compulsive and have a large wardrobe, try to choose your clothes to match your poster color. Research (see Keegan and Bannister 2003 in "Useful literature") has shown that your poster will be avoided, a bit, when you clash. If you are color blind or fashion-impaired, please ask somebody to help you dress (a lame pick-up line, but give it a try if you're desperate).
  

Example of poster/wardrobe coordination. Please note that his tie features teeth and tooth care products.
PHOTO COURTESY (AND COPYRIGHT) NICOLE BARKER (AKA 'PIXIENIKI')

• Do not wear a hat. Do not wear a muscle shirt. Etc.

• Wear a name tag, if possible, so that viewers know that the poster belongs to you.

• Do not chew gum or tobacco. A nicotine patch is fine, just don't affix it to your forehead (it's distracting, and can leave a nasty rash). Remember that too many nicotine patches can cause cardiac arrest.

• Keep your hands out of your pockets, especially if you are a compulsive key or coin jangler. Fill your pockets with pushpins if you think you won't be able to resist. Don't do this if you are hemophiliac, though. That would be bad.

• Do not wear Axe Body Spray. In fact, that's sound advice even outside of the context of a poster session. It's a godawful smell that simply advertises any number of inadequacies, if not all of them.

• Do not refer to notes when explaining your poster.

• Speak to your viewers as you explain your poster.

• A typical poster visitor really, really appreciates a 1-sentence overview of why your research is interesting and relevant. That's 1 sentence, not 5 minutes. A good way to deliver this sentence is to point at a figure. For example, you might point to the illustration of the submerged hamster in your "Materials and methods" and say, "I was interested in whether hamsters can mate underwater, which would be clearly adaptive if the ice caps melted." Or, point to your favorite results graph and say, "I found that pairs of male and female hamsters didn't mate underwater, but instead drowned within 25 seconds." Keep it general, and make it clear to the visitor why you find the topic interesting. Get them hooked, instantly, on some unanswered question that they simply must hear more about.

• If a visitor hasn't left or yawned, you might continue on to other figures. Point to specific parts of your poster whenever possible so that viewers are aware of your progression. Don't point to text and read it.

• Avoid vagueness such as "this figure shows our main result." Say something concrete, like, "We found that brainectomized rats finished the maze much, much slower, as this graph shows..."

• Keep a black pen and correction fluid in your pocket in case a viewer discovers an embarrassing tybo.

• If more viewers arrive halfway into your spiel, finish the tour for the earlier arrivals first.

• When in doubt about how to act at your poster, imagine that a viewer will be considering your application for a job ten years into the future, or will be considering your graduate school application next week.

• Bring a small coin envelope of business cards to attach to your poster (via pushpins, or via a binder clip). Students: you can print up a small stack of business cards for the event (use Powerpoint, or download a dedicated card-design application if you're a real geek). Glue one of the cards to the outside so that viewers know the contents, and write, "please take one," or something equally inviting. (Note: your institutional logo will be on your cards, so having a card will reduce the compulsion to place a logo on the actual poster.) Example.

• If you must leave your poster, affix a note alerting any viewers to your expected time of return or telling them where you can be found (e.g., which bar).

• Have on hand, but do not aggressively peddle, manuscripts and reprints of your work. Example.

• Also have on hand full-color, "shrunken" versions of your poster on 8.5 x 11" paper. If you have resisted the urge to shrink your font size, the shrunken text will be legible. Example.

• If a person wants to take your photograph, or wants a photograph of your poster, be warned that he or she might post a very high-resolution version of your poster on an Internet site. If you have unpublished research, or research that might be deemed offensive to non-scientists, consider saying, "No, thanks", to the paparazzi, or ask them not to post the photograph. Or takle them and steal their flash card.

• Thank your viewers for visiting. If they have stayed more than 4 minutes, you have succeeded. If they say, "This is really interesting--I'll definitely come back later," you have failed.

Useful literature