Team Poster | Summary Statement | Greening Project
We would like to showcase each campus' sustainability projects through a poster session. We hope each team would be willing to bring a poster (roughly 4 ft by 4 ft) with photos and information highlighting the greening efforts on their campus. Time will be allowed for informal discussions of these posters and networking about our various sustainability projects.
Good planning will make your poster easy to read and will facilitate a clear and effective presentation. Posters should be readable by viewers from 3-5 ft. away. The message should be clear and understandable without oral explanation. The following guidelines are presented to help improve the effectiveness of your poster presentations.
Initial Plan or Sketch
Plan
Begin your poster preparation early by sketching the general layout and
identifying the figures, tables and text that will be used. Focus your presentation
on a few key points. Consider various styles of data presentation to achieve
clarity and simplicity. Does the use of color help? What needs to be explained
in text? Identify headlines and headings that will help to attract attention.
Plan ahead to prepare color photographs to help attract attention.
Rough Layout
Enlarge your best initial sketch, keeping the dimensions in proper proportion
to the final poster size (4 X 4 ft). Ideally, the rough layout should be
full size. Print the title board including names of authors and their affiliation
as well as section headings. Indicate text by horizontal lines. Draw rough
graphs and tables. This will give you a good idea of proportions and balance.
Ask associates for comments. This is still an experimental stage.
Final Layout
The artwork is complete. The text and tables are typed but not necessarily
enlarged to full size. Now determine whether or not the message is clear?
Do the important points stand out? Is there a balance between the text and
the illustrations? Is there spatial balance? Is the pathway through the
poster clear? The following points should be considered:
- Simplicity -
The temptation to overload the poster should be resisted. More material
may mean less communication and may discourage viewers.
- Balance -
The figures and tables should cover slightly more than 50% of the poster
area. If you have only a few illustrations, make them large. Typically
there will be sections of text covering items such as objectives, materials
and methods, and conclusions, but try to keep these sections brief and
succinct. The poster should be understandable without oral explanation.
- Typography -
Avoid abbreviations, acronyms, and jargon. Use a consistent type style.
Use large, simple type. Many software packages and laser printers offer
great flexibility in preparing text in different fonts and sizes.
- Eye Movement - The movement (pathway) of the eye over the poster should be natural — down the columns or along the rows. The reader should not have to search to figure out the proper order or flow of your poster. Size attracts attention. Arrows, pointing hands, numbers, or letters can help clarify the sequence.
We are hoping that you
will provide us with a two-page summary describing your campus' sustainability
initiatives, lessons learned, and future projects planned. This summary
will be due March 25th and will be distributed to all teams. The summaries
will also be included in the summit proceedings. Our vision is that representatives
from each college will have opportunities during the summit to discuss campus
sustainability initiatives that have been implemented successfully on participating
campuses. In addition, we hope that these summaries will prepare summit
participants for the campus sustainability discussions on Saturday afternoon.
The Saturday afternoon
discussion will focus on campus sustainability projects (project description,
outcomes, and lessons learned) being conducted on participating campuses.
By sharing best sustainability practices we hope we can gather ideas for
new projects on our own campuses. To help us organize and plan for this
discussion as well as to ensure that a diversity of topics will be covered.
We are asking each team to please select up to three greening projects that
your college or university has implemented for possible discussion. By March
7, please send us a ranking of these projects from one to three with one
being your top preference for discussion. We hope that this summit will
create momentum for further action at each participating college or university.
