Poster Basics Tina Karwalajtys 2005
a great poster is clear, legible, well organized and succinct CHSRF Communication Notes
Why present posters? Poster presentations are an opportunity to: Present research in-progress (and gain feedback) Provide more detail than an oral presentation may allow Talk to others about your work one on one
Why critique posters? May not get feedback from viewers Seldom take time to self-critique or critique colleagues Different elements may appeal to different people and may vary by area
What kind of poster viewer are you? Aimless wanderer Pre-selected stopper Fine-print reader Visual learner Who s who tracker (who s doing what) Conclusion screener Converser Avoider
Audience & Message Who will be viewing the poster? Who are you hoping will be viewing the poster? Other experts in your field Broad audience circulating What are the key messages?
Tailoring to your audience Avoid (excessive) jargon, acronyms, abbreviations Limit methodological / technical detail Use handouts to share additional information Be bold and go for a minimum of words E.g. A large image + conclusion CHSRF Communication Notes
Main Components (Catchy) Title Authors Institutional affiliation Context / Background Approach / Methods Data Conclusions Handouts can add: - detailed methods - references -contact CHSRF Communication Notes
What s in a title? Which titles attract you? Which put you off? Consider: Upper/lower case mix Shorter, clearer Different than the abstract?
Visual aspects Which posters attract you? Which put you off? Consider: Top-to-bottom, L-to-R tendencies Breathing space between sections, lines Contrast between text and background Keeping focus at eye level
Putting it Together Read the poster guidelines for the conference Plan broad elements to include Develop specific components CHSRF Communication Notes
Size & Format One piece or multiple panels? Large formats have greater impact, allow larger figures, tables etc. Small panels offer flexibility Will the poster be presented multiple times? Large format printing about $10/sq ft Invest in a polished product
Arranging Content By Column By Row Consider numbered sections to help viewers navigate Consider a centrepiece image/figure
Do Use active voice viewers have limited time to take in the information Instead of: A clinical trial was performed Use: We performed a clinical trial
Don t Put a full abstract on the poster alongside the slightly expanded content a poster is already a summary of research highlighting the most important information
Genius is in the Details Use plain fonts (limit of 2) Avoid capitalized headings Font Size Main title: 100 points About 3-4 cm high Subheadings: 50 points - About 2 cm high Body text: >25 points - About 1.5 cm high
And More Details Clearly label graphs, figures, tables Think about the text:figure ratio Double-check imported figures Use colour for impact, contrast, readability Have a non-team member review for content Have several people review for errors
PowerPoint How To PowerPoint has a size limit of 56 (4.6 ) Under File--Page Setup, specify height, width at 50% of desired output size e.g. for a 4x8 poster, height will be 24x48 or 2x4 Change units under Control Panel--Regional Settings--Customize Design poster using Text Box Tool etc. Under View--Zoom, preview at 200% Ask for printing at 200%
2 Change units 1 3
Specify height, width at 50% output size 2 1
Preview at 200% 1 2
Handout How To For a small version of the poster, click checkbox for Scale to Fit Paper in the Print dialogue box Specify legal size paper under Properties-- Advanced Add additional pages or copy information onto the back Create a PDF (specify legal size) to circulate electronically by printing to Adobe Acrobat Distiller
Print on Scale to Fit Paper Specify legal size paper 1 3 2
Other ideas? Questions?