TIPS FOR PREPARING A TECHNICAL POSTER

 

Introduction

Over the past few years the technical poster has become an increasingly accepted method of presenting the results of work performed. Technical meetings have become so large that oral paper presentation sessions cannot handle the number of authors who wish to present their work. It is partly in view of this development that we ask you to present your work as a poster. We hope the practice in using this medium will help you with your reporting during your career.

A second new medium for presentation of reports is web publication on the Internet. This method has many features in common with poster presentation. Therefore, the practice you will get in preparing a poster will also help you when, as is probable at some time in the future, you are asked  to prepare a web page, or site, to describe your work.

 

Layout and Organization

Here are some sections you MAY want to include:

· Title -- in clear, bold, large letters at the top of the poster

· Authors and their institutional affiliations

· Introduction and Motivation

· Equipment/Procedure—unless you performed a test different than everyone else in this course, this information should be very brief

· Theory

· Experimental results—material properties

· Discussion/Conclusion—comparison of material properties and explanation of properties using structure (micro/macro)

· Summary

· Acknowledgments -- give credit to those who helped you

· Provide a title for each section of the poster

· Lots of text is ineffective (people don’t want to read it)—provide essential information in bullet points and explain the rest in your oral presentation

· Use diagrams, photos, graphs and real samples where possible

· Use at least 18 pt. font

· Experiment with catchy lay-outs!

· CHECK FOR SPELLING ERRORS!

 

Materials

· Use foam core backing or the thickest poster board you can find

· Be sure to have a knife suited to cutting it

· Protect the surface of the table/floor on which you are doing your cutting

· Use thick paper for the figures and text

· Try backing/outlining white paper with colored paper

 

Use good adhesives! Rubber cement doesn't last

Hanging the Posters

Posters should be hung by inserting the bottom end into the lower poster rail, and putting pins/staples/holes in the top that can be used for tying the top to the upper poster rail. Do not harm the walls in any way, shape or form! (no tape, pins or nails)

 

Remember

Posters are a serious presentation of your work, not just an advertisement. They should be visually attractive and legible from a distance, so that passers-by will be attracted and be able to read them easily. But, in addition, they must effectively describe what you did, what you concluded from the work, and why it is important.

The format suggested here is merely a suggestion -- if you come up with something better, we'd love to see it.