I just attended the recent poster session at the AMS Central Sectional Meeting at Saint Louis University. It was a great event that helped to showcase the research of many early career researchers. In viewing some of the posters, some thoughts occurred to me about what works, what doesn’t and things people might want to avoid when making posters in the future.
You’ve done the research, proved the theorem, and now it’s time to present your work at a conference. But instead of a talk, you’re making a poster. For many mathematicians, this feels like unfamiliar territory. How do you distill months or years of work onto a single board that people will glance at while walking by with coffee?
The difference between a poster that attracts engaged discussions and one that gets politely ignored often comes down to a few key principles. Let’s explore what makes math posters succeed and what causes them to fail.
The Cardinal Sins: What NOT to Do
1. The Wall of Text Trap
The biggest mistake is treating your poster like a paper printed in large format. Dense paragraphs of exposition, complete with lengthy introductions and literature reviews, make viewers’ eyes glaze over before they’ve even started reading.
Why it fails: People won’t stand and read paragraphs at a poster session. They scan, process visually, and decide within seconds whether to engage.
The fix: Use bullet points sparingly and keep sentences short. If you can say it with a diagram instead of words, do that.
2. Microscopic Font Syndrome
You’ve squeezed everything onto the poster, but now the text is 14pt font. Congratulations, you’ve created something only readable by people willing to press their nose against your poster.
Why it fails: Posters are meant to be viewed from 3-4 feet away, often by people standing in small groups.
The fix: Body text should be at least 24-28pt. Titles should be 72pt or larger. Test readability by viewing your poster from across a large room.
3. Formula Avalanche
Equation after equation after equation, with minimal explanation of what they mean or why they matter. Your poster looks like a page from a textbook that fell into a photocopier set to “enlarge.”
Why it fails: Without context or intuition, formulas become impenetrable symbols rather than mathematical communication.
The fix: Show only key equations. For each one, provide intuition about what it represents or why it’s important. If you must show a derivation, highlight the clever step that makes it work.
4. Assuming Expert Knowledge
Your poster uses specialized notation, references obscure theorems, and assumes familiarity with your particular corner of mathematics.
Why it fails: Conference attendees span multiple subfields. If only three people in the room can understand your poster, you’ve limited your audience unnecessarily.
The fix: Include brief definitions, explain your notation, and provide enough context that someone from a neighboring field can grasp your contribution.
5. Color Chaos
Bright yellow text on a white background. Neon green titles. Ten different colors with no apparent system or reason.
Why it fails: Poor contrast makes text unreadable. Random colors distract rather than guide the viewer.
The fix: Use a simple, high-contrast color scheme. Stick to 2-3 colors maximum and use them consistently to organize information.
The Winning Formula: What DOES Work
1. Tell One Clear Story
A great poster has a singular focus: one main result, one key insight, one compelling narrative. Everything on the poster supports this central thread.
What this looks like: Your title immediately communicates what you proved. Within 30 seconds of viewing, anyone can understand your main contribution. Supporting details enrich the story but don’t derail it.
2. Visual Thinking
Mathematics is inherently visual, even when it doesn’t seem so. Graphs, diagrams, geometric illustrations, even well-designed flowcharts can convey intuition that formulas alone cannot.
What this looks like: A graph showing how your algorithm’s performance scales. A diagram illustrating the geometric insight behind your proof. Color-coded regions showing different cases in your classification theorem.
3. Strategic Use of Space
White space isn’t wasted space, it’s what makes your poster readable and approachable. Proper organization guides viewers naturally through your content.
What this looks like: Clear section breaks with breathing room between them. Margins that frame your content rather than cramming it edge-to-edge. A logical flow, typically in columns, that creates an obvious reading path.
4. The Hierarchy Principle
Not all information deserves equal emphasis. Your main result should be unmissable. Supporting lemmas can be smaller. Background context smaller still.
What this looks like: Your key theorem in a highlighted box with larger font. Section headers that clearly delineate topics. Important results numbered for easy reference during discussion.
5. Design for Conversation
Remember: you’ll be standing next to this poster for a period of time, engaging with viewers. The poster should be a conversation starter, not a replacement for you.
What this looks like: A brief abstract or “elevator pitch” at the top that hooks viewers. Sufficient detail to support a technical discussion but not so much that there’s nothing left to explain. Clear space where you can stand without blocking content.
The Ultimate Test
Before you send your poster to print, apply these three tests:
The Five-Second Test: Can someone walking by identify your main result in five seconds?
The Distance Test: Print a scaled-down version and view it from across the room. Can you read the text?
The Outsider Test: Show it to a mathematician from a different field. Can they understand what you did and why it matters?
If your poster passes all three, you’re ready to present with confidence.
A Word for Organizers
While presenters bear responsibility for creating effective posters, organizers play a crucial role in making poster sessions successful. Here are a couple of points that can transform a poster session from a sparsely attended obligation into a vibrant intellectual exchange:
Provide Food and Refreshments: Nothing draws a crowd like good food. Coffee, snacks, or even a light lunch ensures that people actually show up and linger. Attendees who might otherwise skip a poster session will stop by for refreshments and stay to engage with the research. This isn’t just about attendance numbers, it’s about creating a relaxed atmosphere where conversations can develop naturally.
Showcase the Event to Administration: Invite leadership, a provost, dean, or department chair, to give brief remarks or tour the posters. This serves multiple purposes: it demonstrates institutional support for research, gives presenters (especially students and early-career researchers) valuable visibility, and helps justify continued funding for such events. When administrators see engaged faculty and students presenting excellent work, it reinforces the value of research programs and conference support.
Schedule Strategically: Timing matters enormously. Avoid scheduling poster sessions during competing talks or at awkward times like late Friday afternoon when people are leaving. Consider a dedicated time block where posters are the main event, not an afterthought squeezed between lectures. If possible, schedule the session during a natural break in the conference program when energy is high and people are looking for intellectual engagement.
These relatively simple touches can dramatically increase both attendance and the sense that poster presentations are valued, meaningful events rather than afterthoughts.
Final Thoughts
A mathematics poster is a different genre than a paper or a talk. It requires translating deep technical work into visual, accessible form without sacrificing mathematical integrity. This is genuinely difficult, but when done well, a poster can spark conversations, forge collaborations, and communicate your ideas more effectively than any other medium.
Your research deserves to be seen and understood. Give it the poster it deserves.