The volume of information shared at Ryan White meetings has increased over time, putting a premium on the role of poster presentations as a vehicle for sharing of program insights with conference attendees. In 2008, over 150 poster presentations are anticipated for display within the exhibit hall. Attendees will be viewing posters while moving through an active exhibit hall. Maximizing a poster’s impact in this setting requires attention to presentation. This involves the effective use of text, graphics, and tables to provide a clear and concise story line that also does justice to the complexity of the content.
As a general guide, poster presentations should contain explanatory text and/or graphic information in the following areas: Introduction; Methods/Activities; Results; Lessons Learned. Poster presenters are not required to use these categories and may modify them or use other categories to organize their posters. However, all presenters should focus on providing a clear story about the information being presented, particularly in terms of how other programs can use that information to improve their own Ryan White HIV/AIDS work. Below are suggestions for designing a poster presentation to maximize its impact on attendees.
Design Recommendations
Tabular Data. Tables work well for presenting categories of data and tend to work better than graphs when the goal is to present data under a small number of categories.
Graphs. Examples of graphs include bar charts and pie charts. They work well in giving users a big-picture insight into findings. When using graphs, it is usually best to put explanatory text next to the graphic data being explained.
Preparation and Printing. Posters can be designed on most any software and might be easiest if developed by what you have available in your office. On the lower cost end, each page of the presentation (e.g., Introduction) can be printed out on letter or legal paper. Other options include laminated paper or oversized sheets that can be produced by a local copy store or design agency. When working with an outside party, like a printer, avoid last minute surprises such as incompatible software and fonts. Discuss requirements, up front.
Explore Options for Getting Design Help. If design expertise is not available within your agency, free or very-low-cost help may be available from the local university or businesses that specialize in this type of work.
Amount of Text. Clarity and brevity are important considerations. However, the complexity of your content does not have to be sacrificed—if attention is paid to presenting information in a manner that makes it possible for viewers to follow.
Font Style and Size. Typically, posters will be viewed in exhibit halls by persons standing anywhere from 1-6 feet away.
· Use upper and lower case; avoid all caps.
· Headers: font size no less than 1 inch high, which will be readable six feet away.
· Body Text: font size no less than ½ inch high, which is readable from four feet away.
· Font Style: San serif is preferable.
· Number of Words. Aim for brevity, but don’t sacrifice accuracy and completeness.
Colors and Other Text Treatment. Color is not crucial to an effective poster but it certainly can help. Avoid too many colors—more than three in most cases—as it can become distracting. If not using color, a poster using only black-white can be very effective with use of techniques like white space, shading, and font sizes. Lettering should be bold. If you will be posting typed material, use a large font size (20 to 24 point font) on white, pale yellow or cream colored non-glossy paper. Use 1-inch margins. Avoid use of fancy fonts.
Order of Materials. Make it clear to viewers what to read first and in what order. One option is to number sections/pages on the poster board. Placement of sections also is important (e.g., left to right, use of arrows).
Content Recommendations
Overall. Poster presentations tend to cover facts, program explanations, or insights about service delivery. However, also think about how the poster presentation will provide a compelling conference learning situation. Some considerations are: how the topic has implications for the broader field; what might be inspiring/a breakthrough; or how the poster can be transferable to other programs/situations.
Headers: Include a Title, Authors, Agency, Location.
Titles: This should go on the top. State what you did, learned, what happened in the title and present this information in a manner designed to attract viewers. That’s because the title is an advertisement to get conference attendees interested in reading your poster. For example, Ten Tips for Outreach to Gay Men or Color may work better than: Research on Methods for Improving Outreach and Entry in HIV Care.
Authors: Put authors names and affiliations on the second line, after the poster title.
Introduction. Describe the topic/activity/program/problem that is the subject of your poster, providing readers with a clear overview. The introduction should contain 3 to 5 clear sentences that explain the poster subject matter and the focus of the presentation (e.g., service insight being explored, investigation undertaken, product/resource being featured).
Methods/Activities: Describe what was done. This might include the methodology, the interventions provided, or other actions taken.
Results: Describe what happened, using text, graphs, or tables. Visual elements should be self-explanatory and/or be accompanying by clear explanatory legends. An interpretation of results may be also be helpful.
Lessons Learned: Provide observations, recommendations, tips, and insights that other programs might be able to use in their own work. In particular, focus on specifics that can readily be used and adapted by other programs.
Abbreviations/Acronyms. Avoid them, unless they are well understood by your audience. For example, AETCs are well-known by most people within Ryan White.
Walk-Away Sheets: Handouts and Cards. A select number of viewers will want to learn more and contact you later. While you might consider bringing a limited number of handout copies of your poster, think “green” and bring business cards or just post your email and/or phone number on the poster for those wishing to contact you to receive a copy or talk more about your work.
Sharing Your Poster Online. Regardless of the method used to produce a poster, think about generating posters in a format that can be shared online so that your poster can be seen in other venues besides the conference. The RyanWhiteTARGETCenter at http://careacttarget.org/ has a TA Library and can make posters available to a much wider audience, after the conference has ended. Options include, for example, PDF versions of poster presentations.
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