Poster for ICOLS 2005 - help!

[quizcustodiet]

In about a week's time I'm off to Scotland for ICOLS, the International Conference on Optics and Laser Spectroscopy 2005. Should be interesting - physics geekery ahead! - as there are a full handful of Nobel prize winners and other eminent types lecturing during the week. But I've got to have a poster to show the stuff that I do, and those of you who've seen my attempts at the visual arts will know how much of a challenge this is. So I'm appealing for help!

So, the poster is here. Please, if you've got a spare moment, have a look at it and tell me how I can make it prettier. If you're not familiar with individual concepts, don't worry about it - I'm afraid the paper does assume at least some physics with which non-specialists may not be familiar. If the sentences don't make sense, though, please let me know!

Comments

[loreid.livejournal.com]

Looks fine to me, very nice. You may want to try making the shapes that your writing is in have rounded corners rather than be rectangular - I've found it makes things look friendlier, but I guess it could also look terrible, you'll have to try it and see. In any case, if you're going for the severe and serious look you've got it already.

[synergetic.livejournal.com]

1) Make sure the left hand column's text doesn't go right to the edges of the containing box.

2) Make the title's a different colour. This naturally disassociates them from the surrounding text and draws the eye to the correct locations. You could use the same blue as the Oxford physics logo thereby creating a colour only subtly different from the text, thereby avoiding frantic colour clash.

3) Maybe consider changing the colour of the containing boxes aswell, to separate them from the black text. Again, avoid bright clashing colours

[kht.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a bit more colour would be good, but not too much. Some of your diagrams could benefit from higher resolution - especially the arrows showing transitions between energy levels. And maybe make your smallest text size slightly bigger. Other than that, it's looking good!

[elemy.livejournal.com]

I agree with the above - you want more colour. Coloured headings, or coloured backgrounds to the boxes, or something. Or maybe there's a relevant and pretty picture/pattern that you can put very faintly in the background?

Also, if it were me, I'd want a "Conclusions" section explaining why your experiment is the best thing since sliced bread. But maybe that would be obvious to a specialist in the area without, I wouldn't know.

Are you working with Martin Shotter? Say hi from me!

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

I am indeed - though it might be more accurate to say I'm working 'for' Martin, as he did most of the experimental design. I'm just helping to build it and taking it further in a particular direction. :) Thanks to all for the advice - will post a revised version when I've made suitable changes.