New Design Technologies and Cultural Predispositions in International Engineering Posters

Professional engineering organizations in the US include many poster sessions at conferences, and over the past 25 years, the proportion of international presenters has increased. However, few of the engineering programs that train these engineers include courses that teach aesthetic principles or visual design. In this paper, examples from a study of international engineering posters illustrate how individuals' cultural predispositions affect their visual design decisions and their communication effectiveness when using new software technologies.