BEFORE YOU HAND IN YOUR POSTER
Each student must send an e-mail to their lecturer with their topic, and they will receive a message with a final decision (e.g. if the idea is good, too general, or needs to be re-examined). The deadline for the students’ email is 10th October at 14.00pm.
Each student will send their provisional poster to the lecturer before 7th November, at 14.00pm in .pdf format via Aula Digital, and they will receive feedback/corrections about it. Student will receive feedback, comments and a grade in a few days. When the obtained grade in the provisional poster is 6 out of 8 or higher (7,5 out of 10), students will be able to 1) present their poster orally (see below) and 2) to enter an Interuniversity Competition (with the University of Oviedo) (see below).
HOW DO I DESIGN MY POSTER?
Powerpoint
There are many software and apps available, but the easiest and safest way is to work with Powerpoint (Office software). All UIB students have free access to the latest edition of Office. To download this software, you need your UIB username and UIB password. Then, go to: https://login.microsoftonline.com/login.srf
If you experience any additional difficulty or problem, see the following link.
Size
Your poster will be printed in DINA1 format. You can design your poster in Landscape format or Portrait format but the size must always be 59.4 x 84.1cm, or 23.39 x 33.11 inches. You must set up the size of your poster right when you start with it. See Video 2 – Setting your slide size correctly in PowerPoint and learn how to do it.
Background Colour
It is important to have enough contrast between the text and background. Dark text over a light background is generally more readable. Don’t use too many colours! Stick to a theme of 2 or 3 colours and keep them balanced and consistent across the poster. See Video 3 - Adding a background to your poster.
General look
- A border around the poster will help to frame your work.
- To help the audience follow the flow of information on your poster, use arrows, lines, or numbers. See Video 7 – How to add shapes.
- Include enough blank space to prevent the poster looking too busy. Blank space is a very effective means of highlighting important information, it draws the audience in.
- Display information in columns as opposed to rows; this will make it easier to read. For example, somewhere between 3 and 4 columns in a landscape poster is generally suitable. See Video 10 – 8 tips for your poster.
Text
Make sure the overall message is clear, with an introduction, thesis, main body and conclusions. However, remember you must use key terminology from the course when appropriate.
Limit the amount of text on your poster and avoid long continuous blocks of text. No more than about 500 words. Text should be legible from a distance of around 1 metre. General guidelines suggest that main titles should be in a font size of at least 96pt, subheadings should be at least 30pt, and the main body of text should be a minimum of 18pt. Consider the readability of the font you choose and try to use no more than two within your design. Suggested fonts are Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman, and Tahoma. Keep it simple and it will be more eye-catching! See Video 6 – Adding text to your poster.
Images
If your grade equals 6 out of 8 or higher, your poster will be printed in BIG format and orally presented. So please take into account that the quality of your photos is very important.
At 300 ppi (pixels per inch) the image needs to be 7016 x 9933 pixels. This is the required resolution for quality offset printing that will be viewed from a short distance. Somewhat lower pixel count (200 to 220 dpi) is acceptable for great looking photographs.
At 150 ppi the image needs to be 3508 x 4967 pixels. This is the minimum resolution for newspapers or posters viewed from a fairly short distance.
For excellent quality and artsy photographs, I recommend https://unsplash.com/ All these images are free of copyright.
In other words, if you can choose among two different pictures, always choose the picture with more Megabites. As you’re not an expert, you can always ask your lecturer about this issue. I will gladly help you.
See Video 4 – Calculating image dimensions for your poster and Video 5 – Adding images to your poster.
Graphs
If a section of text can be displayed in a visual format (SmartArt Graph in Powerpoint), do so. Posters should be visual and the use of graphics to tell the story will help to draw in an audience. Use diagrams, and graphs to summarise findings and make the information more concise and clearer. This will help to reduce the amount of text. See Videos 8 and 9 – Adding SmartArt graph to your poster.
Copyright and correct citation
When you are using an image or a quotation which is not yours, you must acknowledge the author (preferably in Chicago style). It is the responsibility of the student to seek permission or to cite the original sources accordingly.
Remember that all posters must include
- A title in your poster.
- Your full name.
- The course name.
- Academic Year: 2019-2020.
- The corresponding logos.
- Bibliography: As you will be citing different sources, leave some space for your bibliography!
Export your poster to pdf format
Always “Save” your poster in Powerpoint format, so you can modify it at any time. However, you will send your provisional poster in pdf format. It is very simple. Click “Save as” and select “pdf format” in the scroll selection window.
In conclusion
As a general rule, your poster should include your own text (introduction, thesis, development and conclusions), quotations, diagrams or graphs, images, mindmaps, statistics (when appropriate), or any other source that you may consider relevant, as long as you acknowledge it appropriately (see section about plagiarism in the Course Guide). You may use different types of cultural products (songs, photographs, paintings, movies, etc.) for illustration, if relevant.
AFTER YOU HAND IN YOUR POSTER: ORAL PRESENTATION AND COMPETITION
When the obtained grade in the provisional poster is 6 out of 8 or higher (7,5 out of 10), students will have to correct the minor mistakes in their provisional posters and send a final version of the poster before 14th November at 14.00pm, because these posters will be printed (public funding pending) and will enter an Interuniversity Competition.
The oral presentation (a two-minute presentation and questions) will take place the 26th November from 12:00 to 13:00. This two-minute presentation will account for the remaining 20% of this activity.
These posters will be sent to the University of Oviedo and enter an Interuniversity Competition. The best poster will be awarded with a diploma and a prize.
On the day of your presentation (26th November 2019, 12:00-13:00), you are expected to present your poster orally at the Faculty of Arts. Each student will be assigned an area in the Ramon Llull Building, and the audience will walk around, listen to the presentations and discuss the topic with each group of authors/presenters. Presentations must be short, concise and well-executed. A two-minute presentation will be fine.
The assessment items for this oral presentation will be the following:
- Content of the presentation: relevance, thesis statement, approach to the topic, use of theory, key terminology and examples, selection of sources.
- Layout of the presentation: clarity, structure organization, body language, command of the topic.
- Use of English during the presentation and discussion.
- Response to feedback: ability to answer questions and clarify specific aspects, response to criticism and suggestions.
- Active listening, interaction with the groups, and participation in the discussions.