Summer Undergraduate Research Program - Fred Hutchinson ...

Creating Design Unity
• White space (sometimes called negative space) refers to any area not covered by a design element
such as a picture, word, or letter . White space guides the eye and makes the other
components stand out . If you have too much white space, your viewer's eye may wander . If you
have too little white space, your viewers may get confused .
• Be font consistent! Times New Roman, Helvetica, and Arial are recommended because of their
readability .
• Color should be used for emphasis, but be aware of the connotations that certain colors and color
combinations carry . For example, black and orange carry the connotation of Halloween . In most
cases, the background of your poster should be a solid color rather than a pattern .
Some Final Tips
Throughout the entire process, we encourage you to discuss the content of your poster with your
mentor(s), professor(s), and/or peer(s) .
• Ask your mentor(s), professor(s) and/or peer(s) to review your poster . After you have gathered
feedback and incorporated the final edits, be sure to run spell-check.
• Due to the high volume of print production that occurs shortly before a poster session or conference,
the turnaround time for poster printing is usually three to five business days. Simply put; don’t
procrastinate!
• Always request and thoroughly review the contract proof [a model of your poster printed to scale]
prior to having your poster printed in full-size .
• For additional tips on how to successfully present graphical data in your poster, see Jean-luc
Doumont’s summary of his presentation: Effective graphical displays. http://www .fhcrc .org/
science/education/undergraduates/
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