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How to Prepare and Present a Poster for Senior Design

How to Prepare and Present a Poster for Senior Design. Tracy Volz Brown 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.

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How to Prepare and Present a Poster for Senior Design

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  1. How to Prepare and Present a Poster for Senior Design Tracy Volz Brown School of Engineering tmvolz@rice.edu

  2. Posters Present a Challenge • Audiences • Make decisions quickly • Come and go • Posters must be lean and clean • Accessible • Comprehensible • Attractive • Posters must stand alone

  3. What’s “The News”?

  4. 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?

  5. Design for the Audience Why are they interested? What are their backgrounds? How will they benefit? What are their questions?

  6. Make “The News” Accessible • Use informative headings • NOT: Final Design • The PRIME System • NOT: Results • Accurate and Precise • Reduce jargon

  7. Visualize “The News”

  8. VISUALIZE “The News” • Is it problem / solution? • Is it an image? • Is it a contrast? (old vs. new) • Is it a demonstration?

  9. 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

  10. L-to-R Flow in Vertical Columns Flows top to bottom, left to right Title & Authors

  11. Title & Authors Problem Testing Fig 2 Goals Design Methods Conclusions

  12. L-to-R Flow in Rows Title & Authors Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

  13. Centered Image & Explanations Title & Authors Abstract

  14. Two Fields in Contrast Title & Authors

  15. Text • Legible • Large • Succinct • Parallel • Conservative • Consistent Istockphoto.com

  16. Font Style and Size Good for Posters • Title (6 – 8 words) • 90 - 120 pt • Headings (3 words) • 36 - 48 pt • Text • 30 - 36 pt. E Sans Serif Arial Helvetica Calibri

  17. 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 Fat Text Lean Text

  18. 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

  19. Problems Producing Visuals • Size • Colors • Labels • Units • Chart junk • Significant figures

  20. Principles of Explanation • Introduce figure beforehand • Tag figures / images with explanations • Provide captions

  21. Results Generic title Double title No units Unnecessary box Result not interpreted in words

  22. Load Cell Test Calibration indicates high confidence and resolution in extrapolated force measurements.

  23. Revenue General title No visual cues to signal what’s important Too many gridlines Values not centered Adapted from Duarte’s Slide:ology

  24. 1st quarter most profitable Adapted from Duarte’s Slide:ology

  25. Change PPT chart defaults 3-D effect Border retained Revenue ($M) Too many gridlines Low contrast color Too many values on Y-axis Too much space between bars

  26. China generates highest total revenue for 2008 Revenue ($M)

  27. Details Matter! • Check for consistent formatting • Check grammar & spelling • Use a correct bibliography • Give credit to others • Include contact info

  28. Present “The News”

  29. 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

  30. Communicate with Confidence • Be enthusiastic • Maintain eye contact • Don’t block poster • Integrate gestures • Speak up • Adjust pacing

  31. 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

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