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Make it big.
Bigger posters get more attention. Tabloid (11×17) is a good size for hallways; larger (20 x 30) is better for tables or backdrops.
Use a big title font.
Passers-by will only devote a fraction of a second to decide whether to walk up to your poster or stop at your table. Make sure you give your poster a prominent but short title. A distinctive typestyle is nice, but don’t make your title so fancy that it’s hard to read. Aim for one phrase or image to be legible 40 feet away.
Appeal to the senses.
After the title, your visitors will be most attracted to a logo, images, a screen playing video, or audio (good quality but low level). A single big, colorful image usually works better than a dozen thumbnails. For a more coherent design, key font and background colors off colors in a prominent image.
Include date and location prominently.
Your viewer’s first question will be, “Is this interesting?” The second will be, “Can I make it?” And don’t forget the year, in case your poster will be archived for the future. (Exception: Backdrops to live presentations don’t need date and time, and you may want to re-use them.) And don’t forget to put your name somewhere.
Include a url.
This can be small, and doesn’t need the “http://www”
Consider a QR code.
Smartphone users can scan those squiggly black-and-white squares and jump right to your Web site. Many online services let you make and download a QR code for free, and they don’t have to look standard (consider rounding the corners or changing the colors).
Consider a light background.
Dark backgrounds cost more for you and the environment, and knock-out white text on dark is hard to read.
Push off the centerline.
Play with edges, diagonals, and white space.
Choose your atmosphere
Clean, white posters with crisp fonts and graphics convey clarity and ease of use. Dark, soft-edged imagery, as seen in movie posters by Drew Struzan, suggests mystery or suspense. (More examples of movie posters…)
Re-use what you’ve already made.
Dig up your old partis, abstracts, diagrams, budgets, timelines, and Gantt charts and pick the most attractive and informative selection. There’s no reason to re-invent the wheel when you’re making a poster.
Make your poster free-standing.
You may be able to tape it onto a nearby wall, but there’s no guarantee an appropriate space will be available. Consider adhering your poster to foamcore for added stability in case it has to be freestanding. If you have a QR code, make it accessible.
Put the visitor in the driver’s seat.
Arrange the chairs so visitors can sit down and explore your Web site/video/device with you by their side. Set up your laptop so they can access the keyboard too.
Bring a prop.
Physical objects speak louder than screens. Music-based project? Bring a guitar.
Offer a takeaway.
Have a stack of flyers, business cards, or coupons on your table. No one’s going to remember that your url is MySpecialCapstoneThingey.com unless they pull a piece of paper out of their pocket the next morning or have already scanned your QR code.
Limitations of PowerPoint.
It’s inflexible.
- Expensive to buy.
- Hard to modify.
- Limited integration of external links (urls, images, video, RSS).
It discourages audience interaction.
- Hard to backtrack or change order.
- Hard to load related urls, videos, etc.
- Makes presenters boring!
It’s hard to share.
- Requires proprietary viewers.
- Hard to link.
- Hard to spider.
- Hard to cut and paste.
Advantages of an online format (eg, Firefox or Flash).
- Any Web page is inherently sharable–you don’t have to do the work twice.
- You can use a Web navigation system to encourage random access.
Tips:
- Full-screen the browser (Shift-Command-F in Firefox) to reduce screen clutter.
- You can organize your material in browser tabs.
- Use a browser add-on like Tab Sidebar to review tabs quickly.
- Use a browser add-on like Cooliris or imageZoom to fit images to screen.
Highlighting
Consider using software like Mousepose to highlight areas of or interaction with the screen.
Learn keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl-scroll to zoom the screen dynamically.
Time yourself.
Test the tech.
- Down to every plugin, cable, and url. The best training for an event is the
event itself. - Try to test your presentation hours in advance in the same venue and on the
same machine that you will eventually use. If you cannot do this, try to
present off a laptop that you have checked beforehand.
Don’t trust an online connection.
- Cache a local copy, and if you can’t do that, download some screenshots you
can load if all else fails.
Begin with the real world
- Start with a short metaphor, anecdote, or motivation that explains your idea in non-technical terms. You may want to draw from the computer-free version of your project.
End with a bang.
- Don’t end with “that’s pretty much it.” Pick a final sentence to sum up your project’s philosophical or cultural importance–the Big
Picture–and plan to end with that.