At the end of my freshman year at Old Dominion University, I joined a research project in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department for the 2025 Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) National Student Design Competition. The P3 grant (SU840679) was awarded for “Production of lithium carbonate from geothermal brine by selective extraction of lithium using a novel ion sieve method”. Our team focused on developing a zirconium-doped ion sieve (HMZO) for lithium adsorption from geothermal brines, an approach aimed at improving sustainability in lithium extraction. Read more about our work in this article from ODU highlighting our team: ODU team researches ecologically friendly methods of extracting lithium.
Over the summer between my freshman and sophomore years, I would leave my internship for the day and then go to ODU’s Biomass Research Laboratory, assisting with experiments and learning new tools and processes. The project continued throughout my sophomore year and in April 2025, had the opportunity to present our work at ODU’s inaugural Research and Creativity Expo.
For the Expo, I was responsible for the design and creation of our research poster, and focused on how to present our work clearly and effectively.
Prioritizing Human Centered Design for Effective Communication
My goal was to communicate the core ideas of the project visually, allowing viewers to understand the research without reading large sections of text. After reviewing several academic posters, including many from EPA competitions, I noticed that most were text-heavy and difficult to scan. I wanted ours to stand out by being easy to read and visually structured. My philosophy for design of a poster in an environment where people are casually passing by is to create selective emphasis visually to promote clarity.
To do this, I focused on conveying key points and data rather than full explanations. It can be challenging to leave out details you’ve spent months working on, but prioritizing information helped guide the viewer to what mattered most. Limiting text to short bullet points made the content easier to remember and encouraged follow-up questions during the presentation.
The design was built around how people interact with posters—quickly scanning, focusing primarily on visuals, and looking for the main takeaway. Every design choice was made to support that behavior.
The Poster
Visual and Structural Design
The project’s theme—environmentally conscious, water-based innovation—was supported by the color palette and layout. I used used complementary blues and golden colors to the overall blue of the header to keep focus on the water-related theme and the gold for technological innovation. The layout was organized in clear sections, with visual dividers and white space to maintain structure and flow. White space was essential in keeping the layout readable. I treated it as a functional part of the design, helping separate ideas and direct attention. The typography and section spacing supported a consistent, structured layout that made information easy to follow.
To illustrate the experimental process, I wanted to use graphics like those you would find in a textbook. I searched for and found tools like Chemix to create a clear diagram/process flowchart. These visuals summarized steps, parameters, and procedures that would have taken several paragraphs to describe in text.
The data was presented with the same approach; carefully annotated graphs that displayed the collected data but also highlighted our findings of ideal conditions for adsorption—such as contact time, pH, temperature, and dosage. This combination of process diagrams and data visualization with additional layers of information included, allowed viewers to understand both the workflow and outcomes at a glance. By designing visuals that could stand alone, the poster supported both quick overviews and more detailed discussions.
Reflection
Presenting the poster at the Expo was a rewarding experience. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the research journey and it is always exciting to present meaningful work to others. Specific to the Expo, I greatly enjoyed combining my interests in research, with design, and communication in the creation of this poster. It was the first scientific research poster I have created and allowed me to think about and develop my philosophy for creation and presentation of data in this format. I do believe that a clear visual presentation can make complex work more accessible and engaging.