How to Prepare and Present a Poster for Senior Design

Tracy VolzBrown School of Engineering

tmvolz@rice.edu

Posters Present a Challenge

• Audiences – Make decisions quickly– Come and go

• Posters must be lean and clean– Accessible– Comprehensible– Attractive

• Posters must stand alone

What’s “The News”?

What’s YOUR News?

• What problem does your device address?• What’s the motivation?• What are your objectives?• What are your design criteria?• What’s your approach/method?* What’s your device?

* What are the key components?* How does it work?

• What do the results of your testing suggest?• What are the implications of your work?• What work could be done in the future to improve device?

Design for the Audience

Why are they interested?What are their backgrounds?How will they benefit?What are their questions?

Make “The News” Accessible

• Use informative headings– NOT: Final Design– The PRIME System

– NOT: Results– Accurate and Precise

• Reduce jargon

Visualize “The News”

VISUALIZE “The News”

• Is it problem / solution?

• Is it an image?

• Is it a contrast? (old vs. new)

• Is it a demonstration?

Relate News to Layout

• Match visualization to layout– Left-to-right flow in vertical columns– Left-to-right flow in horizontal rows– Centered image with explanations– Two fields in contrast

L-to-R Flow in Vertical Columns

Flows top to bottom, left to right

Title & Authors

Title & Authors

Design

Methods

Goals

Problem Testing

Conclusions

Fig 2

L-to-R Flow in Rows

Title & Authors

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Centered Image & Explanations

Title & Authors

Abstract

Two Fields in Contrast

Title & Authors

Istockphoto.com

Text

• Legible• Large• Succinct• Parallel• Conservative• Consistent

Font Style and Size

• Title (6 – 8 words)– 90 - 120 pt

• Headings (3 words)– 36 - 48 pt

• Text– 30 - 36 pt.

Good for Posters

ESans Serif

Arial

Helvetica

Calibri

Fat Text Lean Text

We tested our software on dozens of piano “songs,” including simple exercises like scales and chords, simple songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and more complicated pieces like Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

Software testing– Chromatic scale– Simple pieces

• Mary Had a Little Lamb

– Complex pieces• Pachelbel’s Canon in D

Guide the Reader

• Scale expresses relative importance

• Indenting shows subordination– As in this example

• Hanging indent aids scanning

• Spacing chunks related information

• White space directs gaze

• Color adds emphasis or coherence

Problems Producing Visuals

• Size

• Colors

• Labels

• Units

• Chart junk

• Significant figures

Principles of Explanation

• Introduce figure beforehand

• Tag figures / images with explanations

• Provide captions

ResultsGeneric title

Unnecessary box No units

Double title

Result not interpreted in words

Load Cell Test

Calibration indicates high confidence and resolution in extrapolated force measurements.

Revenue

Region Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Americas -18% 7% 25% 2% 2%

Australia 47% -7% 26% 15% 17%

China 16% -5% 1% 7% 19%

Europe 57% 10% -3% 7% 13%

India 57% 57% -3% 7% 13%

General title

Too many gridlines Values not centered

No visual cues to signal what’s important

Adapted from Duarte’s Slide:ology

Region Q1 ($M) Q2 ($M) Q3 ($M) Q4 ($M) Total ($M)

Americas -18 7 25 2 2

Australia 47 -7 26 15 17

China 16 -5 1 7 19

Europe 57 10 -3 7 13

India 57 57 -3 7 13

1st quarter most profitable

Adapted from Duarte’s Slide:ology

Change PPT chart defaults

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101214161820

Americas Australia China Europe India

Too many values on Y-axis

Too much space between bars

3-D effect

Too many gridlines

Low contrast color

Border retained

Rev

enu

e ($

M)

China generates highest total revenue for 2008

0

5

10

15

20

Americas Australia China Europe India

Revenue ($M)

Details Matter!

• Check for consistent formatting

• Check grammar & spelling

• Use a correct bibliography

• Give credit to others

• Include contact info

Present “The News”

Connect with Audience

• Greet people – Gauge level of interest, prior knowledge

• Prepare 30 sec, 90 sec, 3 min talks

• Summarize “gist” in 2-3 sentences

• Reinforce key points

• Be able to start spiel from any section

• Catch up newcomers quickly

Communicate with Confidence

• Be enthusiastic• Maintain eye contact• Don’t block poster

• Integrate gestures

• Speak up

• Adjust pacing

Wrap Up

• Align objectives, results, conclusions

• Use figures/tables to make data accessible

• Analyze and interpret data

• Edit for brevity and precision

• Connect with the audience