Poster

Sample Poster

With a poster, you are communicating to your audience what the project/problem is, what your team has done to solve or address the problem, and the team’s accomplishments (problem, methodology, findings/conclusion). The poster is intended to be used as a quick and easy way for judges and visitors to visually grasp what the project is about and the work the team has done during the semester.

It should be easy to point out certain sections of the poster and explain the information on them in more detail. Think of them as a power point slide for a quick presentation. You only need to put the essential information in a concise form and be able to verbally explain the details. A poster is not an essay, so paragraph-style content should be avoided. Instead bullet points, tables, graphs, charts, and images should be used to convey your message. Simple, one-sentence messages and bullet-point lists are appropriate for communicating important information to support the illustrative elements of the poster. Think about how to minimize the amount of text and still be effective in presenting your work visually. Usually the simplest posters are the most effective ones, if prepared carefully. The content needs to flow logically and be easy enough to absorb, even if the viewer is not too familiar with the topic.

10 IPRO Poster Design Tips

  1. Include a prominent header containing your team’s IPRO number and name in a large, easy to read font across the top of your poster.

  2. Use large font size throughout the poster with headings and titles larger that other text so that it can be read from far away.

  3. Be concise and simple in your writing by using bullet-point lists instead of paragraph-style text and/or statements.

  4. Be selective with the poster’s content – include only the most important and relevant information about the project.

  5. Organize and present information in a logical way that is easy to follow (problem, methodology, findings, conclusions).

  6. Make sure there is enough contrast between the background and font color; use either dark font against a light background (recommended) OR light font against a dark background.

  7. Include simple and understandable visuals such as graphs/charts/tables, and usecaptions/labels for all visuals, including images.

  8. Use high-resolution images and make sure to view the document at its actual size to ensure that the images will not be blurry when the poster is printed.

  9. Check for typos/abbreviations by having several reviewers look over your poster (advisors, professionals, friends who have not worked on the poster).

  10. Avoid using team member pictures to fill up space.

Most importantly, remember to employ the less is more philosophy.

Content

The following are suggested content areas to be included in your poster. It is recommended that the poster capture this information; however, you are not limited to providing separate sections for all of the content areas. Combining some of them might be appropriate depending on your project.

  • Title: IPRO number and name.

  • Problem: concise summary of the problem you are trying to address.

  • Background: short description of where your project/problem stands in a broader context. This section could include contemporary practice related to your project and work done by previous teams if your project is a continuing one.

  • Objective: clear statement of the goal(s) for the current semester.

  • Methodology: section that explains the methods you used to address the problem.

  • Results: section that shows the results of your work during the semester. This is a great place to include illustrations, tables, charts, and other visuals.

  • Conclusions: section that summarizes the findings of the work performed by your team on the project and your accomplishments.

  • Acknowledgments (if any): section that includes recognition of the contributions of any sponsors, consulting experts, resource providers, previous teams, and other organizations.

  • Future Work (optional): section that offers a perspective of what the future of this project looks like.

Other Important Information

  • All previous IPRO Day posters are saved in iGroups Nugget Library

  • Poster size is limited to 48″ long and 36″ high. PLEASE LEAVE 0.5″ MARGIN ON ALL SIDES to ensure your image does not get cut off.

  • The IPRO Office provides 2 boards for mounting posters for each team. The board is a tri-fold with a 12” wide left section, a 24” wide center section, and a 12” wide right section. It is 36” tall.

  • If you are including IIT and IPRO logos on your poster, please use a high-resolution version of the logos available in the logo library

  • Teams may also use foam core to mount their posters, but it is not provided by the IPRO Office.

  • Posters may be created in any computer program. Suggested programs are: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or PowerPoint.

  • All files must be converted to a PDF file before being uploaded to the iGroups Nugget Library. The computers on campus have the ability to do this if your own computer does not.

Submission Guidelines

  • Posters must be uploaded to iGROUPS by the deadline as a “Poster” Nugget (using the “iKnow Nuggets” option). Only upload your FINAL poster in a PDF format.

  • The IPRO Office will print two posters for teams for IPRO Day if they are submitted by the specified deadline. The IPRO Office will not reimburse students for the cost of printing materials at Kinko’s or other printing service store.

  • Posters must be uploaded to iGROUPS as a “Poster” Nugget (using the “iKnow Nuggets” option). Only upload your FINAL poster in a PDF format.

  • If you choose to print your poster in an IIT computer lab, please follow these instructions: