Presentation Guidelines for Innovation EXPO

• Competitor analysis
• Market research

Some things to keep in mind while creating the posters:

• Connect with the viewers
• Direct and hold the attention of the viewers
• Enhance the viewers’ understanding and memory by providing easily digestible information

DOs for poster design

• DO design the poster as if you were designing the layout for a magazine or newspaper. Select fonts and sizes that work together. Strive for consistency, uniformity, and a clean, readable look.
• DO lay out the poster segments in a logical order, so that reading proceeds in some kind of linear fashion from one segment to the next, moving sequentially in a raster pattern. One way to set up this pattern is columnar format, so the reader proceeds vertically first, from top to bottom, then left to right. This has the advantage that several people can be all reading the poster at the same time, while walking through it from left to right, without having to exchange places. Consider numbering your individual poster pieces (1,2, 3…) so that the reading sequence is obvious to all. Always make sure that all figure legends are located immediately adjacent to the relevant figures.
• DO make the title large enough to be easily read from a considerable distance (15-25 feet).
• Remember that titles in all capital letters are harder to read.
• DO put the names of all authors just below (or next to) your project title. (First names rather than initials are preferred.) For professional presentations, institutional affiliations should also be inserted.
• DO use color in the poster, and always try to use them in a way that helps to convey additional meaning. Colors attract attention but can equally well detract from your message when misused. Fluorescent (neon) color borders just don’t cut it for posters. Neither do excessive variations in color (the rainbow look). For color borders, select something that draws attention but is not overwhelming. For color artwork, make sure that the color actually means something and serves to make useful distinctions. If pseudo coloring is necessary, give thought to the color scale being used, making sure that it is tasteful, sensible, and above all, intuitive. Be mindful of color contrast when choosing colors, never place isoluminant colors in close proximity (dark red on navy blue, chartreuse on light gray, etc.), and remember that a lot of people happen to be red/green colorblind.

• DON’T pick a font that’s hard to read. Please, don’t get too creative in your typeface selections. Don’t mix a large number of fonts.
  Difficult: Sans-serif fonts, Helvetica (better for short text items than long texts), Courier (mono-spaced are hard to read).
  Good: Serif-based fonts help guide the eye along the line and improve both readability and comprehension.
• DON’T use too small a type size for the poster. This is the single most common error. Never, ever, use 10-12-point type.
• DON’T vary the type sizes and/or typefaces excessively through the poster. For example, don’t use something different for every bit of text and graphics. Font at the same level (example, heading, first level bullet) should be the same size and type throughout the poster.

• Don’t overwhelm the reader with too much information
• Use phrases instead of sentences as much as possible
• Use bullets
• Use appropriate grammar and spelling
• Use active, not passive verbs

Most importantly, be sure to proofread all your work!