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How do I create a scientific poster?
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Graphs: Part 1 of 2

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Example graph
Purrington, C.B. 2006. Advice on designing scientific posters.
http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/posteradvice.htm.
Accessed 8/29/2005.

Having short, informative graph titles helps to lead the viewer more effortlessly through your poster.

Interpreting legends is sometimes very difficult, and you should do anything in your power to make your graphs easy on the brain. Most graphing applications automatically give your graph a basic legend that you should replace with 'arrows' or 'callouts' so that you can directly label the different elements instead. Consider using miniature illustrations to your graphs (e.g., as to right) if at all possible. These visual additions help attract and inform viewers much more effectively than text alone.

Y-axis labels aligned horizontally are much, much easier to read, and should be used whenever space allows.

Acronyms and other shorthands for genotypes, strains, and the like are great when talking to yourself but are terrible for communicating with others. On your graphs, use "english" and then add the strain in parenthesis (e.g., "Control genotype (Col-0)").

Example

Looking at the graphs below, there is a significant difference in the way the information is being displayed. With the original graph to the left, there's a lot of ink that doesn't convey information relevant to the main point being made. The graph to the right is much easier to understand after applying the following changes.

Example of a cluttered graph and an easy to read graph

1) Grey background: not only does it provide absolutely no information, it's also unsightly. After you remove it, you will likely have to darken some of the lines.

2) Grid lines: it's very unlikely that your audience cares about the exact values at each data point - it's the pattern that matters. The grid lines compete with the pattern you're trying to show.

3) Legend: it's taking up space that would be better spent on the graph

4) X-axis: The labeling between tick marks is confusing and the y-axis should cross at zero.

Hess, G.R., K. Tosney, and L. Liegel. 2006. Creating Effective Poster Presentations. URL=http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters, visited 8/29/2005
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