Poster Template

• The poster template is a Powerpoint slide; you can cut, paste, move, etc. as usual.
• Powerpoint is not designed to handle typical scientific posters in the range of 7 ft x 4 ft. This template is custom-formatted in Powerpoint for 42 inches wide x 21 inches high.  (To see the size, click File, then Page Setup).
• When you send for printing (e.g., http://www.postersession.com/setup.html), ask for your poster to be double-sized; then you will receive a poster that is 84 inches wide x 42 inches high. 
• To see the whole poster on a single screen in Powerpoint, specify 25% size. At this size, it is hard to see the smallest font. However, the smallest font is currently pegged at 18 point—large enough to see from 4 feet away in a poster session. To see the actual size of type and figures on the final poster, switch to 200% view. To edit the text, you might need to use 50% or 100% view. The title fonts are all very large (40+). If you need to reduce the font size to fit multiple authors, multiple affliliations, etc, there is room to reduce. Just remember that your text font is 18 point, so keep the affiliations and authors larger than 18 point and the main title larger still.  
• Both logos are high-resolution and should print out satisfactorily. Under-pixelated photos and logos are a common problem in posters, so review these items at 200% view before submitting. If you have another logo you’d like to use in place of JHMedicine on the right, you may do so (e.g., study logo). The banner may look unbalanced with 3 logos or too cluttered with 4 logos, but use your judgment.
• It is recommended that you keep a white field behind the logos on the banner, since the GIM shield and JHMedicine logos are set against a white square that only blends in against white.
• The tables and figures in the Results section are presented to give you an idea of what might fit. The color schemes or styles do not need to be followed. Just make your best figures, then cut and paste into the slide.
• There is plenty of extra room in the first column, even with the little advertisement for Hopkins GIM on the bottom. Options for using that space include:
  • starting the column with an Abstract (you might want to dip down to 14 point font just for the Abstract);
  • starting your Methods section at the bottom of column 1, if this section is longer than one column; 
  • adding other information about the project or your team;
  • adding a (high-resolution) photograph related to your project setting or some aspect of data collection; 
  • just leaving the bottom blank. 
• Consider that in a crowded poster session it can be hard for the reader to see the bottom of the poster, since they can get pushed up fairly close. You don’t want anything important too far down below eye level. The same applies to the Results: try to put your most important graph up high, just below the banner.
• For more tips on Posters, see the SGIM website: http://www.sgim.org/. 

Slides for Oral Presentations

Resources

• See the sample slides.
• See the SGIM's Oral Presentations Tips

Required Elements 

• Show the GIM Logo on the title slide or other first slide.
• Include the line “Visit Hopkins GIM at  http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gim". 

Recommendations and Suggestions

• Black on white gives maximal contrast—a big help if the room is not dark enough.
• White background allows you to paste on figures without a white-on-color box around it. Looks cleaner.
• Black, blue, and white are GIM colors and coordinate with the logo.
• I avoid shapes, shades, complex formats—they can be distracting.
• But feel free to make your own style—this is just a suggestion.