1. November 2008 NEAT IDEAS FAIR S PONSORED B Y Recommended format for creating an Neat Ideas Fair Poster This slide set includes: Neat Ideas Fair poster introduction guidelines (this page), descriptions of the various elements of the Neat Idea Fair poster and what is generally expected within each area of the poster (slide 2), and, a blank template for your use in creating your own Neat Idea Fair poster (slide 3). Be sure your finished Neat Ideas Poster is completely contained on ONE page. Leave the Blue Headings/Questions in. Simple, concise answers help people understand your idea.. Do NOT change the poster size (36” x 48”). For a printed 8.5” x 11” copy, use the Scale to Fit Paper option. Avoid pixelation! Many images look good on your computer screen, but will lose quality as they are enlarged to poster size. A good rule of thumb is to use a graphic that is 200-500 KB (large enough to have good resolution, small enough to save space.) When in doubt, do a full- size test print. Compress your pictures! Double click a picture in the poster & the “Format Picture” dialog box will appear. In the lower left of the dialog box, select the “Compress” button. Select “All pictures in document” and click “OK”. Click “Apply” if a dialog box pops up. Click “OK” to close the “Format Picture” dialog box. The minimum font size is 20-22 pt in order to allow the poster to be read when it is printed full size. Please stay with standard fonts on the outside borders; using common fonts like Garamond, Arial, Times New Roman, Sans Comic. What specific problem or opportunity are you addressing? What is your product, service, and/or solution idea & how does it work? What unique benefits does your product, service, and/or solution offer? Who are the target customers? Who, and approximately how many, will benefit from the adoption of your idea and in what way will they benefit? How will your idea hold up against the competition and create barriers to entry? How will you execute your idea? What is needed in order to take the next steps in developing your idea? Who is on your Team ? Title Email your poster file to svce@cob.sjsu.edu by 11:59 pm on 11/23/2008 for printing. Please keep your background white.

2. November 2008 NEAT IDEAS FAIR S PONSORED B Y What specific problem or opportunity are you addressing? Explain: A. the fundamental problem that exists in terms of the costs being incurred (e.g., monetary, time, emotion, quality of life, etc), and/or B. the opportunity that exists to improve productivity, lower costs, increase emotional satisfaction, quality of life, etc. What is your product, service, and/or solution idea & how does it work? What are the chances that such an idea can be delivered? Execution includes the ability to produce the product or service at a reasonable cost/unit, and the cost of developing and marketing the product or service. Judging should be done based on the team’s ability to explain their execution plans. Who are the target customers? Who, and approximately how many, will benefit from the adoption of your idea and in what way will they benefit? The Value Proposition summarizes the unique benefit delivered for a given price. Both unique benefit and price (which can be stated in relative ways) should be clear How will your idea hold up against the competition and create barriers to entry? How will this idea hold up against competition over time? Competition may come from alternative ways to get to the same benefit, or a more direct assault on the idea itself by copycats. An idea is judged as more robust if it provides a higher level benefit/cost ratio than alternatives, and if the idea has a defensible barrier to entry by copycats. How will you execute your idea? What is needed in order to take the next steps in developing your idea? Who is on the Team? Names. Title Use the middle section to visually catch the eye of the viewer and more fully communicate your idea, its use, and its benefits within its intended user environment. May show “before and after” scenarios, etc and utilize a combination of drawings, graphics, pictures, some limited text, to tell the story (remember,“a picture is worth a thousand words”). To complement the idea poster itself, you may want to display a demo, samples, handouts, and/or other embellishments to enrich your presentation and more fully and tangibly communicate your product, service &/or solution idea. What unique benefits does your product, service, and/or solution offer? Is this idea providing a clear and useful benefit? Benefits can take on many dimensions – financial, time or effort saved, emotional, entertainment, medicinal, knowledge, etc. A benefit answers the question “what is in it for me?” for the customer. Level of quality is judged by how much perceived value and uniqueness there is.

3. November 2008 NEAT IDEAS FAIR S PONSORED B Y What specific problem or opportunity are you addressing? What is your product, service, and/or solution idea & how does it work? What unique benefits does your product, service, and/or solution offer? Who are the target customers? Who, and approximately how many, will benefit from the adoption of your idea and in what way will they benefit? How will your idea hold up against the competition and create barriers to entry? How will you execute your idea? What is needed in order to take the next steps in developing your idea? Who is on the Innovation Team? Imagine if… Title