Assess Your Poster

Contents of This Section Have someone from your target audience evaluate your poster Effective poster checklist

Have someone from your target audience evaluate your poster

Create a draft of your poster several weeks before it is due, and send the PowerPoint file to your research mentor, colleagues, and friends and ask for them to send you their comments. Include the checklist (below) to provide your reviewers with a convenient guideline. You can print a miniature version of your poster on letter-sized paper to get a better visual impression of the overall layout, balance of graphics and text, and alignment of elements within your poster. You probably won't be able to read the text or fine details on the letter-sized version, so be patient and proofread your text carefully in PowerPoint.

download checklist (.pdf)

Effective Poster Checklist

Attracting Your Target Audience
		If you encountered this poster at a poster session would you stop to look at it?
		Is the poster directed to the target audience?
		Is the title of the poster concise and does it stand out?
		Is the poster's theme or take-home message quickly discernible?
		Is the poster layout visually pleasing?

Delivering the Message
		Is the research objective made explicit and highlighted under a heading such as "Objectives," "Aims," or " Goals?"
		Are the main points explicitly labled (e.g., "Main Points," "Conclusion," "Results").
		Does the information flow logically?
		Has the content been carefully edited?
		Is the text legible in terms of font choice, size, color and spacing?
		Does the title bar include the presenters' names and is the department or institution identified?
		Is the poster free of curious acronyms and jargon?

Creating Visual Impact
		Are the graphics large enough to be seen from a distance of 10 feet?
		Are the graphics attractive and relevant?
		Have figure legends or captions been used to guide the viewer?
		Does the poster have sufficient clear space?
		Are text and graphics evenly balanced, with enough text to explain the graphics?
		Have items been aligned?

Checklist adapted from University of Guelph's "Effective Poster Design"
http://www.soe.uoguelph.ca/webfiles/agavez/poster

Next Step: Print Your Poster