Critique: HSV-2 oncolytic virus ΔPK

Thanks to Angela Alexander on Twitter, I have three posters to critique from the AACR poster competition. I’ll be critiquing all three in separate posts, purely on their graphic design, before the contest winner is announced on 29 April.Let’s start off with an entry from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, “The HSV-2 oncolytic virus ΔPK induces multiple death and inflammatory programs associated with inhibition of melanoma tumor growth.”

Virtues:

1. More than half the poster space is taken up with graphics.

Vices:

1. Institutional logo bookends.

2. The authors’ credits cutting into the results.

3. The varying column widths, particularly in the top left, where it’s not clear at first if you’re supposed to read across or down.

4. Most headers in blue... except for the ones in bright green.

5. Boxes.

6. The sudden transition from white to blue background in the last box.

7. Tiny credits sitting outside boxes, messing up bottom alignment.

This poster is average at best. Will the next one fare any better? Come back tomorrow for another critique!