Poster Presenters Accessibility Guidelines for Accessible Presentations
There are many ways to make your poster presentation accessible to attendees. Here
are some alternatives to consider:
• Keep tacks and push pins off the floor; they can puncture wheelchair and scooter
tires
• Bring a CD version of your poster in text or PowerPoint format for attendees with
low-vision
• Offer to describe your poster to an attendee with low vision
• If you have access to a laptop computer with voice output software on it, prepare
a brief description of your poster for listeners with low vision
• If you choose to modify your font and layout to make your poster accessible to
attendees with low vision, the following pages will provide information on
techniques for modifications
Guidelines for Creating Accessible Printed Posters
Stephen F. Gilson, Ph.D.
Robert M. Kitchin Jr., MSW
Creating accessible posters provides all session participants with greater access to
poster information. Designing posters to provide greater access minimizes the exclusion
of participants from the benefits of poster sessions.
Following are guidelines for creating the most accessible poster presentations possible,
increasing the usefulness of the information being presented for all session participants.
There are no absolute ideals for accessibility that will provide access to all people.
However, by following these guidelines the access needs of session participants to
poster information is less likely to be needlessly overlooked.
The following guidelines will cover:
1. Using Accessible Text
2. Using Images/Graphics Without Loosing Access
3. Typical Poster Sizes and use of space
4. Organizing Information
5. Providing Multiple Formats
Using Accessible Text
Legible from 3 to 6 feet? (Font size)
Title: Ideal is 158-point font (1.5 inches). At least 72 point or larger for poster titles
(The title should be viewable from 10 to 15 feet away to catch the attention of the reader
(Conner, N.D.).
Section Title: Ideal is 56-point font (.54 inches). At least 46 to 56-point for section
titles (Texas Tech University [TTU], 2007).
Block Text/Body: Ideal is 36-point font (.34 inches). At least 24-36 point for body
text (at least 20-point is recommended)
The sizes may vary depending on the viewing distance and amount of text to be
included (Texas Tech University, 2007).
Figure 1: Example poster text. Examples in actual size are given for 158-point font for a
poster title, 56-point font for a section title (heading), and 36-point for body (block) text.
Is the font choice legible enough? (Font type)
Use non-serif (san-serif) fonts (University of Edenburgh, 2005).
Serif: A small decorative line added as embellishment to the basic form or main
strokes of an alphabetical letter. Typefaces are often described as being serif or sans
serif (without serifs). The most common serif typeface is Times Roman. A common sans
serif typeface is Helvetica. Serif fonts can be more difficult to read, particularly the more
decorative, hand written, and italicized fonts (Wikipedia, June, 2007; Shaw, May, 2007).
Common San serif fonts (Shaw, May, 2007):
Helvetica
Veranda
Microsoft San Serif
For a comprehensive list of fonts and explanation see: http://www.codestyle.org/css/font-
family/sampler-SansSerif.shtml
Figure 2: Example serif and non-serif font. Notice the san-serif Arial font does not have
decorative tails at the end of character strokes unlike the Harrington font.
Is the font color contrasted enough with the background (Lighthouse
International, 2007)?
Black text with white back ground is the most legible with printed material
Still, you may want to use different colors. If this is important to your design for
aesthetic or other reasons it is better to use combinations different from black text on
white background only for larger or highlighted text, such as headlines and titles.
Figure 3: Contrast example for a heading. Notice white text on solid color background.
Is the line spacing too crowded?
“Leading” refers to the amount of added vertical spacing between lines of type. In
this text the leading or line spacing is 1.5. Using between 1.2 and 2.0 line-spacing
allows the reader greater ease in moving from line to line (Wikipedia, 2007).
• Tracking is the space between characters. If your processor allows for letter-spacing
adjustments +3 is adequate.
• You can increase tracking for headlines but you should not use less then +3 for
tracking anywhere.
Are there too many lines per text block? (See Figure 4)
Text block: Could be a standard 11 by 8.5 piece of paper, which will hold about 100
words or 19 lines of text with
• Font size 24
• Lines-pacing 1.2
A text block could also be the text associated with a particular heading arrange in way
other than a rectangular block.
Figure 4: Sample block text using different shaped areas for text i.e. rectangular and
oval. Notice that lines of text are spaced using 1.5 line-spacing and the space between
text characters is spaced to increase access. Arial font is shown below.
Using Images/graphics without loosing access
Do all images used to communicate ideas have sufficient text labels and text
captions (American Society of Primatologists [ASP], 2002)?
Captions/alternative text allow the audience to access more precisely what the image
is intended to communicate.
Place images/graphics with consideration to where in the sequence of text they
belong (ASP, 2002)?
Do not place text over images (Lighthouse International, 2007)?
Are image/graphic titles appropriately referred to in the text (ASP, 2002)?
Are the uses of any charts (pie, line, scatter, histograms etc.) used appropriately and
with clear textual explanations of the data?
Don't avoid using images! Rather, use them creatively and so that all elements work
together to draw the audience to understand the message.
Is the resolution of the images correct for large printing? Using .gif, jpeg, .bmp,
.eps, .png etc. files that are note rendered at a sufficient resolution will cause them
to blur and be of poor visual quality in your printed poster. As a general rule use 300
dots per inch (dpi) when saving images created in programs such as Adobe™
Illustrator™, InDesign™, or Photoshop™. Avoid copying and pasting images from
the web that are below 250Kb for best results (TTU, 2007).
Typical Poster Sizes and Use of Space
Standard poster sizes are:
40 x Up to 56
34 x Up to 56
22 x Up to 56
Know what size is required or available per the conference poster guidelines. Be wary of
crowding a small poster. If it is possible to have a larger poster and more white space
take advantage of this to improve access
Figure 5: Crowed white space. Notice the block text using insufficient line spacing and
under utilized use of white space.
Figure 6: Optimized white space. Notice increased line spacing and efficient use of
white space.
Organization of information
Location of Title should generally be:
Across the top of the page and displayed prominently.
Headings and sub headings should be displayed in relationship to the body/block
text they lead.
An introduction to the poster should be clear, engage the audience, and inform them
of the power message to take from the poster.
Readers should be logically led in the correct direction from heading to heading by a
clear narrative and attractive while logical design of the poster. (See figure 7).
Available
White space
Figure 7: Notice in this poster example that the organizations flows from the title
spanning the top of the page to the left column and then reads from the top of each
column to the bottom progressing from left to right. Other types of organization are
useful as well, such as progressively numbering each heading.
Providing multiple formats
Providing multiple formats increases the options for how to access the poster.
Increasing options for access is good design (Slatin & Rush, 2002).
Poster content should also be provided in the following formats:
A data version that allows for the easy alteration of font, type size, and interpretation
by a screen reader such as:
• A Microsoft Word™ .doc/.rtf.
• Html (Webpage)
Data versions can be provided via the web (webpage), email, or CD. CD’s can provide
the most immediate access to the poster content and be handed out during the poster
session with printed handouts.
Avoid handouts of power point slides. Text is often extremely reduced rendering it
inaccessible. Use standard letter (8.5 inch by 11 inch) size paper with 12-point nonserif
or san-serif fonts.
Provide a large print hardcopy. Large print for standard letter pages is at least 18point
text.
References
American Society of Primatologist, (2002). Expanded guidelines for Giving a Poster Presentation. Retrieved
on May 24, 2007 from http://www.asp.org/education/Howto_onPosters.html#part2
Conner, C.W. (N.D.). A Guide for Preparation. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on May 19, 2007 from
http://www.aapg.org/meetings/instructions/guide.html
Lighthouse International, (2007). Making Text Legible: Designing for People with Partial Sight. Retrieved on
May 24, 2007 from http://www.lighthouse.org/accessibility/legible/
Rush, S. & Slatin, J.M. (2002), Maximum accessibility: Making your website more useable for everyone.
Person Education, Inc. Boston, MA 02116
Shaw, G. (May, 2007). The Incredible, Accessible Presentation: Crafting PowerPoint Presentations That
Work With Assistive Technology. Retrieved on May 24, 2007 from
http://www.pptmagic.com/articles/accessppt.htm
Texas Tech University, (2007). Poster Printing. Teaching, Learning and Technology Center. Retrieved on
May 19, 2007 from http://www.tltc.ttu.edu/content/asp/services/poster_printing.asp
University of Edinburgh, (2005). Accessible Text and Language. Information Services. Retrieved on May
20, 2007 from http://www.is.ed.ac.uk/disability/resources/makinginformationaccessble/textandlanguage
Wikipedia, (June, 2007). Serif. Retrieved on May 20, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif