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Digital Poster Guide

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Research Posters & Infographics

In today's fast-paced world, the ability to communicate complex concepts succinctly is invaluable, and that's where research posters and infographics shine. Research posters condense your findings into a visually engaging format, emphasizing essential points while minimizing text. Infographics, on the other hand, transform intricate data into compelling visual narratives, enabling you to communicate intricate ideas with clarity.

Getting Started

Research posters and infographics are visual which can make them not accessible to users with visual or cognitive disabilities. To ensure you content is accessible, this guide includes resources to plan, design, share your project as well as tips ensure your poster is:

  • easy to see for people with visual difficulties, such as colour blindness
  • recognizable to screen readers
  • possible to understand for people with cognitive disabilities

Planning

Before you begin your design, you need to focus on the purpose of your poster and the key elements to include.

Topic

Your poster needs to talk about something. What theme will you be addressing as you plan and design this poster?

 

Audience

Who is the main audience for your project? How might they feel about the topic you're addressing? Consider their profession or knowledge on the topic so that you don't make things to simple or too complicated.

 

Purpose and Goals

Consider what you want your audience to do or think after viewing your poster and focus your efforts on achieving that goal.

Be clear about what you are trying to accomplish. You might try to teach about a topic, persuade a reader to take action or show results of surveys or data collection.

 

Main Topics or Headings

Don't be afraid to break up your poster into sections. Often, this makes the poster easier to understand. If you do want to break things up, consider what each section should be about

 

Elements, Infographics,
and Research

Have you done some research to use for your infographic? Keep track of links or other information so that you can use it in your poster.

Designing

Read the steps and tips in the sections listed below before designing your poster.

Step 1 - Purpose & Goals

Are you informing, teaching or persuading? This will help you determine what information you need to search for and include.
Possible goals could be:

  • To teach about a topic
  • To promote a charity or event
  • To persuade a reader to take action
  • To show the results of a survey

Ask yourself what do you want your audience to do or think after viewing your poster and focus on achieving that goal.

Step 2 - Writing Content

Organize your information by simplifying complex topics so they are concise. Writing clearly and concisely should include:

  • a clear purpose
  • relevant information for your audience
  • good organization
  • bullet points
  • avoid wordiness

Concise Writing Resources

Paramedic Method: A Lesson in Writing Concisely
Top 5 Tips to Cut the Clutter in Writing

Step 3 - Choosing Elements

In the design phase, consider what type of elements to use in your project.

Poster Elements

Sketch a design with the types of elements you would like to use such as:

  • images, icons or charts and references
  • infographics
  • slide shows
  • video clips
  • voice narration

QR Codes

Consider using QR Codes or small icons to link to reference list or a transcript or audio version explaining the content of your poster.

qr-code.pngdocument.jpegspeaker.png

Tips

Step 4 - Visual Design: Images & Colour

Images

For any images copied from the web, you will needed to add the source to your reference list. Check the Apa Style: Clip Art or Stock Image References for tips on citing images. Learn more about using images in the following guide: Finding and Using Images.

Colour Choices

Colour contrast refers to the contrast between the colour of the text and the background. Using sufficient colour contrast for your text makes it easier for everyone to see your web text – especially people with low vision. Too much (or too little) contrast can both cause problems.

Choose only 2-3 complimentary colours (considering printing). If you are having a hard time choosing colours, this site does it for you: Coolors: Color Scheme Generator.

Check your colour contrast using: WebAIM Contrast Checker

All images should include ALT text which is used to describe the appearance or function of an image on a web page. ALT text is read aloud by screen readers and displays in place of an image if it fails to load. If ALT text is not available, include a description beside your image or provide an alternative format for your users such as an audio file or a transcript explaining your poster.

Design Elements: Documents, QR Codes & Audio Files

If you are working on an assignment, check the assignment details to ensure you follow the steps. The sections below list requirements that may be part of your assignment.

Add Links to Documents (Google Drive)

Link to external documents for Reference lists or a transcript explaining your poster. Follow the steps listed below to use a file already saved to your Google Drive account:

  1. Open the file you want to share.
  2. Click Share in the top right hand corner.
    Google-Share.png

To make the link public follow these steps

  1. Under “General access” click the Down arrow
  2. Choose Anyone with the link, and choose Viewer
  3. Click Copy link

Google-Link.png

The link is ready to paste into your Canva project.

Adding QR Codes

QR codes can be used to link to a Google Doc, an online copy of your poster or even your LinkedIn profile.

Create a QR code generator using these browsers:

If you are designing using Canva, read the Canva Help page: Creating QR Codes.

Your QR code image, needs to be saved and then uploaded to your design tool.

Record Yourself (Video and Audio)

You can now record videos from inside the Canva editor. See the Canva guide for more details. Use can also use your phone or computer to record audio or video files to upload to your poster project.

Use these instructions to learn how to record an audio file.

Sharing

Publishing Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure your poster is ready for viewing:

Visual Design Typography Visual Aids Navigation of Information Content
  • Design grabs attention (template choice)
  • Consistency with colours - 1-3 colours for entire website
  • Good font choice
  • Good use of colour with a balance of white space

Creating a Public Link to your Poster

Check your tool of choice for publishing options. With all tools, your work in not published until you turn on that option. You must select "Anyone with the Link" option to make it available to anyone. For assignments, this is the link to submit to your assignment folder in MyCanvas.

Read more about sharing option for Canvas and Piktochart:

After publishing your poster, check the link on several browsers and on a mobile device.

Printing a Poster

You should plan for printing a poster during your design phase. This is because printing often requires specific colour and size settings. Download your project in a PDF format if possible as it is the best option for printing.

If you are using a printed poster, consider using QR codes to link to a digital version, a reference list or personal contact information.

Digital Poster & Infographic Tools

Unless directed to use a specific tool by your instructor, choose the creation tool that best suits your needs. If you are working with a group, choose the best tool for collaborating. One person will need to create the project file and then invite teammates to collaborate.

Canva (staff pick) - our recommended choice for assignments and design projects. It provides the best collaboration and design features for a large variety of projects.

Piktochart - good choice for individual assignments and for creating charts.

Visme - good for creating interactive or animated infographics.

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