Johnny ElRady

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Undergraduate Research Symposium 2005
Poster Madness

• Johnny El-Rady

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What Is a Poster?

• No magic formula for success
• Rather, tried-and-true methods to make the
  process easier

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Poster vs. Talk

• Less intimidating

• More intimidating

• Less weight on CV

• More weight on CV

• More time for preparation

• Less time for preparation

• More time for discussion

• Less time for discussion

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Poster vs. Talk

• More time for interaction

• Less time for interaction

• Good way to meet people

• Not a good way to meet people

• More relaxed atmosphere

• Less relaxed atmosphere

• Noisy and cramped

• Not!

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Poster vs. Talk

• Repetitive and tiring!

• Not!

• Play, forward and rewind

• Just play baby!

• Viewable when youre day-dreamin

• Not!

• Portable

• Not!

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Types of Posters

• 1.
• Cut-and-paste onto panels on a matte board
• 2.
• Adobe PageMaker
• Adobe Illustrator
• Microsoft PowerPoint

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Where to Start?

• First, address these questions
• 1.
• 2.

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Important Guidelines

• Remember the
• The poster is NOT
• It should be as concise as possible
• Convey the

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Important Guidelines

• Posters are primarily visual presentations!
• should dominate!
• Dont overload your poster
• Keep some between sections

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• Title
• Abstract??
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Results
• Conclusions
• References
• Acknowledgements

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Title

• Typically across the top of the poster
• Should be eye-catching but not too cute!
• Never more than
• Use 72-font
• Include author(s) and affiliation(s)
• Use smaller font

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Title

• TOWN OFFICIAL TAKES STAND ON MANURE PILE
• Town official takes stand on manure pile
• Headlines The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

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Title

• Its OK to use a format instead of

• Winery says it was a mouse, not a rat, that was
  found in sandwich
• Winery Says It Was a Mouse, Not a Rat, that Was
  Found in Sandwich
• Headlines The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

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Layout A
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Layout B
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Text

• Use large type and boldface for subject headings
• 40-60 type
• Use smaller type for body text
• 20-28
• Never use less than 14-pt!
• And if possible, not less than 16-pt or even 18-pt

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Text

• Use a serif font for body text

• Illustrate

• Illustrate

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Text

• Dont include very large blocks of text
• Use sentence lists whenever possible
• Use italics and boldface instead of underlining
• Dont vary excessively the types, type sizes and
  typefaces

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Introduction

• Provide some background information
• Avoid excessive definitions
• Hook viewers by piquing their interest
• Use photographs, if possible

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Methodology

• Use of explicit subject headings is a plus!

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Results

• Typically the section of the poster
• Use of explicit subject headings is a plus!
• Illustrate in graphs and tables what you found!

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Conclusions

• Discuss your results
• Use of explicit subject headings is a plus!
• You can also address

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Acknowledgements

• Your chance to thank the people who have made
  important contributions to the project

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References

• List the most relevant journal articles to your
  work

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Graphics
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Graphics

• Should be as
• Avoid for graphs
• Align y-axis labels horizontally, if space
  permits

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Graphics

• Dont display data in
• Use clipart only if it
• 1. adds to the display
• 2. the subject matter
• Addition of a thin colored border to a
  photograph may enhance its visual appeal

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Colors

• Colors are a two-edged sword
• They
• They

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Colors

• Do use colors in your poster, but with the
  following caveats
• Avoid colors
• Stick to colors
• Be mindful of between background and
  foreground
• Remember that a few viewers could be

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Handout

• You should consider having a handout for viewers
• It can include
• Your contact information
• A miniature copy of the poster
• Detailed methodology
• An annotated list of references
• Relevant websites

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Final Touches

• Make sure that the poster is devoid of
  mechanical errors
• Look for
• speling mistakes
• the use of of repeated words
• grammatical errors you might have make

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Final Touches

• Make sure that the poster is
• Make sure that the poster has a

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Presenting Your Poster

• Dress conservatively
• Try to choose clothes that do not clash with your
  poster ?
• No hats!
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Arrive to the poster session early

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Presenting Your Poster

• Dont chew gum/tobacco
• Make yourself readily identifiable
• Dont stand too close to your poster
• Dont put your hands in your pocket

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Presenting Your Poster

• Be able to give a 2-4 minute verbal explanation
  of your work
• When explaining your poster
• Dont use notes
• Do refer to the figures
• Dont turn your back to the viewer

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Presenting Your Poster

• Dont engage in prolonged conversation with a
  single individual
• Try to circulate to view other posters
• Stick around for the entire duration!
• Have fun!!!

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Useful Websites

• http//www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/research/labs/kto
  sney/file/PostersHome.html
• A site that offers positive and negative examples
  of posters
• Has links to other helpful websites

• http//www.biophysics.org/education/block.pdf
• The Dos and Donts of Poster Presentation

• http//www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/60second.html
• A 60 second poster evaluation for project
  designers and evaluators