Preparing Poster Presentations

The deadline for submissions was May 19, 2010. Poster abstracts are no longer being accepted. Abstracts will be reviewed by a committee of HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau staff, using rating criteria on the importance and clarity of abstracts and their potential to be used by other Ryan White programs in order to improve HIV-related work. Notices about accepted poster abstracts will be sent by June 14, 2010 so that authors have ample time for preparation.

Below is guidance on preparing posters, on-site preparation (poster setup, meet the presenter session, poster breakdown), and sharing posters online after the meeting has concluded. If you have any questions regarding poster abstracts or poster preparation, please contact Chrissy Abrahms or Stephanie Yun.

Preparing Posters

A poster presentation is a visual display of information, presented in a format that provides key insights in a clear and concise format.  There will be over 150 poster presentations at the 2010 Ryan White meeting, with rich content on best practices, lessons learned, unique strategies and tools, and research findings. Posters will be grouped by their relevance to one or more of the seven conference tracks.  Poster acceptance letters will specify the track under which a poster will be categorized.

The volume of information shared at Ryan White meetings has increased over time, putting a premium on the role of poster presentations as a vehicle for sharing of program insights with conference attendees.  Below is step-by-step guidance for preparing and presenting posters for the 2010 meeting:

• Step 1: Know Your Poster Space
• Step 2: Organize Your Information
• Step 3: Prepare Your Poster
  • Software Options
  • Design Tips
  • Printing the Poster 
• Step 4: Poster Setup, Meet the Presenter Session, Poster Breakdown
• Step 5: Post Meeting: Sharing Posters Online  

Step 1: Know Your Poster Space

Each poster presenter will have a 4’ x 8’ (48” x 96”) flat board space to display information.  Poster presenters are responsible for deciding how they wish to use that space and how to affix poster materials to boards.   

Step 2: Organize Your Information 

Poster presentations tend to cover facts, program explanations, or insights about service delivery. However, also think about how the poster presentation will provide a compelling conference learning situation. Some considerations are: how the topic has implications for the broader field; what might be inspiring/a breakthrough; or how the poster can be transferable to other programs/situations.

Below are suggested categories of information (explanatory text and/or graphic information) to include in a poster.  Poster presenters are not required to use these categories and may modify them or use other categories to organize their posters. However, all presenters should focus on providing a clear story about the information being presented, particularly in terms of how other programs can use that information to improve their own Ryan White work.

• Headers. Include a Title, Authors, Agency, Location.
• Titles. This should go on the top. State what you did, learned, what happened in the title and present this information in a manner designed to attract viewers. That’s because the title is an advertisement to get conference attendees interested in reading your poster. For example, Ten Tips for Outreach to Gay Men of Color may work better than: Research on Methods for Improving Outreach and Entry in HIV Care.
• Authors. Put authors’ names and affiliations on the second line, after the poster title.
• Introduction. Describe the topic/activity/program/problem that is the subject of your poster, providing readers with a clear overview. The introduction should contain 3 to 5 clear sentences that explain the poster subject matter and the focus of the presentation (e.g., service insight being explored, investigation undertaken, product/resource being featured).
• Methods/Activities. Describe what was done. This might include the methodology, the interventions provided, or other actions taken.
• Results. Describe what happened, using text, graphs, or tables. Visual elements should be self-explanatory and/or be accompanying by clear explanatory legends. An interpretation of results may be also be helpful.
• Lessons Learned. Provide observations, recommendations, tips, and insights that other programs might be able to use in their own work. In particular, focus on specifics that can readily be used and adapted by other programs.

Step 3: Preparing Your Poster

DESIGN TIP: To bring attention to your presentation, effective use of the elements of text, graphics, and tables is crucial given that posters are viewed by people informally, usually briefly, and mostly without the added benefit of a presenter.   Below are design considerations to maximize the impact of your poster.

• Order of Materials. Make it clear to viewers what to read first and in what order. One option is to number sections/pages on the poster board. Placement of sections also is important (e.g., left to right, use of arrows).
• Tabular Data. Tables work well for presenting categories of data and tend to work better than graphs when the goal is to present data under a small number of categories.
• Graphs. Examples of graphs include bar charts and pie charts. They work well in giving users a big-picture insight into findings. When using graphs, it is usually best to put explanatory text next to the graphic data being explained.
• Text: Amount and Design. Aim for brevity. However, the complexity of your content does not have to be sacrificed—if attention is paid to presenting information according to these considerations:
  • Type Size. Typically, posters will be viewed in exhibit halls by persons standing anywhere from 1-6 feet away.
  • Font Style. San serif is preferable.
  • Case.  Use upper and lower case; avoid all caps.
  • Headers. Font size no less than 1 inch high, which will be readable 6 feet away.
  • Body Text. Font size no less than ½ inch high, which is readable from 4 feet away.
• Colors and Other Text Treatment. Color is not crucial to an effective poster but it certainly can help. Avoid too many colors—more than three in most cases—as it can become distracting. If not using color, a poster using only black-white can be very effective with use of techniques like white space, shading, and font sizes. Lettering should be bold. If you will be posting typed material, use a large font size (20 to 24 point font) on white, pale yellow or cream colored non-glossy paper. Use 1-inch margins. Avoid use of fancy fonts.  
• Abbreviations/Acronyms. Avoid them, unless they are well understood by your audience. For example, AETCs are well-known by most people within Ryan White.
• Walk-Away Sheets: Handouts and Cards. A select number of viewers will want to learn more and contact you later. While you might consider bringing a limited number of handout copies of your poster, think “green” and bring business cards or just post your email and/or phone number on the poster for those wishing to contact you to receive a copy or talk more about your work.

Printing the Poster. On the lower cost end, each page of the presentation (e.g., Introduction) can be printed out on letter or legal paper. Other options include laminated paper or oversized sheets that can be produced by a local copy store or design agency, using the poster presentation that was prepared using software like PowerPoint.

NOTE: When working with an outside party, like a printer, avoid last minute surprises such as incompatible software and fonts. Discuss requirements, up front.

Step 4: Poster Setup, Meet the Presenter Session, Poster Breakdown

A poster that is printed on oversize paper can probably be folded in a tube and brought with you on the plane, train, or automobile.  However, you can ship your poster if necessary, although you will have to cover the cost of shipment.  In order to maximize their visibility, posters will be interspersed throughout the exhibit area.  Special time will be set aside for attendees to meet poster authors.

Shipping Your Poster and Picking Up Your Poster Once at the Hotel

If you decide to ship your poster, you will need to ship it to yourself at the hotel you will be staying at.  Please note the hotel may access charges for receiving your shipment. 

If you will be staying at the Marriott Wardman Park, guest packages should be labeled as follows:

Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Attention: “Guest Name” – Guest
2660 Woodley Road, NW
Washington, DC 20008

Once you arrive at the hotel to check in, you will need to go to the guest package room.  The guest package room is located on the lower level of the Marriott Wardman Park.  Please check with the hotel directly for any rates that might apply.

Marriott Wardman Park Package Room Information

Hours of Operation
Monday – Friday 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm 

If you are staying at the Omni Hotel, you should use the following address:

Omni Shoreham Hotel
Attention: “Guest Name” – Guest
Arrival date: (INSERT YOUR CHECK IN DATE HERE)
2500 Calvert Street NW
Washington, DC 20008 

As of May 27, 2010 the rates the Omni Shoreham Hotel charges for receiving guest packages are as follows:

The hotel will apply applicable charges to your guestroom or you must present a credit for charges. The hotels request that you not schedule your delivery to arrive no more than 2 days before your arrival.

Poster Setup Times (Tentative) 

Poster presenters have designated times for setup:

Sunday, August 22, 2010: 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Monday, August 23, 2010: 8:00 am -11:00 am

Meeting the Presenter Session

A time block when no other conference events are scheduled is allotted so that conference attendees can view posters and engage in a Q&A with authors:

Tuesday, August 24, 2010:  5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Wednesday, August 25, 2010: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm  

Poster Breakdown Time

Poster presenters have a designated time for breakdown:

Wednesday, August 25, 2010: 5:00 pm -8:00 pm

Step 5: Post Meeting: Sharing Posters Online

Regardless of the method used to produce a poster, think about generating posters in a format that can be shared online so that your poster can be seen in other venues besides the conference. The Ryan White TARGET Center at http://careacttarget.org/ will host posters after the meeting concludes in order to make posters available to a much wider audience.

Email your poster, ideally in a PDF format, to the TARGET Center TARGETteam@careacttarget.org.