Use a columnar format: consider the alternatives

Diagram of poster in columnar format Diagram of poster in row format
Do this ...

Use a columnar format. It allows readers to read the entire poster as they procedd from left to right.

... not this

Use a row-oriented layout. This format moves readers past your poster very quickly.

  • If the poster is organized in columns, viewers can read all of a column before they move to the next column.
  • Viewers who read the first row migh be unable to fight their way back to the beginning.
  • Readers tend to read top to bottom, a phenomeneon called "reader gravity" by Wheildon (1995).
  • They will proceed quietly to the next poster.