Guidelines for presenters of posters

	Document Contents Languages Size limits and materials Tips on poster design Physical production and transportation Poster presentations Publication Contact us

Posters are an integral part of the conference and will remain in place for the duration of CLiP 2006.

Languages

Presentations may be given in the language of the accepted abstract. If the language is not English we strongly recommend the use of slides in English to facilitate comprehension. If the language is English, we strongly recommend the use of slides in one of the other conference languages:

• Spanish
• Italian
• German
• French

Size limits and materials

Our poster display boards are:

• A0

So, bear in mind that your poster should be smaller than these dimensions!

Besides a display board, the organisation will provide push pins and a small table.

Tips on poster design

Layout

Divide the contents of your poster into appropriate sections, for example:

• header: including title, author, institutional affiliation
• abstract
• methodology
• data
• results
• conclusions.

Give credit where it is due. Have an acknowledgements section, in smaller size type, where you acknowledge contributors and funding organizations.

Think visual

A poster should emphasize one key idea and clearly demonstrate it. Choose the key idea you want to focus on and how you can best support it through visual (and, secondarily, textual) means.

Use photographs, drawings, graphs, charts and/or tables (colour if possible) to show results. However, include visual material only when it enhances the presentation. Colour is an important tool for making your poster visually interesting and for presenting concepts strategically.

Font (think big)

Make sure your poster can be easily read from about a metre away; use 28-point font for body text (larger for titles and headings). Use clear, simple, dark fonts for all text. Ideally, use no more than one or two different fonts for the poster. Avoid overuse of capitals, italics, underlining and elaborate script fonts. Use bold or a larger size of lettering to achieve emphasis.

Colour

Choose a muted background colour for your poster. Ideally, use no more than three colours. A splash of colour here and there, perhaps highlighting central findings or results, will make your poster stand out.

Be aware of good and bad colour combinations for people who suffer colour-blindness, which affects around 1 in 10 men and 1 in 200 women. For more details follow this link:

• http://www.hcirn.com/atoz/atozc/colcomb.php

Spacing

Use white space strategically (for aesthetic and conceptual reasons). Filling all available space will make your poster overwhelming to the reader. Use bullet points!

Content

Be concise. Save elaborative points for verbal discussion and interaction with viewers. For conclusions, focus on a central finding that lends itself to informal discussion.

Physical production and transportation

Your institution may have media/audio-visual services available to print and laminate your poster using high-quality materials. They may also have templates specifically for creating large format posters.

If it is digital, remember to make a back-up copy of your poster.

Invest in a mailing tube or portfolio case for transporting your poster.

Poster presentations

More elaborate set-ups will need more time. If you need audio or video equipment, locate it early. You may need to share with other presenters, so plan your presentation accordingly.

Brief oral overview

When someone approaches you, provide a brief, clear statement of what your project is about. Then let the audience member ask questions and read the poster and handout. You should be as prepared as if you were going to give an oral presentation, but the goal is to have a more informal exchange.

Be available

Stay by your poster, but give people time and space to view your materials.

Additional materials and audience

Have a notepad handy when presenting at your poster session. It may be helpful in elaborating on your findings, or for taking names and addresses of people interested in your research. Bring handouts and copies of your paper to give to other delegates. Consider making available copies of your business card (or a similar slip of paper with your contact information).

Find out who are the people interested in your poster and what they are working on. You may make a valuable contact with someone who shares your research interests.

Publication

The poster is not a publication of record. However, the abstracts of the poster submission will be included in the book of abstracts of CLiP 2006.

Contact us

For any queries on these guidelines please contact the local committee.