BOOM 2006 Poster Guidelines
BOOM will attract a broad spectrum of attendees including students, faculty, administration, friends, alums, corporate sponsors and corporate recruiters. Your audience will probably not have an in-depth understanding of your project so try to make your poster as easy to understand as possible.
This poster presentation is one way that you will present data for your BOOM exhibit. Design suggestions are listed below:
- Display your message clearly and strikingly to attract people who might be interested. Strive to attract attention – use color where possible.
- Ensure that your poster is quickly readable from a distance, with an open and uncluttered layout. Choose a typeface and point size that’s easily readable from at least 5 ft. away.
- Poster information should flow from top left to bottom right.
- Cover the key points of your work (keep text to the minimum amount needed to describe your work). More detailed information should be included in your web page, handouts, and/or short oral presentation.
- The poster should be self-explanatory.
- Lower case type is easier to read (Bits On Our Minds vs. BITS ON OUR MINDS).
- Standard poster size is 22 x 28” – if you need something larger, contact the BOOM organizers.
- Each poster will require a “Where is the BOOM?” section:
The BOOM of "Where's the BOOM" means "Brains on our Machines". The presenter is asked to display a brief (50 words or less) description of the computing aspects of the project. This section must be clearly labeled "Where's The BOOM". This portion of the poster must be included in order to be eligible for the Where's the BOOM Award.
Consult with your faculty mentor as you create your poster. They have done posters before and will be a good resource for you.
Poster Specifications
Your 22” x 28” BOOM poster will sit in a lightweight poster holder on top of a table.
The materials that you use to make you poster can vary. One option is to print the entire poster on one big sheet. Info about doing this through Mann Library is available at the following link: http://www.mannlib.cornell.edu/computing/print/plotter.html. Printing on a plotter can be time-consuming; if you choose this method be sure to plan ahead and allow plenty of time for printing. Some local printers (for example, The Word Pro or Gnomon Copy) are also able to print posters. Other students prefer to mount their poster on mat board.
Suggested Content
▪TITLE
A descriptive title should appear at the top of your poster in large letters. Below the title put your name and the name(s) of all the people who significantly contributed to the project. Include the college and department affiliations for all authors listed.
▪SUMMARY
Include a short summary of your project – include background, objectives and methods used so that it will be easily understood by all audiences.
▪RESULTS
Include text, tables, and graphics. Be sure to include a heading and/or caption explaining each table or figure/graphic.
▪CONCLUSIONS
Discuss conclusions of the project and describe the next step for the study if it were to continue.
Critique your poster before production …
Is the poster audience-friendly?
Does it fit on a 22” x 28” poster board?
Is it readable from at least five feet away?
Is it appropriate for the BOOM audience?
Is it open and free of clutter?
Has it been carefully edited and proofread?
Does the title reflect the study?