Academic Poster Design

A workshop offered by the Bonn Graduate Center

Academic posters are a useful communication method to present your doctoral project, engage people in fruitful discussions and gain new input for your research. To suit that purpose, a poster needs to be carefully designed, both from the contents' side and the visual appearance. In this workshop, you will learn more about designing academic posters.

In-person Workshop

Friday, June 12, 2026
In-person Workshop
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Monday, June 22, 2026 or Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Mandatory online coaching session to be scheduled between 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Trainer

Dr. Susanne Berger

Language

English

Location

Alte Sternwarte
Poppelsdorfer Allee 47*

Target Group

Doctoral students

Track(s)

Research

Certificate

9 units are applicable within the Doctorate plus certificate

^{* The premises have limited accessibility. Please contact us if you need assistance.}

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.

Description

Starting with the content, we will extract the key messages from your projects. All the way from the research question at hand, to the results and finally to the discussion and open questions. Keeping the target audience in mind, we will determine what should be on the poster and how we can communicate it efficiently.

With the aim in mind to reduce text to an absolute minimum, we will then focus on the visuals that should go on the poster. These can include photographs, maps, schematic drawings, diagrams or other data visualizations.

Having determined the contents, we will address the graphic design both of the individual visuals as well as of the poster as a whole. You will learn how to use a grid and white space, choose colors, fonts and font sizes etc. to produce an aesthetically pleasing and effective poster.

Requirements
During the workshop each participant will design his/her poster about his/her own doctoral project. You need a laptop with a software to create your poster in (Powerpoint is fine), text and figures (diagrams, charts, schematics, photos etc.) describing your project. Poster drafts are welcome as well. Please bring your laptop along with a charger to the workshop.

The coaching session is a mandatory part of the workshop.The individual session will be scheduled with the trainer on June 22 or 23.

Content

Typical elements / contents of an academic poster
Extracting and focusing on the key messages from their projects
Differentiating key points from by-standing information
Adapting communication to target audiences
Quantity of information in words and visuals on a poster (information limit)
Visually structuring a poster with a grid.
Graphic design (color, white space, typography etc.) to achieve visual hierarchy, guide the viewer through the poster and give an overall aesthetically pleasing result
Technical details such as how to save a poster for printing, required resolution of figures and file formats

Creditable for the Micro Credential 'Communication & Impact'

Micro Credentials for doctoral students offer the opportunity to systematically add key future skills to your professional expertise. You can apply for a Micro Credential if you successfully complete at least four workshops from one area of expertise.

Learn more