General Information
Poster Presenters write a paper for the NESUG Proceedings in the same
way as do Presenters in other Sections of the Conference. The difference
is that, in the Posters Section, the product delivered at the Conference
is a Poster, rather than a talk.
To submit an abstract to present a Poster, go to the Call for Paper site.
For
deadlines for abstract submission and the submission of the paper for the
Proceedings and other important information for all presenters, see the For Presenters page. These deadlines and obligations apply to Poster
Presenters in the same manner as they do to those giving talks in the other
Sections. As noted in those guidelines, the submission to the Proceedings
must be a paper. It should under no circumstances be simply the exhibits constituting
the eventual Poster display. For first time Presenters, there
is a detailed "Presenters Guide" designed to help you structure your paper
and create a professional final product.
The Poster and the Boards Click here for a poster display diagram
explaining how your poster is to be displayed on the poster boards which
are supplied by SAS. There are two panels available for your Poster, one
slightly under 4 ft high by 4 ft wide, and the other slightly under 4
ft high by 2 ft wide. The two panels are usually at an angle to one another.
The picture shows the smaller board to the right, but the reverse arrangement
can also occur. On top of the larger board is a title board. Poster presenters are to supply their own titles. Details will be provided.
The Presenters have free use of the two lower panels. The challenge here
is to make use of this space in a manner that catches the attendees' eyes
and gives them a story to ponder.
Schedule and the Obligations of the Poster Presenter
The Poster Presenter is expected to put up his/her Poster on the board
designated by the Section Chairs. Please let the Section Chairs know in
advance if you have a preference or requirement regarding whether the
smaller display board is to the right or the left of the larger one.
The poster boards are erected on Sunday, time TBD. Presenters are expected
to assist in the erection of the boards, if possible, according to whatever
plan the Section Chairs have. At this time, the Section Chairs will hold
a brief meeting with you to explain your obligations at the conference.
In and around this meeting you should put up your Poster.
One of the obligations of a Poster Presenter is a "Meet the Presenters"
session. At a designated time during the conference, you will be expected to stand by your Poster for about an hour, so that
attendees can discuss it with you. The poster section chairs will let you know when this will be
well in advance of the conference.
Disassembly of the Posters begins about 10:00 am on Wednesday. Presenters
are expected to assist the Section Chairs in packing away the Poster Boards
for SAS.
Use of A/V equipment is rare in the section, but some Presenters come
with laptop setups, which are used to further demonstrate the technique
or application depicted on the poster, when the Presenter is present.
To aid such one-on-one dialogs with attendees, a small table and a couple
of chairs can be useful. These, along with electrical connections, can
be provided by NESUG for you, but such requirements must be made known
to the A/V Coordinator via the abstract submission form before the conference.
A handout can also be helpful. Some Presenters have a little holder built
in to one corner of the display where attendees can take a copy of the
paper, or a summary of the poster. It's a nice spot to put contact information
for people who might want to reach you. If you want to do a handout, you
will have to make your own arrangements for bringing them.
For the Pre-Conference obligations surrounding the submission of the
paper, see For Presenters.
Creating a Good Poster
For most people, creating an attractive, informative Poster requires a
lot of work and some considerable planning. There are no set rules, but
there are some elements that make a good Poster -- and there are some
things that some people do that are destructive to that objective. Here
are a few helpful thoughts:
THEME AND COHESION: The Poster should tell some kind of story and
the thread of it should be one easily followed without explanation.
There should be a flow of some kind, not simply a running series of
paragraphs or blocks of descriptive material.
DO NOT MOUNT YOUR PAPER AS THE POSTER: Your Paper is designed to
be read. It is not the Poster. The Poster is an artistic and graphical
rendering, even though text is a key part. The two represent two different
ways to present a topic.
FONTS: One mistake made by many Poster Presenters is the use of too
small a font or too pale a font. When in doubt as to the readability
of your creation, print an 8.5 by 11 inch panel of a piece of what you
are doing, walk back eight feet and look at it. If you can't read most
of it easily, the font is too small or too pale. Viewers should not
have to lean close and squint to see things. Make sure also that your
fonts are deep colored enough -- and making fonts bold helps.
COLOR: It does help to use colors. But excessive, heavy or jumbled
use of color can detract from a Poster's appeal. Several otherwise potentially
interesting Posters have had their impact compromised by burying text
on a deep colored or busy background. Beware of light colored lettering
on light backgrounds. Use the "eight foot test" described
in the Fonts section above. If you cannot read your Poster, neither
can your audience. Finally, keep in mind the color of the poster board
itself, which is royal blue.
VISUAL GIMMICKS: These can help by attracting attention, depending
on what you are doing. But excessive use of cartoon characters and other
such displays is distracting; they can start to bury the substance your
poster is trying to convey. The common sense rule is simply to use common
sense.
LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS: We recommend that you read the following
excellent reference: