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Poster

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Poster Goals

Prepare a poster that team members will use to explain the project to reviewers who may not have prior knowledge of the project. The poster should be mostly pictures, diagrams, and graphs. Most of the words will be filled in by you. If you put in the effort and are well prepared, introducing your project to reviewers using your poster will be easy, rewarding, and fun.
Organize the information in the sections in any way the team chooses provided you cover the required contents.

Submit both the PowerPoint source file and a PDF version in your Repository - "/working/Reports/Final Report and Poster" folder.

Sections of poster

Header

  • Update Project Title, Semester, and Year
  • Add Engineering Team names and majors.
    Mechanical – MECL Electrical - ELEC
    Computer Systems – CSYS Computer Science - CSCI
    Materials – MATL Industrial - MGTE
    Aeronautical – AERO Biomedical - BMED

Purpose of the Project

Who is your client / what is the purpose of the project, from the client’s perspective? In other words, how will the client benefit when your project and follow-on work meets the long term objective of this effort? You should find that you can use words from the initial Project Description and Project Statement and Objectives (from Client Meeting 1 & 2) to answer these questions. Illustrations could include a diagram of the system that will incorporate the technology you are working on. This information should already been laid out in your Client Meeting slides

Past Work and/or Project History

If this is a continuing project from last semester, give a description or pictures of what was built and what the performance was. Whether or not the project is new to RPI, you should include some illustration of past work by others on this problem. This information should already be in your Client Meeting slides!

Semester Objectives (System Requirements)

What was the Engineering Team asked to accomplish this semester? Include a bullet list of the key deliverables along with some sort of “system diagram.” Be sure to specify any quantitative requirements that your deliverables need to meet. As much as possible, objectives must be specific and measurable. This information should already be in your Client Meeting slides!
  • For non-software items, be sure to include measurable specifications as appropriate.
  • For software items, be sure to clearly define the functional requirements and how they can be confirmed/verified, e.g., tests, use cases, etc.

Results, and Accomplishments

What has the Engineering Team actually achieved during semester - recommendation, proposal, decision.
  • List the objectives which the team achieved:
    • If you built a prototype - show a picture or design drawing.
    • If you have done tests and measurements - present graphs, and be prepared to discuss what the results mean.
    • If you have done technology trade-off studies - show the key results.
    • If you have done calculations - show key results -- graphs are good, equations should be used sparingly.
      Be ready to explain the significance of your results. Include words and illustrations that indicate how well the team met the semester objectives.

Next Steps

What are next tasks or direction to be taken, either by a future Engineering Team or the Client? How will team’s work be used or advanced from today? How will it be included in Client's factory, products, or business practices? You should also talk about societal, safety, and ethical issues related to your recommended design.

Footer

  • Update Client mentor, Chief Engineer, and Project Engineer names
  • Your Project Engineer’s department is probably “CORE”
  • Your Chief Engineer's department is listed on Campus directory - https://directory.rpi.edu/

Formatting and content tips

Audience RPI students, professors and campus community
Display Printed poster, standing audience 2-4 ft away
Font bulleted text should be 48 pt or larger
image annotations and axis labels should be 36 pt or larger
Images should have CAD models or electronically produced diagrams/charts/etc. rather than hand sketches

Tips

  • Do not start from scratch - Re-use information and add the work your team has accomplished!
    • Much of the information for Purpose, Past Work, and Objectives section is already be written in your Client Meeting slides!
    • Much of Results and Accomplishments section can be taken from Client Meeting PPTs and Design Forum on EDN.
  • MUCH of text should be bulleted list of short phrases.
  • DO NOT include a detailed planning chart (such as a Gantt Chart) or generic Design Process steps.
  • Be sure to include some graphics or discussion of overall System Architecture. Flow chart of a process, sketch of fixture with part in machine, or product within use environment helps to communicate the big picture.
  • LABEL images, graphs, and pictures to highlight/explain what is important.
  • Use a plain background. No background picture please.
  • No confidential information!
  • For projects with RPI affiliated clients, RPI logo is available here in red or black.
  • Be mindful of Design Lab's Generative AI policy.
  • Be mindful of Design Lab's Late Policy policy.

Please see Creating Posters for suggestions on preparing your poster. Be sure to review your proposed poster with your Project Engineer the week before it is due so that you can get feedback and still have time to make revisions. Again, check with your Project Engineer and Chief Engineer for guidance on what is best for your particular project.

Submission

PowerPoint file should be committed to the Repository - /working/Reports/Design Report + Poster
Alert your Chief Engineer (via Webex or email) that it is "ready to grade" and what the correct version (rev level) is.