Poster Presentation Design
Layout
Font size and lettering
- Title should be legible from a distance of 5 -10 feet. Text should be legible from 1- 2 feet.
- Try to establish a hierarchy of importance using the font size:
-Title: Largest font size - 65 -108.pts
- Subtitles: Next largest font size : 36- 45 .pts
- Body text: 18-27 pts
- Avoid using all caps
- Font selection is critical. Sans serif fonts work well for titles and labels because of the clarity and simplicity
- All text should be at least between 18-27 (Preferably 24) font size
- Refrain from using more than two font styles
- Use bold, italics or underline to emphasize a word.
Colors and white space
- Colors should be limited to 2 or 3 - If you choose to use multiple colors, use them in a consistent manner
- Use consistent spacing between each element of the poster.
Formatting
- Map out the sections of the poster. Consider using gray-filled boxes as a placeholders for graphics or text.
- Most people read left to right and top to bottom.
- Avoid the common mistake of including too much information. Additional information can be included in handouts or on websites.
Statistics and graphs (illustrations, photographs, charts and graphs)
- Make sure the lines on any graphs are labeled correctly.
- Graphs and figures should be the same size for consistency.
Design Tips
Advice on Designing Conference Posters - Colin Purrington, Department of Biology, Swathmore College.
Guide to making posters with PowerPoint.
The Oceanography Society provides examples of 'good and bad' posters
Changing the Size of Your Slides
Saving PowerPoint Presentations as PDF Files
Librarian

Laura Kuo
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Subjects: Education, Health Science