Visual Literacy: Designing and Presenting a Poster

Abstract

Health professionals present information in a variety of forms. Poster presentations are increasingly used as a communications medium in physiotherapy. The literature on posters concerns mainly the practicalities of production. This paper offers a more comprehensive approach to the topic, drawing on the audiovisual, scientific and communications expertise of the three authors. It provides an update on the technology for poster production. This paper aims to provide guidelines on both preparation and presentation of visual and verbal elements. Key principles are established: creating clear design, selecting significant data, and making information accessible and memorable by means of concise writing. Traditional and contemporary layouts for scientific posters are compared. An example of a non-scientific poster on a healthcare subject is included. The paper aims to increase readers' visual and verbal literacy, so that they are enabled to draw attention visually to their work. Finally, where resources for poster production are limited, we suggest that ‘low tech’ can still mean a high professional standard. We show that the key point is to be selective, so that the poster is effective in putting over the main message. Health professionals present information in a variety of forms. Poster presentations are increasingly used as a communications medium in physiotherapy. The literature on posters concerns mainly the practicalities of production. This paper offers a more comprehensive approach to the topic, drawing on the audiovisual, scientific and communications expertise of the three authors. It provides an update on the technology for poster production. This paper aims to provide guidelines on both preparation and presentation of visual and verbal elements. Key principles are established: creating clear design, selecting significant data, and making information accessible and memorable by means of concise writing. Traditional and contemporary layouts for scientific posters are compared. An example of a non-scientific poster on a healthcare subject is included. The paper aims to increase readers' visual and verbal literacy, so that they are enabled to draw attention visually to their work. Finally, where resources for poster production are limited, we suggest that ‘low tech’ can still mean a high professional standard. We show that the key point is to be selective, so that the poster is effective in putting over the main message.