1. November 2015 The Data Lab Tufts University Tufts Technology Services (TTS)

2.  Poster’s can be printed in the Data lab in Tisch Library when an assistant is on duty.  Sized at 30x40 inches  Landscape or Portrait orientation  You will mount your project on poster board provided in the Data Lab  Leave the poster on the pile for your class in the Data Lab for the GIS Poster Expo.  If you would like a copy of your poster, a second one can be printed for free.

3.  When you go to print, you will be asked to fill out a form about your poster. Info includes: ◦ Name, Class, Semester, Year ◦ Geographic Region ◦ Topic Theme/Keywords (chosen from a list) ◦ Methodological Keywords (chosen from a list)  You will be asked to sign a release, allowing your poster to be displayed on our GIS.tufts.edu website.  The Data Lab is cataloging GIS posters for future student research and search applications.

4.  Each May, Tufts holds the largest GIS Poster Expo in the country!  Over 150 student entries!  If you are in a GIS Class, your poster is automatically entered.  No formal presentations  There are cash prizes for Best in Show and Runner Ups.  Food & refreshments are served.

5. Posters serve as an advertisement of your hard work!

6. Layout Visual Hierarchy Alignment – Use of columns Grouping -To box or not to Box? Contrast – Use of white space Typography Emphasis Font Type/Style Column Width Justification/ Left Alignment Bullets Size Color Color Wheel Complimentary/contrasting Colors Images/Figures Resolution

7. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mswanson/archive/2007/05/06/bad-design-by-example.aspx

8. Readability improves: Comprehension Retention Reading speed Reading persistence

10. READ THIS FIRST and then read this. THAT’S VISUAL HIERARCHY.

12. Examples from Robin Williams’ Design Workshop

20. A quick design workshop

22. Corporate Logos Redesign http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/weekinreview/31marsh.html

23. Times New Roman Arial T T Arial / Helvetica Sans SerifSerif

26. San serif Arial headers, serif Times New Roman body text

27. Comic Sans… Story of Comic Sans: http://www.connare.com/comic.htmhttp://www.connare.com/comic.htm (Now Chalkboard on Apple OS)

28. The bold, the underlined and the italicized

29. The “alphabet-and-a-half ” line length rule: the ideal line length at 39 characters regardless of type size.

30. Left Align (GOOD!)Justified (BAD!)

32. Font size a a

33. Example Text Sizes on Trunk

35. A few words about COLORCOLOR Use 3-4 colors, but no more! Dark type on light color backgrounds This attracts attention, but tires the eyes!

36. http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-theory-basics.html

37. http://www.colorbrewer.org

38. Blue on Red appears blurry to the human eye Yellow on white is hard to read Red on blue also appears blurry to the human eye

39.  Colleagues  Students  Scientists  Government officials  Community groups  General public Know your Audience!

40. Be in charge of your design decisions: Color Palette – Pick a color scheme and keep it consistent for poster and maps! Fonts – Pick 2 main fonts– 1 for maps and poster headings (sans-serif), 1 for poster text (serif) Size- Poster text is important, but don’t forget about map text as well (labels and legends, and scale bars!) Format- Identify most important elements (title, headings, maps, tables, graphs) & place them on poster first. Then add text and secondary information.

41. Simply your Poster with Maps, Graphs and Headings

42. Images and Graphs say much more than words!

44.  Think about what information is important for your readers to understand for the project  Overview map- Important data or locations ◦ Basic information that might give the reader background info or context.  Factor Maps- Important to show what went into your model (not necessarily intermediary steps) ◦ Ex: Suitability Analysis: Distance from Roads  Might be better to show the actual Euc Distance with distance values rather than the reclassify layer that doesn’t have values but just numbers.  Final Map- Some may have a “final” map, others might not (that’s okay).  Summary Statistics – charts, tables, graphs that sum up your findings!

45.  A Locator Map (typically in the introduction)  Each map should have: ◦ Title – Insert using publisher, not arcmap ◦ Legend  Sized appropriately and organized with proper headings and layers (no “data speak”) ◦ Scale Bar  Consistent size, scale and location.  Appropriate Units ◦ North arrow  Consistent placement and size between maps  Additional Graphics ◦ Photographs, graphs, tables, charts, summary tables, diagrams, etc.  Identify and label all figures and maps on poster!  Images taken from the web MUST be cited and not restricted by copyright.

46. ◦ Determine the shape you want your maps to be on the poster  Square, rectangle, horizontal, vertical, etc ◦ Set up the page so that the maps are exported bigger than what they will be on your poster.  10x10 usually works (if it’s a square). Adjust for rectangle.  It’s easier to shrink an image than it is to expand an image! ◦ Export maps with just legend, north arrow, and scale bar.  Make sure your legend is big enough to read on a poster! Don’t keep it the default size!!  Use Publisher to put in titles and other explanatory text ◦ Export maps as a JPEG or GIF at 300 DPI.  Do NOT use Tiffs! They export too large for publisher!  Do NOT use PDFs, as you can’t import them into publisher!

48.  Resolution: 300 dpi  Caution: Web images are 72 dpi SnagIt - software increases image resolution  Format:JPG (photos) GIF (solid colors, text) Do NOT use TIFFs

50.  Why should anyone care?  What am I adding to current knowledge?  Are my visuals effective and understandable?  Have I conveyed the findings clearly?  Are my recommendations valid?

52.  Print out a letter size draft. ◦ Can you read the type? This includes the legends and map elements! ◦ Are the colors what you really want? ◦ Does it look too busy? ◦ Do the main points pop out?

53. ? MS PowerPoint Adobe InDesign MS Publisher

55. 12 columns

56. 3 main columns: 4 / 4 / 4

62.  This presentation! Available on our website at GIS.tufts.edu!website  Designing and Creating your Poster – Publisher set-up and PDF directions Designing and Creating your Poster – Publisher set-up and PDF directions  Font Size Cheat Sheet  Past Student GIS Projects from 2007- 2014 Past Student GIS Projects

63. Special Thanks to Dr. Barbara Parmenter and Melanie St. James for various slide graphics and information regarding design concepts