JOIN, OR DIE: The American Identity as a cause of the American Revolution
This is the second poster I have created, and I tried to consider the feedback I received from my previous submission. As such I made it far less wordy, with the poster containing only bullet points and headings. I did this so it would be a quick, easy to read, abridged version of my essay. It contains the main points highlighted in my essay summed up briefly, and what it loses in examples for other supporting points it gains in succinctness.
I also decided to use a light grey for the background, rather than white as I did last time. It was pointed out that white can be rather harsh to read against, and while white and blue fit the theme better, I decided to concede that form must follow function. The colour I chose is still light to prevent the poster feeling dark and claustrophobic but is now not excessively bright. The text boxes are a light blue, a pleasant colour to look at that pops against the light grey background and that also fits the topic, blue being associated with the American nation due to its flag.
I pondered on how to lay out my information, and eventually decided to create a for-and-against poster, partially as it was how I planned my essay when I initially wrote it. My essay followed a similar structure, with the main debate being the impact of the American identity on the American Revolution. I thought this would be an easily digestible way to consume the key points of my essay, and I personally find the for-and-against premise to be inviting.
I struggled somewhat to come-up with a good way to incorporate a picture into my poster. This may be a weakness of the for-and-against style, as it does not lend itself well to pictures. Throughout my essay I found that the ‘Join, or Die’ comic summed up the core of the Revolution well: the separate states must band together not because they want to, but because they must if they wish to survive. It was not a choice made from a collective identity, but a pragmatic choice made due to external threat. I therefore decided to use this as my picture, though I still believe I could have done better at incorporating this or another picture into the poster.
I have found this topic extremely interesting and am very glad I chose it. While initially worried it would be something of a fleeting interest, and that my mind would wander back to my usual favourites of Japanese 16th/19th Century, I was glad that the more I read and the more I thought on my topic the more interesting and immersed I became. I went from opting not to have an opinion on my topic question as I did not believe I knew enough on it when I began my essay, to having a strong opinion founded in research and critical thought.
I still have much to learn about academic poster writing, and I doubt I will ever feel as comfortable with a poster as I do an essay, but I am confident that with practice and feedback I will improve, as I acknowledge that I still have a lot to get used to.
