Guidance for Posters

Materials:

• A .pdf file sent to m100@mit.edu by September 1, together with the abstract, so that they are made available on the M@100 site;
• A physical (paper or fabric) poster, at most 36 in by 48 in (91 cm by 122 cm), to be displayed either vertically or horizontally;
• Pins will be provided for you to attach the poster to the backdrop.

Room:

• Poster sessions will be held in room 32-D461 and/or the 8th floor lobby of tower D, building 32 (Stata Center).
• For morning poster sessions, the room will be opened at 9 am;
• For the afternoon poster sessions, the room will be open after 1 pm for poster set-up;
• Please take down your poster after your poster session.

Presentation:

The tips on poster design and presentation below are an abridged version of the AMP 2022 Guidelines for Poster Presentations

1. Poster etiquette
   • Try to prepare a short verbal run-through; many visitors will want to visit multiple posters and will feel uncomfortable if you have them trapped at your poster for a long time.
   • Speak loud enough to be heard by all those around your poster.
   • Do not let one visitor monopolize a long stretch of time when others are present.
2. Avoid wordy, overlong posters
   • By far the most common error is to try to include too much. The result is a busy poster, with small type, hard to read from a distance.
   • Please be aware that many conference-goers regard a crowded, small-font poster as a red flag and are likely to walk right past it.
   • The web site listed below suggests a maximum of 800 words.
   • The length problem usually arises from misunderstanding the poster’s purpose. Your poster is not supposed to cover the full content of the research. Rather, it is like a scholarly “advertisement” for the full paper. So, hit the highlights and get your main point across.
   • Telegraphic, caption-like presentation can be easier for your audience than paragraphs.
3. Get your poster vetted in advance
   • It is a recurring ritual in many departments that people with posters tape a draft version to the wall and solicit the comments of teachers and peers.
   • On the same occasion, you can practice your 2-minute oral run-through.
4. Provide examples
   • Even though poster space is at a premium, do not sacrifice example forms, which assist intelligibility.
5. Include graphic material
   • For instance, tableaux, graphs of experimental results.
   • These take up a lot of room but it really pays to include them.
6. Organizing the panels
   • Arrange the panels of your poster arrayed in columns left to right. Do not ask readers to follow a non-standard path simply because it will save you space.
   • Retain enough white space so that the layout is clear.
7. Font size
   • Make your title big, and use intermediate-size fonts to clarify the structure of your poster.
   • Smallest size should be readable (even by people with imperfect vision) from a distance of 5 ft / 1.5 m.
8. Digital resources
   • Make it possible for others to download your poster (or full paper, or whatever) by including a link to your website.
   • People often provide QR codes to make this process quick and easy.
9. Sound files and other supplementary materials
   • QR codes can also let your visitors access illustrative sound files quickly.
10. More advice
    • Here’s a nice site: https://guides.nyu.edu/posters.