Poster Session Guidelines

NOTE: These guidelines are for poster session presenters who submitted to our Call for Abstracts and had their poster accepted for the conference.

Presenter Registration

All conference presenters, including poster session presenters, must register for either the full conference or the day(s) that you are presenting.

Poster Session Timelines

Posters should be set up on Tuesday, May 31 between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Signs will be placed in the poster session area. You will not be assigned a poster board; please hang your poster on any board that is available.

Posters will be on display during the entire day. Poster presenters are requested to be on hand at the following times to discuss their poster with conference attendees:

  • 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. (second half of breakfast) NEW due to a change in breakfast location!
  • 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (during the morning break)
  • 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (during the afternoon break)

Note that while the poster session will officially take place at the above times, presenters are welcome to set up early and attend the first part of the continental breakfast as well.

Posters should be taken down on Tuesday, May 31 between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Please do not forget to take your belongings with you at the end of the day. CITE is not responsible for any materials left at the venue.

Poster Display & What Presenters Should Bring

You should bring your poster with you to the session. Posters should be printed on heavyweight poster paper or similar material. Each presenter will be provided with two poster boards approximately 3 feet wide and 4 feet tall, along with an easel for each board. Poster display boards are on loan and cannot be written on or defaced.

Posters should be designed to fit on two separate side-by-side boards to fit the presentation space. Note that although the two easels will be positioned side-by-side, the boards will not be connected, and posters should be printed on two separate 3 feet by 4 feet sections.

You are responsible for attaching your poster to the display boards, and must bring any supplies you may need (tape, tacks, heavy-duty fasteners, felt-tipped markers, etc.).

There are no provisions for making posters at the meeting, nor for receiving, storing or returning posters to authors.

You may bring additional written material that supplements the information presented on the poster.

Computers without audio may be used to run demonstrations and display additional information or illustrations.

If you require a small table for supplementary material or a laptop computer, please notify the organizing committee prior to April 13 so that one can be provided.

No electrical outlets will be provided. Please come with your computer charged!

Internet will be available at the conference center but presenters should be prepared in case the reception is poor due to overuse.

What Makes a Good Poster?

  • Attracts attention
  • Provides a clear overview of your work
  • Provides enough material to explain the research without an oral explanation
  • Provides enough material to initiate discussion and questions without overwhelming the audience

Here are some additional resources to help with poster creation:

Poster Design Guidelines

Prepare poster on a sheet of heavy duty paper or similarly flexible material. Do not tack individual pages of a PowerPoint presentation or a text manuscript onto a poster board.

Keep content simple. A poster is a visual communication tool, not a manuscript. The viewer should be able to easily identify the primary concepts of the project without wading through a lot of text or complex formulas. Identify 3 or 4 main points or concepts to communicate.

The poster should contain a statement of your topic, major findings, conclusions or strategies to be discussed, and any other pertinent information. The sequence of information on the poster should be logical in order for conference attendees to have a clear idea of the major facets of your work.

Be concise with your written material. Save elaborative points for discussion/interaction with viewers. For conclusions, focus on a central finding that lends itself to informal discussion.

Avoid acronyms and jargon. Simple language is best.

Choose a short title which will draw interest.

Ensure key information is visible from a distance. Use at least 28–36 point bold sans serif font (e.g., Arial or Helvetica) for headers and 18–24 point font for text, as most viewers will be at least three feet away from your poster.

Use a consistent, clean, and uncluttered layout, with a balanced mix of text and graphics. Too many words will result in people glossing over or simply bypassing your poster. A good rule of thumb is 50% text, 50% graphics and photos.

Avoid large blocks of text. Present text in bullets or small chunks broken up by subheadings, and use charts, drawings and photographs to make the poster appealing and easier to read. For increased appeal, use color images on your poster.

Use simple graphics. Charts, drawings and illustrations should be limited to a 2-3 color palette at a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Visuals should be large enough to be comfortably read from 3 feet away.

Avoid dark-colored backgrounds. Use light colored backgrounds with black or very dark colored text. Graphics should similarly provide a stark contrast to be readable.

Provide author name(s), organization logos, and/or other acknowledgements to give credit to those who have done the work.

Prepare a brief (up to 5 minutes) oral presentation for delivering to small audiences gathered around the poster.

Note that commercial advertising of products or services is not permitted.

Adapted from: Poster session guidelines for the TRB and ITE annual meetings