Research Poster Creation

The goal of a poster is to attract attention and disseminate information on your research. Think of your poster as a graphic with supporting text, similar to a billboard, where the picture can convey the main message. Readers are able to view the material being presented for as long as they desire and discuss the content with the presenter.

The following guidelines can help to ensure a successful poster.

Determine your poster size from the conference specifications (most conference websites or acceptance correspondence provide display area size) and assume the viewer will probably be 3'-5' from your poster. For this discussion the poster display area is 4' high by 8' long. The large format printer at CPC is limited to 42" wide paper, so posters will be printed, proportionally, to fit into the allotted space. In this case the actual poster would be printed 42" wide by 90" long, generating a 3" border between the poster and the edge of the display area. It is always a good idea to leave space between your poster and the edge of the display area. Poster sizes and shapes vary, so always check the conference specifications.

We create individual PowerPoint slides inserted into a large Powerpoint slide for our final poster. Since the maximum slide size is 56", the master poster slide will all be created proportionally and scaled up to full size (master slide: 45" wide x 21"high scaled to 200% (final, 90" wide x 42" high for this example) when printed. If you are using a Copy/Print store to print from PowerPoint or other software, consult them about what format your poster needs to be in for print.

Poster components can be created in: Word, Wordperfect, or PowerPoint for text, and PowerPoint for graphs, charts, clip art, or illustrations. Hard copy photos and images can be scanned, imported into the poster, or downloaded from digital cameras as tif, jpg, wmf, or eps files. Avoid Downloaded web graphics which are low resolution and result in blurred objects when printed. All components will end up in a powerpoint presentation with the individual slide components (figures, fonts...) scaled back to 50% of the original default size to allow for the scaling up of 200% of the master slide for the final poster.

Instead of creating figures/graphics in standard PowerPoint slides, with a normal text size of 18+ points, the reduced size slides components would be half the size with text of 10 to 12 points. In addition to text, you should be able to fit 8+/- figures or approximately 15 PowerPoint slides on a your master poster slide for a final sized 4' x 8' poster area. Simple math will help you figure out how many PowerPoint slides will fit into other specified poster area.

Bright contrasting colors should be used since the poster will be printed on white paper. If you are creating your poster at CPC, the graphics unit will help you with resizing your work, supply sample color schemes, and adjust any colors for optimum output. Your main concern is producing representative figures/graphics (pies, bar, line, scatter, flow charts, photos, illustrations..) with descriptive titles that illustrate your findings.

The final size for poster banner title text should be approximately 2" high ( 150-200+/- point). Titles and subtitles are easily read when a bold font is used. Sub headings and credits (authors and affiliations.) should be proportional to your title text (32-100 points). An abstract (about 150 words) can be inserted in the title area with text of at least 18-28 point (inserted only when specified by conference). Again, these sizes will be 50% of the above in creating your PowerPoint poster, It's probably a good idea to have extra copies of your abstract or any other key figures as handouts.

Traditionally, the introduction and methods start in the upper left hand corner and any figures and/or graphics follow. Keep your text brief, usually including a paragraph or two for your introduction and the same for your methods/data and conclusion. The poster is usually set up in newspaper type columns (4 or 5 columns with 2+/-" margins (50%, 1"+/-) with the conclusion being the last item. Although the newspaper column layout is easy to follow, creative layouts are often used and welcome. Final printed Subtitle text should be bold and 32 to 72 point (50%, 16 to 36 point). Body text should be a minimum of 24 point (50%, 12 point). Figures and graphics can be numbered to guide the viewer through the poster. As stated above, figures should use descriptive titles so the viewer can easily understand the meaning of that particular result.

If this is your first poster or you are proposing a unique layout, it's probably a good idea to visit the CPC graphics office in suite 308 to see samples and discuss your poster. This year we will start using powerpoint for both the preparation of the components and as the final print-ready slide. The instructions and template for creating your poster can be found at our intranet site (access limited to CPC): http://www.cpc.unc.edu/intranet/services/graphics/mural_posters

Tom Swasey
Publications/Graphics Coordinator
email: tom_swasey@unc.edu