Psychology of a Poster

One basic idea should take precedence over everything else: A poster always advertises a product! So whilst your poster is your creation, you are creating it for the person looking at it. This means you should make it as easy as possible to navigate and to like your poster - especially if you are hoping to get something in return (e.g. an evaluation, a grade or, if you are planning a career in the scientific field e.g. third-party funding or a job).

It should be eye-catching
This means that people looking at it should be able to grasp your content in a short space of time and so should be guided through the content of your poster in a targeted way. They need to be able to grasp the main message without lengthy reading, thinking or distractions.

Less is more
Few colours, few fonts, concise and pithy text, plus high-quality illustrations or figures. Everything should be reduced down to what is essential and meaningful. A good line of argument, backed up by the right figures or illustrations, will not get better just because you present more content.

Insights into the work process
Every scientific poster should present the author’s own achievements, results or research. In the best-case scenario, the poster will help the author obtain funding or a new position in his or her future scientific career. The poster presents the quality of the work. In a nutshell: if the poster is sloppily designed, the person looking at it will - at least subconsciously - have the impression of uncareful work, and this will extend beyond the poster itself to the underlying work it is based on.