Creating Effective Poster presentations

Here we collate a few sources that can help you design an effective poster for submission to the SGAC UN-SPIDER Poster Competition and present your unique idea on how space technology or information can help the Caribbean for disaster management. The main required criteria for the poster is already specified with the announcement. This material is simply to assist you with some resources that may come handy

THE POSTER SESSION:

Poster sessions at conferences are relatively new but are gaining popularity as they allow the opportunity for the presenter to engage at length with audiences particularly interested in their material and have graphical data and support material at hand. An effective poster tells a story with some basic elements as explained below

ELEMENTS

Title Text:
Each poster presentation should include the following in text large enough to be easily read from 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) away

Program Title: 1-1.5 inches tall (25 to 38 mm)

Additional Identifying information -- 3/4 to 1 inch (19 to 25 mm)

Abstract: 20-point text, about 200 words
About two paragraphs describing what type of program was conducted and some conclusions about what made it effective.

Illustrations: Photographs, graphs, graphics, or other "art" that illustrate the program. Graphic information is often easier to process quickly than text information. Look for imaginative ways to graphically explain your program and its impact.

Toolkits: Bulleted information describing how the program was conducted and providing key suggestions for other organizations that might want to implement similar programs.

Research and Evaluation: Bulleted information describing how you decided on the best way to reach your target audience and the conclusions of any evaluation of the program or statistics about usage that help describe the program's effectiveness.

Additional information: Any additional information that you think would enhance the presentation.

Keep it simple and brief. Think of a poster as a series of highly efficient, organized “panels” upon which appear synopses of the relevant information you want to convey – just enough to get your point across.

Organize your poster materials using headings such as “Introduction,” “The Research Question,” “The Methodology,” and “Findings.” These headings will help establish a logical flow to your poster.

Do not plan on using audio-visual equipment.

Cite your research on the poster (use APA or MLA format). This can be a small box at the bottom. Yes, it is plagiarism even on a poster.

Make your poster visually appealing. Have fun. Be creative. Incorporate color. Simplify charts and figures to include only relevant information. Be attentive to the layout and placement of your materials.

The poster should be clearly legible in all copies. Preview copies can be sent in cases where full copies are too heavy to be sent by email. Preview copies should be set at 70 dpi minimum and full copies for printing must be 300 dpi in resolution. The files can be in .pdf or .jpg or Microsof Office compatible formats.

RESOURCES

See the 'Design', 'Layout' and 'Printing' sessions of this online guide which is very useful
See different paper sizes and conversions. The submission for the SGAC UN-SPIDER Poster competition is A2.
See this online guide for tips on how to check your poster is effective
An online article on how to design posters for scientific conferences