Ok, so not that kind of poster...
Poster sessions are an established way to participate in a professional conference without actually speaking. It is an easy way to share some of the discoveries, methods or projects that you have been working on at your institution or company.
You don't have to attend the conference to be a part of it.
If you want to participate please keep in mind that this is PACCIN - we tend to place more emphasis on content than appearances. Your intended audience is going to be folks who are just like you and any kind of contribution you make profoundly contributes to the event for everyone else.
What we do require is that the poster provide the kind of information (details) that will make it potentially useful to others – not just pretty pictures.
Some posters that meet these requirements may be included as part of an article reporting on the conference posted on the PACCIN website. So in other words you too can be an internet star on the most exclusive site on the web dealing with the work that we all do love to do!
Poster Preparation Guidelines for the PACCIN Preparators Conference:
Poster Format
Dimensions: The maximum dimensions for the posters are 32" x 40". Each presenter may utilize two you may choose to have a square, vertical or horizontal format within that space.
Poster materials: The poster may consist of sheets of 11” x 8 ˝” or A4 paper assembled to form a larger composition. Recent advances in computer printing have made larger format printing more affordable, and presenters are welcome to use large format print-outs.
The posters will be displayed on easels on or near a table. You may bring your own business cards, handouts or samples.
The poster session organizers will provide tacks, pins, tape and emergency supplies, but prepare to bring any materials which you think you will need.
Presenters are responsible for:
. The actual poster and visual materials which comprise the presentation (unless
discussed ahead)
. The printing of any handouts
. A sign-up sheet and/or business cards to record interest or follow-up for the
presentation
. Any special materials required
. Requests and/or inquires for additional items should be directed to ashley@pacin.org
Conference host is responsible for:
. Backing for the 32" x 40" max poster
. A table for handouts and other supplementary materials
Presenting the Poster
If you want to present a poster but are not attending the conference please mail it to:
T. Ashley McGrew
3749 2nd Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
To be included it must ARRIVE by 4/6/2011. If you want it to be returned you will need to cover related expenses.
If you are attending the conference you may bring your poster with you when you sign in. You may want to stand by your poster during at least some of the time available to answer questions from fellow attendees. Can also distribute business cards or handouts during this time. This will facilitate discussion between presenters and attendees.
The number of posters presented at the conference will be limited to the space available on site. All posters that meet the basic requirements however will be posted on the PACCIN website after the conference.
Poster Content
Recommended elements:
The text should include the following elements:
1. A title panel (or a banner headline), including the project title, the names of all authors, and their institutional affiliations (if applicable).
2. A small photo of the presenter/author, to permit attendees to identify the author in a crowded conference hall.
3. An introduction, including a short summary, which describes the project.
4. Conclusions and recommendations as appropriate.
Poster Design
Before you begin your design, decide what the message of your poster is:
- Is it to announce a new or underutilized method or material?
- Is it to describe a project or series of events?
- Is it to persuade the audience of the benefits of a procedure or material?
- Is it to compare different techniques, materials or products?
The poster should not simply be a document pinned to the wall.
1. Make effective use of space, by presenting the information that best illustrates the message you wish to send.
2. Use photographs. Avoid using superfluous photos, which do not reinforce the message of your presentation.
3. Labels for illustrations should be large enough to be legible from a 4 ft. (122cm) distance. Use arrows to avoid crowding too much text onto your illustrations.
4. Do not forget to use color. Color should provide emphasis. Use contrast, complimentary colors, and primary colors to convey information in charts and diagrams. Do a trial printing if possible to make sure that the colors look as good on paper as they do on your computer. If you aren’t using a color printer, use colored pencils or felt-tipped pens to enhance your poster.
5. Keep fonts simple. Use no more than two fonts. The most readable fonts are sans serifs (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Tahoma, etc). You may choose a traditional serif font like Times or Garamond, but you may find that you must use a larger size in order to make your text legible.
The font should be legible from a 1.5m distance (about 5 ft.). The title should be 72-84pt. (1-1-1/2” tall), and the body text should be at least 18pt. Using all capital letters does not enhance legibility. Bold type, underlining, or italics will emphasize text, where needed.
6. If it is practical, you may wish to attach samples to your poster. As we cannot guarantee the security of your display, please do not leave anything valuable or irreplaceable with your poster when it is unattended.
7. Remember that your audience may be reading your poster in a crowded room. Resist the temptation to include too much text. Try to have no more than twenty lines per section.
8. Think of your poster as a whole, not just a group of leaves of paper. Expect that your audience will read the poster from top to bottom and from left to right. Organize your content so that each section flows visually to the next, using color, line, shape, pattern and other applicable design elements. Numbering your headings, tables, and illustrations, helps the audience to follow your sequence.
9. Negative space is a design element. Use the shape, location, and orientation of blank space to enhance the layout of your poster.
10. Proofread your text. The “spell check” function of your computer does not automatically know that you used silver solder instead of “sliver” solder. Read your text aloud to detect such mistakes. Invite a colleague who knows little about your presentation to read and edit your text. The presenters are likely to project their own experiences onto their attempts to proofread reports of their own projects, missing possible errors or omissions.
For more Information
Additional information about how to do a poster can be found in these books and web sites:
Robert R.H. Anholt, Dazzle ’em With Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation, W.H.
Freeman, New York, 1994.
Diane L. Matthews, The Scientific Poster: Guidelines for Effective Visual Communication,
Technical Communication, 37 (3) 1990, 225–232.
Edward R. Tufte,The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut, 1983.
Edward R. Tufte, Envisioning Information, Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut, 1990.
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/speaking/poster/
http://www.personal.psu.edu/drs18/postershow/
http://www.aspb.org/education/poster.cfm
http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/bio/posters.html
(adapted from the AIC poster session guidelines with help from the folks at the Mountmakers Forum)
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