Poster Creation Tips

  1. Keep your poster simple and brief. A poster is not a place for you to tack up your entire body of research for people to read. Instead, think of a poster as a series of highly efficient, organized “panels” (a storyboard). These panels would form synopses of the relevant information you want to convey - just enough to get your point across.
  2. Organize your poster materials using headings, such as “Introduction,” “The Research Question,” “The Methodology,” and “Findings.” These headings will help establish a logical flow to your poster.
  3. Use large enough fonts so people will not have to squint to read the material. For headings, use at least a 48-point font. For text, use nothing less than 18-point.
  4. Make your poster visually appealing. Have fun. Be creative. Incorporate color. Use photographs, graphs, charts, maps, and the like. Simplify charts and figures to include only relevant information. Be attentive to the layout and placement of your materials.
  5. Place the title of your work in a prominent position on your poster. Include your name, your mentor’s name and your UNT college. [For example, if you are a TAMS student but researching under a biology professor, please include College of Science. If you are an Honors College student, please include the Honors College and the college of your mentor.]
  6. There are many YouTube videos to assist you in creating a research poster. Here are a few we like:
  7. Ask your UNT faculty mentor to proof your work. Your poster represents you, your mentor, and your college. Take great care to plan and organize it well. Make sure it communicates the intended information in an interesting, visual manner.

General Guidelines for Submitting Art/Creative Works to the Student Poster Session

  1. Please note that students must make their own transport and display arrangements. The Honors College provides shared long boards. The student must always accompany the creative work to ensure security. No tables or access to electrical outlets will be available to Student Poster presenters.
  2. Students must create a standard poster that provides more information about the work of art. This information may include, but is not limited to:
    • Method of Construction
    • Technical Aspects
    • Context in the Larger World of Art
    • Social/philosophical/Aesthetic Implications
    • Sources of Inspiration
  3. The abstract should state clearly the medium/format of the artwork and briefly mention important information about the work. This can include any important technical, aesthetic, critical, and historical information about the work. The goal is to give reviewers some basic academic information so that they can evaluate the product's significance. Does it emerge from one particular school of aesthetics? Was it created in response to a particular historical or social event? Does it demonstrate a particularly important technique? Is it innovative in some way? An abstract doesn't allow much room to answer these questions, so the student will need to pick and choose. The best abstracts will give a clear impression to a piece's significance and worthiness to display in national settings.

Poster Guidelines

The Honors College will print your poster for free provided that it adheres to the following guidelines:

  1. Posters can contain no more than 20% of color coverage (i.e. no full-color backgrounds)
  2. Your Title/Acknowledgment section must match one of the below formats

    Research Title
    Your Name, Your Affiliation (i.e. Honors College, McNair Scholar, Terry Scholar, or Department)
    Mentor(s) Name (include credentials i.e. PhD, if appropriate), Mentor's Department, Mentor's University

    Research Title
    Student Name(s), Honors College
    Other Contributor(s) Richard Feynman, Department, University
    Dr. Stephen Hawking, Department, University

    Research Title
    Student Name(s)1, Mentor Name(s) Dr. Albert Einstein2
    1Honors College, University of North Texas
    2Department of Physics, University of North Texas
  3. Posters must include an official UNT logo or lockup in accordance with the official branding guidelines.
    • Logos must match one of the following color requirements:
      • Black or White logo on UNT Green background or box.
      • UNT Green logo on black or white background
    • TAMS and Honors College students must use their respective logos (i.e. TAMS students may not use the Honors College logo). All other students may use the general UNT Logo. These may be downloaded here:
      Honors College Green Stacked w/ Eagle (clear background) TAMS Green Stacked w/ Eagle (clear background) UNT Green Stacked (clear background)
    • Logos for other UNT Schools associated with your research (e.g. the College of Engineering) may be used if desired. Note: Research Mentors may require the use of their school's logo. These may be found here.
  4. University and school names must be spelled out in full. (e.g. "University of North Texas", "Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science", "College of Engineering", etc.)

If you have any general questions, contact the Scholars Day coordinator, David Waters at David.Waters@unt.edu

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