Poster Guidelines
General Goal
A poster is a graphically based approach to presenting research. In presenting your research with a poster, you should aim to use the poster as a means for generating active discussion of the research.
Content
Be simple and direct in your poster presentation. Use short phrases and “bulleted” text throughout the poster. Avoid long narrative paragraphs. The posters should be organized to include the following elements:
* Overview. A succinct summary of the purpose, methods, and results. Use phrases rather than sentences in a simple outline format. Place in the upper left section of the board.
* Introduction. A concise statement of the objective and background of the work.
* Methods. Description of the apparatus, chemistry, samples, materials, etc. in some, but not overwhelming detail.
* Results. Graphs, spectra, charts, pictures, etc., with a minimum of text to illustrate the nature of the results.
* Conclusions. Concise statement of the findings (positive, as well as negative), indicating future research directions.
Authors are encouraged to provide handouts, e.g., preprints, extended abstracts, copies of poster panels, etc.
Design and Layout
* The entire poster must be mounted on a 30" x 40" board. The poster does not necessarily have to fill the entire working area.
* The board must be oriented in the "landscape" position (long dimension is horizontal).
* A banner displaying your poster title, name, and department (or class, if appropriate) should be positioned at top-center of the board (See Figure 1).
* Make it obvious to the viewer how to progressively view the poster. The poster generally should read from left to right, and top to bottom. Numbering the individuals panels, or connecting them with arrows is a standard "guidance system" (See Figure 1).
* Leave some open space in the design. An open layout is less tiring to the eye and mind.
Figure 1: Conventional layouts for a poster. Long panel at top-center is title/author banner. Individual panels can be connected by numbers and arrows. Also, note the use of space between panels to achieve visual appeal. (From: C. W. Connor, 1992, The Poster Session: A Guide for Preparation: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-667.)
Lettering
* Word-process all text (including captions). Print on plain white paper with a laser printer or inkjet printer.
* Text should be readable from 3-4 feet away. Use a sans serif font such as Arial or Helvetica in a minimum size of 24 pt. (1/4 inch high).
* Lettering for the title should be large (at least 70-point font). Use all capital letters for the title.
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