As part of an application to Game Changers, you must submit a poster presentation. When applications are assessed, the poster carries equal weighting with the application form itself.
Please ensure that your poster is marked 'Commercial in confidence' before uploading with your application but avoid using the word 'Confidential' in the file name.
Rather than wishing to make the application process too onerous or lengthy, the poster is an opportunity for applicants to graphically communicate their project or technology to review and assessment panels, and to convey the benefits of the innovation in a visually engaging format.
What is the purpose of the poster?
Your poster is an essential visual communication tool that allows you to present your project in a clear, concise and engaging graphic format to our application reviewers as well as external funders or potential collaborators.
It should clearly convey information to help initiate discussions and stimulate conversations. Attracting interest could be the springboard for further investment.
We strongly recommend using one of the suggested poster templates below, taking time to plan your poster, thinking impartially about the specifics of your project and the content you would like to include.
Posters need to communicate information clearly and quickly, with text and visual elements serving to delineate different sections and direct attention to key project features or functionality.
A clean and easy-to-read poster also makes use of helpful visual cues such as photography, charts and diagrams. The poster should be able to stand on its own as a clear and logical presentation of your project.
Poster artwork requirements
- Artwork size: A3
- Final print size: A1
- Orientation: landscape or portrait format are both acceptable
- File format: high quality print PDF high resolution JPEG (300dpi or above)
What elements make a good poster?
We have provided a number of outline templates to help you structure your poster presentations, and the following information should be seen as baseline requirements:
Introduction
Who are you? What is the nature of your business? What are your areas of expertise or specialisms? Include your company logo, contact telephone, email and website.
Background
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Demonstrate you appreciate the constraints and complexities.
The solution
How can your project meet the challenge?
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
Strengths – what are the positive attributes of the innovation?
Weaknesses – what are the key areas of improvement required?
Opportunities – what opportunities exist for the development and commercialisation of the innovation?
Threats – what are the key risks to the success of a feasibility project and the development and commercialisation of the innovation? What mitigating action can be taken?
The potential market
Apart from the potential for the specific challenge owner, might your technology have wider applications through the UK nuclear estate or in other industry sectors?
Next steps
If the project is to advance, what would your next steps be in terms of development, testing, user acceptance etc.?
Legibility
The poster should be legible from approximately 2 metres away.
Where will the poster be used?
The poster will be displayed at internal events attended by Game Changers delivery partners, as well as being circulated electronically to our application reviewers.
Should there be a requirement to distribute the poster to a wider or external audience, we will request your permission in advance.
It would be very helpful if you could include the word ‘poster’ in your file name when you upload your poster as part of the application process.
Images: illustrations, photography, graphics
If you have any good images that clearly show or visualise the technology, then please use them. If you don’t have any, please consider taking or creating some.
It does not necessarily mean commissioning a professional photographer as images captured on a smartphone may be good enough but look at them with an impartial and critical eye.
If the data you want to convey is best displayed in a chart, then use these. If CAD illustrations are a better approach than a photograph, then include them instead.
The images you provide will also help the Game Changers team to support your projects when communicating to challenge owners as well as other marketing opportunities, so please give this area of your poster presentation plenty of consideration.
Ideally, images should be of 300pi resolution to allow for quality print reproduction and enlargement.
Text layout - good practice
- If you can, keep to just a single typeface or two at the most
- Use Roman and Italic formatting for body copy, with bold text to highlight key info
- Organise your content into logical columns, sections, headings and blocks of text
- Use clean, sans serif, easy-to-read fonts such as Helvetica, Arial, Calibri, Trebuchet
- Justify your text consistently – justified left preferably
- Keep to plain English and avoid any industry-specific or technical jargon
Suggested type sizes for an A1 poster
- Body Copy: 18pt – 24pt
- Headings: 30pt – 48pt
- Poster Title: 72pt
What to write
Consider the text to be your ‘elevator pitch’ for your project, so you need to get across your messages and information in a concise manner that will resonate with the audience.
The passage of non-sensitive text in your application will be used by the Game Changers Programme in further marketing and communications so, again, please ensure that you are 100% happy with whatever you submit.
Please note: although we can offer suggestions, the Game Changers team are not permitted to edit, alter or re-write text content supplied as part of an application or poster presentation.
Graphic elements
- Plenty of white space behind text helps with legibility
- Place headings into a colour bar or highlight colour
- Minimal use of borders, colour backgrounds, gradients and superfluous graphics – these will just detract from the key information
One last look
- Is this a well-written and presented poster?
- Will it promote discussion and debate?