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How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How are research posters like High School science fair projects? Quite similar, in fact.

Both are visual representations of a research project shared with peers, colleagues and academic faculty. But there’s a big difference: it’s all in professionalism and attention to detail. You can be sure that the students that thrived in science fairs are now creating fantastic research posters, but what is that extra element most people miss when designing a poster presentation?

This guide will teach tips and tricks for creating poster presentations for conferences, symposia, and more. Learn in-depth poster structure and design techniques to help create academic posters that have a lasting impact.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• What is a Research Poster?

Why are Poster Presentations important?

Overall dimensions and orientation, separation into columns and sections, scientific, academic, or something else, a handout with supplemental and contact information, cohesiveness, design and readability, storytelling.

• Font Characteristics
• Color Pairing
• Data Visualization Dimensions
• Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Scientific/Academic Conference Poster Presentation

Digital research poster presentations, slidemodel poster presentation templates, how to make a research poster presentation step-by-step, considerations for printing poster presentations, how to present a research poster presentation, final words, what is a research poster .

Research posters are visual overviews of the most relevant information extracted from a research paper or analysis.   They are essential communication formats for sharing findings with peers and interested people in the field. Research posters can also effectively present material for other areas besides the sciences and STEM—for example, business and law.

You’ll be creating research posters regularly as an academic researcher, scientist, or grad student. You’ll have to present them at numerous functions and events. For example:

• Conference presentations
• Informational events
• Community centers

The research poster presentation is a comprehensive way to share data, information, and research results. Before the pandemic, the majority of research events were in person. During lockdown and beyond, virtual conferences and summits became the norm. Many researchers now create poster presentations that work in printed and digital formats.

Let’s look at why it’s crucial to spend time creating poster presentations for your research projects, research, analysis, and study papers.

Research posters represent you and your sponsor’s research 

Research papers and accompanying poster presentations are potent tools for representation and communication in your field of study. Well-performing poster presentations help scientists, researchers, and analysts grow their careers through grants and sponsorships.

When presenting a poster presentation for a sponsored research project, you’re representing the company that sponsored you. Your professionalism, demeanor, and capacity for creating impactful poster presentations call attention to other interested sponsors, spreading your impact in the field.

Research posters demonstrate expertise and growth

Presenting research posters at conferences, summits, and graduate grading events shows your expertise and knowledge in your field of study. The way your poster presentation looks and delivers, plus your performance while presenting the work, is judged by your viewers regardless of whether it’s an officially judged panel.

Recurring visitors to research conferences and symposia will see you and your poster presentations evolve. Improve your impact by creating a great poster presentation every time by paying attention to detail in the poster design and in your oral presentation. Practice your public speaking skills alongside the design techniques for even more impact.

Poster presentations create and maintain collaborations

Every time you participate in a research poster conference, you create meaningful connections with people in your field, industry or community. Not only do research posters showcase information about current data in different areas, but they also bring people together with similar interests. Countless collaboration projects between different research teams started after discussing poster details during coffee breaks.

An effective research poster template deepens your peer’s understanding of a topic by highlighting research, data, and conclusions. This information can help other researchers and analysts with their work. As a research poster presenter, you’re given the opportunity for both teaching and learning while sharing ideas with peers and colleagues.

Anatomy of a Winning Poster Presentation

Do you want your research poster to perform well?  Following the standard layout and adding a few personal touches will help attendees know how to read your poster and get the most out of your information. 

The overall size of your research poster ultimately depends on the dimensions of the provided space at the conference or research poster gallery. The poster orientation can be horizontal or vertical, with horizontal being the most common.  In general, research posters measure 48 x 36 inches or are an A0 paper size.

A virtual poster can be the same proportions as the printed research poster, but you have more leeway regarding the dimensions. Virtual research posters should fit on a screen with no need to scroll, with 1080p resolution as a standard these days. A horizontal presentation size is ideal for that.

A research poster presentation has a standard layout of 2–5 columns with 2–3 sections each. Typical structures say to separate the content into four sections; 1. A horizontal header 2. Introduction column, 3. Research/Work/Data column, and 4. Conclusion column. Each unit includes topics that relate to your poster’s objective.  Here’s a generalized outline for a poster presentation:

• Condensed Abstract 
• Objectives/Purpose
• Methodology
• Recommendations
• Implications
• Acknowledgments
• Contact Information 

The overview content you include in the units depends on your poster presentations’ theme, topic, industry, or field of research. A scientific or academic poster will include sections like hypothesis, methodology, and materials. A marketing analysis poster will include performance metrics and competitor analysis results.

There’s no way a poster can hold all the information included in your research paper or analysis report. The poster is an overview that invites the audience to want to find out more. That’s where supplement material comes in. Create a printed PDF handout or card with a QR code (created using a QR code generator ). Send the audience to the best online location for reading or downloading the complete paper.

What Makes a Poster Presentation Good and Effective? 

For your poster presentation to be effective and well-received, it needs to cover all the bases and be inviting to find out more. Stick to the standard layout suggestions and give it a unique look and feel. We’ve put together some of the most critical research poster-creation tips in the list below. Your poster presentation will perform as long as you check all the boxes.

The information you choose to include in the sections of your poster presentation needs to be cohesive. Train your editing eye and do a few revisions before presenting. The best way to look at it is to think of The Big Picture. Don’t get stuck on the details; your attendees won’t always know the background behind your research topic or why it’s important.

Be cohesive in how you word the titles, the length of the sections, the highlighting of the most important data, and how your oral presentation complements the printed—or virtual—poster.

The most important characteristic of your poster presentation is its readability and clarity. You need a poster presentation with a balanced design that’s easy to read at a distance of 1.5 meters or 4 feet. The font size and spacing must be clear and neat. All the content must suggest a visual flow for the viewer to follow.

That said, you don’t need to be a designer to add something special to your poster presentation. Once you have the standard—and recognized—columns and sections, add your special touch. These can be anything from colorful boxes for the section titles to an interesting but subtle background, images that catch the eye, and charts that inspire a more extended look. 

Storytelling is a presenting technique involving writing techniques to make information flow. Firstly, storytelling helps give your poster presentation a great introduction and an impactful conclusion. 

Think of storytelling as the invitation to listen or read more, as the glue that connects sections, making them flow from one to another. Storytelling is using stories in the oral presentation, for example, what your lab partner said when you discovered something interesting. If it makes your audience smile and nod, you’ve hit the mark. Storytelling is like giving a research presentation a dose of your personality, and it can help turning your data into opening stories .

Design Tips For Creating an Effective Research Poster Presentation

The section above briefly mentioned how important design is to your poster presentation’s effectiveness. We’ll look deeper into what you need to know when designing a poster presentation.

1. Font Characteristics

The typeface and size you choose are of great importance. Not only does the text need to be readable from two meters away, but it also needs to look and sit well on the poster. Stay away from calligraphic script typefaces, novelty typefaces, or typefaces with uniquely shaped letters.

Stick to the classics like a sans serif Helvetica, Lato, Open Sans, or Verdana. Avoid serif typefaces as they can be difficult to read from far away. Here are some standard text sizes to have on hand.

• Title: 85 pt
• Authors: 65 pt
• Headings: 36 pt
• Body Text: 24 pt
• Captions: 18 pt

If you feel too prone to use serif typefaces, work with a font pairing tool that helps you find a suitable solution – and intend those serif fonts for heading sections only. As a rule, never use more than 3 different typefaces in your design. To make it more dynamic, you can work with the same font using light, bold, and italic weights to put emphasis on the required areas.

2. Color Pairing

Using colors in your poster presentation design is a great way to grab the viewer’s attention. A color’s purpose is to help the viewer follow the data flow in your presentation, not distract. Don’t let the color take more importance than the information on your poster.

Choose one main color for the title and headlines and a similar color for the data visualizations. If you want to use more than one color, don’t create too much contrast between them. Try different tonalities of the same color and keep things balanced visually. Your color palette should have at most one main color and two accent colors.

Black text over a white background is standard practice for printed poster presentations, but for virtual presentations, try a very light gray instead of white and a very dark gray instead of black. Additionally, use variations of light color backgrounds and dark color text. Make sure it’s easy to read from two meters away or on a screen, depending on the context. We recommend ditching full white or full black tone usage as it hurts eyesight in the long term due to its intense contrast difference with the light ambiance.

3. Data Visualization Dimensions

Just like the text, your charts, graphs, and data visualizations must be easy to read and understand. Generally, if a person is interested in your research and has already read some of the text from two meters away, they’ll come closer to look at the charts and graphs. 

Fit data visualizations inside columns or let them span over two columns. Remove any unnecessary borders, lines, or labels to make them easier to read at a glance. Use a flat design without shadows or 3D characteristics. The text in legends and captions should stay within the chart size and not overflow into the margins. Use a unified text size of 18px for all your data visualizations.

4. Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Finally, the last design tip for creating an impressive and memorable poster presentation is to be mindful of the layout’s alignment, margins, and white space. Create text boxes to help keep everything aligned. They allow you to resize, adapt, and align the content along a margin or grid.

Take advantage of the white space created by borders and margins between sections. Don’t crowd them with a busy background or unattractive color.

Calculate margins considering a print format. It is a good practice in case the poster presentation ends up becoming in physical format, as you won’t need to downscale your entire design (affecting text readability in the process) to preserve information.

There are different tools that you can use to make a poster presentation. Presenters who are familiar with Microsoft Office prefer to use PowerPoint. You can learn how to make a poster in PowerPoint here.

Poster Presentation Examples

Before you start creating a poster presentation, look at some examples of real research posters. Get inspired and get creative.

Research poster presentations printed and mounted on a board look like the one in the image below. The presenter stands to the side, ready to share the information with visitors as they walk up to the panels.

With more and more conferences staying virtual or hybrid, the digital poster presentation is here to stay. Take a look at examples from a poster session at the OHSU School of Medicine .

Use SlideModel templates to help you create a winning poster presentation with PowerPoint and Google Slides. These poster PPT templates will get you off on the right foot. Mix and match tables and data visualizations from other poster slide templates to create your ideal layout according to the standard guidelines.

If you need a quick method to create a presentation deck to talk about your research poster at conferences, check out our Slides AI presentation maker. A tool in which you add the topic, curate the outline, select a design, and let AI do the work for you.

1. One-pager Scientific Poster Template for PowerPoint

A PowerPoint template tailored to make your poster presentations an easy-to-craft process. Meet our One-Pager Scientific Poster Slide Template, entirely editable to your preferences and with ample room to accommodate graphs, data charts, and much more.

Use This Template

2. Eisenhower Matrix Slides Template for PowerPoint

An Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool to represent priorities, classifying work according to urgency and importance. Presenters can use this 2×2 matrix in poster presentations to expose the effort required for the research process, as it also helps to communicate strategy planning.

3. OSMG Framework PowerPoint Template

Finally, we recommend presenters check our OSMG Framework PowerPoint template, as it is an ideal tool for representing a business plan: its goals, strategies, and measures for success. Expose complex processes in a simplified manner by adding this template to your poster presentation.

Remember these three words when making your research poster presentation: develop, design, and present. These are the three main actions toward a successful poster presentation. 

The section below will take you on a step-by-step journey to create your next poster presentation.

Step 1: Define the purpose and audience of your poster presentation

Before making a poster presentation design, you’ll need to plan first. Here are some questions to answer at this point:

• Are they in your field? 
• Do they know about your research topic? 
• What can they get from your research?
• Will you print it?
• Is it for a virtual conference?

Step 2: Make an outline

With a clear purpose and strategy, it’s time to collect the most important information from your research paper, analysis, or documentation. Make a content dump and then select the most interesting information. Use the content to draft an outline.

Outlines help formulate the overall structure better than going straight into designing the poster. Mimic the standard poster structure in your outline using section headlines as separators. Go further and separate the content into the columns they’ll be placed in.

Step 3: Write the content

Write or rewrite the content for the sections in your poster presentation. Use the text in your research paper as a base, but summarize it to be more succinct in what you share. 

Don’t forget to write a catchy title that presents the problem and your findings in a clear way. Likewise, craft the headlines for the sections in a similar tone as the title, creating consistency in the message. Include subtle transitions between sections to help follow the flow of information in order.

Avoid copying/pasting entire sections of the research paper on which the poster is based. Opt for the storytelling approach, so the delivered message results are interesting for your audience. 

Step 4: Put it all together visually

This entire guide on how to design a research poster presentation is the perfect resource to help you with this step. Follow all the tips and guidelines and have an unforgettable poster presentation.

Moving on, here’s how to design a research poster presentation with PowerPoint Templates . Open a new project and size it to the standard 48 x 36 inches. Using the outline, map out the sections on the empty canvas. Add a text box for each title, headline, and body text. Piece by piece, add the content into their corresponding text box.

Transform the text information visually, make bullet points, and place the content in tables and timelines. Make your text visual to avoid chunky text blocks that no one will have time to read. Make sure all text sizes are coherent for all headings, body texts, image captions, etc. Double-check for spacing and text box formatting.

Next, add or create data visualizations, images, or diagrams. Align everything into columns and sections, making sure there’s no overflow. Add captions and legends to the visualizations, and check the color contrast with colleagues and friends. Ask for feedback and progress to the last step.

Step 5: Last touches

Time to check the final touches on your poster presentation design. Here’s a checklist to help finalize your research poster before sending it to printers or the virtual summit rep.

• Check the resolution of all visual elements in your poster design. Zoom to 100 or 200% to see if the images pixelate. Avoid this problem by using vector design elements and high-resolution images.
• Ensure that charts and graphs are easy to read and don’t look crowded.
• Analyze the visual hierarchy. Is there a visual flow through the title, introduction, data, and conclusion?
• Take a step back and check if it’s legible from a distance. Is there enough white space for the content to breathe?
• Does the design look inviting and interesting?

An often neglected topic arises when we need to print our designs for any exhibition purpose. Since A0 is a hard-to-manage format for most printers, these poster presentations result in heftier charges for the user. Instead, you can opt to work your design in two A1 sheets, which also becomes more manageable for transportation. Create seamless borders for the section on which the poster sheets should meet, or work with a white background.

Paper weight options should be over 200 gsm to avoid unwanted damage during the printing process due to heavy ink usage. If possible, laminate your print or stick it to photographic paper – this shall protect your work from spills.

Finally, always run a test print. Gray tints may not be printed as clearly as you see them on screen (this is due to the RGB to CMYK conversion process). Other differences can be appreciated when working with ink jet plotters vs. laser printers. Give yourself enough room to maneuver last-minute design changes.

Presenting a research poster is a big step in the poster presentation cycle. Your poster presentation might or might not be judged by faculty or peers. But knowing what judges look for will help you prepare for the design and oral presentation, regardless of whether you receive a grade for your work or if it’s business related. Likewise, the same principles apply when presenting at an in-person or virtual summit.

The opening statement

Part of presenting a research poster is welcoming the viewer to your small personal area in the sea of poster presentations. You’ll need an opening statement to pitch your research poster and get the viewers’ attention.

Draft a 2 to 3-sentence pitch that covers the most important points:

• What the research is
• Why was it conducted
• What the results say

From that opening statement, you’re ready to continue with the oral presentation for the benefit of your attendees.

The oral presentation

During the oral presentation, share the information on the poster while conversing with the interested public. Practice many times before the event. Structure the oral presentation as conversation points, and use the poster’s visual flow as support. Make eye contact with your audience as you speak, but don’t make them uncomfortable.

Pro Tip: In a conference or summit, if people show up to your poster area after you’ve started presenting it to another group, finish and then address the new visitors.

QA Sessions 

When you’ve finished the oral presentation, offer the audience a chance to ask questions. You can tell them before starting the presentation that you’ll be holding a QA session at the end. Doing so will prevent interruptions as you’re speaking.

If presenting to one or two people, be flexible and answer questions as you review all the sections on your poster.

Supplemental Material

If your audience is interested in learning more, you can offer another content type, further imprinting the information in their minds. Some ideas include; printed copies of your research paper, links to a website, a digital experience of your poster, a thesis PDF, or data spreadsheets.

Your audience will want to contact you for further conversations; include contact details in your supplemental material. If you don’t offer anything else, at least have business cards.

Even though conferences have changed, the research poster’s importance hasn’t diminished. Now, instead of simply creating a printed poster presentation, you can also make it for digital platforms. The final output will depend on the conference and its requirements.

This guide covered all the essential information you need to know for creating impactful poster presentations, from design, structure and layout tips to oral presentation techniques to engage your audience better . 

Before your next poster session, bookmark and review this guide to help you design a winning poster presentation every time. 

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• A Complete Guide on Mastering Poster Presentations

Introduction to Poster Presentations

Understanding Poster Presentation Essentials

Aayush Jain

The history and evolution of poster presentations.

Poster presentations have become a cornerstone in academic, scientific, and professional communities, offering a unique platform for the succinct and visual dissemination of research, ideas, and projects. Originating from the need to share scholarly work in an accessible and engaging format, the evolution of the art of poster presentations reflects broader changes in communication, technology, and educational practices. By blending textual information with visual aids, posters serve not only as a method of presenting complex ideas but also as an art form in itself, balancing aesthetic appeal with informational clarity.

Tracing the Origins

The history of poster presentations can be traced back to the 19th century, when the advent of mass printing technologies made it possible to produce posters in large quantities. Initially used for advertising and public announcements, the potential of posters to attract attention and convey messages quickly became apparent. The academic adoption of posters for presentations began in earnest in the mid-20th century, as conferences and symposiums sought more interactive and dynamic formats for sharing research findings. This period marked a significant shift from traditional oral presentations to a more inclusive and visually engaging method of scholarly communication.

Real-world Evolution and Impact

Throughout the decades, poster presentations have undergone significant transformations, influenced by advances in digital technology and changing academic landscapes. The introduction of digital design tools and software has expanded the possibilities for creativity and precision in poster design, allowing researchers to incorporate multimedia elements and interactive content. Moreover, the global push towards interdisciplinary collaboration and public engagement has elevated the role of poster presentations in facilitating conversations across diverse fields and audiences. Notable examples include the use of poster sessions at international conferences to foster global dialogue on pressing issues such as climate change, public health, and technological innovation.

Supporting Evidence

The significance and evolution of poster presentations are well-documented in academic literature and historical analyses. For instance, studies published in Educational Researcher highlight the increasing adoption of poster sessions in academic conferences as a means to enhance participant engagement and knowledge exchange. Similarly, a review in The Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine emphasizes the role of visual aesthetics and advertising in improving the effectiveness of scientific posters. These sources underscore the dual function of posters as both educational tools and objects of visual interest, validating their continued relevance in the academic, classroom, and professional discourse.

Defining the Purpose of Poster Presentations

Exploring the Core Objectives

At its heart, the purpose of a poster presentation extends beyond merely displaying information on a large sheet. It is a strategic communication tool designed to capture the essence of research or a project in a manner that is both accessible and engaging to a diverse audience. Poster presentations serve a multifaceted role: they facilitate the concise summary of complex ideas, foster interactive dialogue between the presenter and the audience, and promote networking opportunities within the academic and professional communities. This unique format allows for the visual representation of data, theories, and conclusions, making abstract concepts more tangible and understandable.

Historical and Educational Context

The educational foundation of poster presentations is deeply rooted in the principles of active learning and visual literacy. By compelling presenters to distill their work into the most essential elements, poster presentations encourage clarity of thought and the ability to prioritize information effectively. Historically, this format has enabled a more democratized form of knowledge sharing, where students, researchers, and professionals, regardless of their stage in their career, can contribute their findings and insights to a wider discourse. The educational benefits of engaging with poster presentations are well-documented, highlighting improvements in critical thinking, design skills, and public speaking.

Real-world Applications and Benefits

In practice, poster presentations have proven invaluable across a multitude of disciplines—from science and engineering to humanities and arts. They offer a platform for early-career researchers to showcase their work, for interdisciplinary teams to present collaborative projects, and for seasoned academics to share their findings with peers and the public alike. Notable real-world applications include poster sessions at major international conferences, where cutting-edge research is introduced, sparking discussions that can lead to new collaborations, funding opportunities, and advancements in the field.

Academic and Professional Endorsements

The effectiveness and importance of poster presentations are reinforced by numerous studies and professional guidelines. For instance, The Chronicle of Higher Education emphasizes the role of poster presentations in enhancing scholarly communication and professional development. Additionally, guidelines published by leading academic institutions offer comprehensive advice on designing impactful posters, underscoring the importance of visual elements, concise content, and a clear message. These resources not only validate the significance of poster presentations within the academic community but also provide practical insights into maximizing their potential.

Different Formats and Styles of Poster Presentations

A Diverse Landscape of Presentation Formats

The realm of poster presentations is characterized by a rich diversity of formats and styles, each tailored to suit the specific needs of the subject matter and the audience . From traditional print posters to interactive digital displays, the evolution of technology and design principles has expanded the possibilities for presenting research and projects. This adaptability not only enhances the visual appeal of posters but also broadens their accessibility and potential for engagement. Understanding the variety of available formats is crucial for presenters aiming to convey their message effectively and captivate their audience.

Historical Evolution and Trends

Traditionally, university poster presentations were predominantly print-based, utilizing paper or fabric as the medium. These printed posters relied heavily on graphic design principles to organize text and images in a visually pleasing manner. However, the advent of digital technology has introduced new formats, such as electronic posters (e-posters) and interactive displays, which allow for dynamic content, including animations, video clips, and hyperlinks. This shift reflects broader trends in digital communication and multimedia, offering presenters innovative ways to illustrate their findings and engage with viewers.

Illustrating Through Examples

The impact of diverse formats and styles can be seen in various fields. For instance, in scientific conferences, e-posters have become increasingly popular, facilitating more in-depth discussions through embedded data visualizations and interactive elements. In the arts and humanities, posters often incorporate a blend of textual analysis and visual artistry, showcasing creative approaches to design and page layout. Examples of standout poster presentations can be found in academic journals and online platforms, where award-winning designs are shared as inspiration for future presenters.

Guidance from Experts

The choice of format and style should be guided by the content of the presentation and the context in which it will be displayed. Experts in visual communication and academic presentation, such as Edward Tufte and Nancy Duarte, offer valuable insights into effective design principles. Additionally, scholarly articles in journals like The Design Journal and websites dedicated to academic poster design provide practical advice, emphasizing the importance of clarity, coherence, and visual impact. These resources underscore the critical role of format and style in enhancing the effectiveness of poster presentations.

Essential Components of a Poster

Crafting a Compelling Visual Narrative

The effectiveness of a poster presentation hinges on its ability to communicate a complex narrative through a blend of visual and textual elements. Identifying and integrating the essential components of a poster are critical steps in crafting a presentation that not only captures attention but also conveys the intended message clearly and succinctly. These components typically include the title, abstract, introduction, methodology, results, conclusions, references, and acknowledgments. Each element plays a pivotal role in the poster's overall narrative, guiding the viewer through the research journey in a logical and engaging manner.

Building on a Solid Foundation

The foundation of a successful poster presentation lies in its structure and content organization. The title should be concise yet descriptive, offering a clear indication of the poster's focus. The abstract provides a brief overview of the study, inviting further exploration. Introduction sections set the stage, outlining the research question and its significance, while the methodology and results sections detail the research process and findings. Conclusions highlight the implications of the study, and the references and acknowledgments sections give credit to the sources and contributors. This structured approach ensures that viewers can easily navigate the poster and grasp the key takeaways.

Real-world Examples and Design Strategies

Examining real-world examples of effective poster presentations reveals common design strategies that enhance readability and viewer engagement. These strategies include the use of bullet points for concise information delivery, graphical abstracts to summarize findings visually, and the strategic placement of visuals to complement the text. For instance, a poster in the field of environmental science might use infographics to illustrate the impact of pollution on ecosystems, while a medical research poster might include charts and graphs to display clinical trial results.

Expert Insights and Resources

The importance of these essential components and design strategies is echoed in literature and resources aimed at guiding poster designers and creators. Edward Tufte's principles of information design emphasize the balance between visual and textual elements, advocating for clarity, precision, and efficiency. Similarly, resources like The Craft of Scientific Posters provide practical advice on selecting and organizing poster components to maximize impact. Peer-reviewed articles in academic journals also offer case studies and analyses of successful posters, serving as valuable references for those looking to create their own.

The Lifecycle of a Poster Presentation

From Concept to Display: Navigating the Journey

The lifecycle of a poster presentation encompasses a series of stages, from the initial concept to the final display and beyond. This journey begins with the identification of a research question or project theme, followed by the meticulous planning and design of the poster. Key milestones include the development of the poster's layout, the selection of visual elements, and the refinement of textual content. The culmination of this process is the presentation itself, where the poster is displayed to an audience, serving as a visual anchor for discussion and engagement. Understanding each phase of this lifecycle is crucial for presenters aiming to maximize the impact of their work.

Foundational Steps and Planning

The early stages of a poster's lifecycle are marked by brainstorming sessions, where ideas are generated and objectives are set. This phase involves extensive research and gathering of information, laying the groundwork for the poster's content. Decisions regarding the poster's format, style, and essential components are made, informed by the presenter's goals and the expectations of the target audience. Effective planning at this stage ensures a coherent structure and a focused message, setting the stage for a successful presentation .

Design, Development, and Delivery

The design and development phase is where the poster takes shape. Presenters employ various software and tools to create visual representations of their data and ideas, paying close attention to layout, typography, and color schemes. This phase is iterative, often involving multiple revisions to fine-tune the poster's aesthetic and informational elements. Once the design is finalized, the poster is produced—either printed or prepared as a digital display—and readied for presentation. The delivery stage is a critical opportunity for presenters to engage with their audience, field questions, and gain feedback, adding a dynamic dimension to the poster's lifecycle.

Post-Presentation Impact and Archival

After the presentation, the poster's lifecycle continues through the dissemination of its content in digital repositories, academic websites, or social media platforms, reaching a wider audience and extending its life beyond the initial event. This phase may also involve reflecting on feedback, making adjustments, and repurposing the content for future presentations or publications. Proper archival and sharing practices ensure that the knowledge and insights conveyed through the poster remain accessible and continue to contribute to scholarly dialogue and public discourse.

Incorporating Expert Guidance and Best Practices

Throughout the lifecycle of a poster presentation, adherence to best practices and expert guidance is paramount. Resources such as The Effective Scientist's Guide to Poster Design and academic blogs on presentation skills offer a wealth of tips and strategies for each stage of the process. These resources stress the importance of clarity, engagement, and adaptability, advising presenters to anticipate audience questions and be prepared to discuss their work in-depth. By navigating the lifecycle with intention and expertise, presenters can significantly enhance the visibility and impact of their research.

Selecting the Right Software and Tools

Charting the Digital Landscape for Poster Creation

In the era of digital communication, selecting the right software and tools is a pivotal decision in the lifecycle of a poster presentation. This choice can significantly influence the design process , the effectiveness of the final product, and the ease with which information is conveyed. From graphic design software to specialized scientific visualization tools, the range of available options caters to the diverse needs and skill levels of presenters. Navigating this digital landscape requires an understanding of the functionalities and features that best complement the objectives of the poster, ensuring that the chosen tools enhance rather than hinder the creative process.

The Foundation of Effective Design

The foundation of an effective poster design lies in the seamless integration of text, images, and data visualizations. Software such as Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, and Canva offers a spectrum of design capabilities, from basic layout and typography to advanced graphic elements and illustrations. For presenters focused on data-rich subjects, tools like Tableau or R with ggplot2 provide sophisticated options for creating compelling data visualizations. The selection process should consider factors such as user-friendliness, compatibility with other platforms, and the specific requirements of the presentation format, whether it be print or digital.

Real-World Applications and Choices

In real-world scenarios, the choice of software often reflects the discipline and objectives of the poster presentation. For instance, researchers in the sciences may gravitate towards tools that offer precision in data representation, such as MATLAB or Python for generating plots. In contrast, professionals in the arts and humanities might prioritize software with strong typographic and layout capabilities, such as Adobe InDesign. Notable examples of well-designed posters, often shared in online forums and design communities, illustrate the impact of software choice on the effectiveness of visual communication.

Guidance from Experts and the Community

For those navigating the selection of software and tools, guidance from experienced designers and presenters can be invaluable. Online tutorials, user forums, and academic workshops provide platforms for sharing insights and tips on maximizing the potential of different software. Additionally, reviews and comparisons in design publications and blogs offer an overview of the latest features and capabilities, helping presenters make informed decisions. Leveraging these resources can demystify the digital tools landscape, empowering creators to produce posters that are not only visually appealing but also rich in content and easy to understand.

Timeline Planning for Your Presentation

Setting the Stage for Success

Effective timeline planning is essential for ensuring the success of a poster presentation. This process involves allocating sufficient time for each phase of the poster's lifecycle, from initial research and design to printing and practice for the presentation itself. Establishing a detailed timeline helps in managing tasks efficiently, avoiding last-minute rushes, and ensuring a polished final product. By breaking down the project into manageable milestones, presenters can maintain a steady pace of progress, allowing for creativity to flourish within a structured framework.

Understanding the Key Milestones

The key milestones in the timeline of a poster presentation typically include the conceptualization of the idea, in-depth research, initial design drafts, feedback collection, final revisions, and printing or digital preparation. Additionally, presenters and event organizers should factor in time for rehearsing their explanation of the poster, as this verbal component is crucial for engaging with the audience during the presentation. Each of these stages requires careful consideration and allocation of time, taking into account the complexity of the topic, the availability of resources, and potential challenges that may arise.

Learning from Examples and Best Practices

Examining successful poster presentations provides valuable insights into effective timeline planning. For example, a presenter who begins the design process several weeks in advance can incorporate feedback from peers and mentors, ensuring a more refined and impactful poster. Academic journals and conference websites often feature timelines and planning guides, illustrating best practices for managing time efficiently. These resources highlight the importance of flexibility within the timeline, allowing for adjustments based on feedback and iterative improvements.

Expert Advice and Strategic Approaches

Experts in academic and professional presentation emphasize the importance of starting early and setting realistic deadlines. Resources like The Chronicle of Higher Education and Nature's guide to scientific posters recommend backward planning—starting from the presentation date and working backward to determine when each task should be completed. This approach ensures that all aspects of the poster, from content accuracy to design aesthetics, are given due attention. Additionally, leveraging project management tools and software can aid in tracking progress and maintaining focus on the ultimate goal: delivering a compelling and informative poster presentation.

Understanding Poster Size and Orientation

Navigating Dimensions and Design Impacts

The size and orientation of a poster presentation are critical factors that significantly influence its design, readability, and overall impact. Choosing the right dimensions requires a balance between the amount of information to be presented, the visual appeal of the poster, and the practical considerations of the venue where it will be displayed. Orientation—whether portrait or landscape—also plays a key role in how content is organized and perceived. Understanding these aspects is essential for creating a poster that effectively communicates the intended message while being visually engaging and easy to navigate.

Historical Context and Evolving Standards

Historically, the standard sizes for academic posters have evolved, influenced by printing capabilities, conference requirements, and disciplinary conventions. Common sizes range from A0 (33.1 x 46.8 inches) to A3 (11.7 x 16.5 inches), with variations based on specific event guidelines. The choice between portrait and landscape orientation has traditionally been guided by the nature of the content and the aesthetic preferences of the designer. As digital displays become more prevalent, new standards are emerging, accommodating a wider range of sizes and formats, and offering greater flexibility in poster design.

Real-World Considerations and Decisions

In practical terms, by contrast, the decision on poster size and orientation often depends on the venue's space constraints, the expected audience flow, and the method of presentation (e.g., hanging, digital screens, or stands). For instance, a larger poster in landscape orientation or standing might be more suitable for detailed data visualizations that require a wider format, while a portrait orientation could be preferred for posters that aim to communicate findings in a more linear, straightforward manner. Successful examples from various fields demonstrate how these decisions are integral to enhancing the poster's readability and audience engagement.

Expert Guidelines and Resources

Design experts and academic guidelines offer valuable advice on selecting the appropriate size and orientation for poster presentations. Recommendations typically emphasize the importance of clarity, audience engagement, and the effective use of space. Resources such as the American Psychological Association and The Royal Society of Chemistry provide specific guidelines on poster dimensions, aligning with the standard practices of academic conferences. Additionally, design software often includes templates and tools specifically tailored for poster creation, helping presenters visualize and plan their layouts in accordance with these dimensions.

Print vs. Digital Posters: A Comparative Analysis

Exploring the Mediums' Unique Advantages

The choice between print and digital posters presents a crucial decision for presenters, each medium offering distinct advantages and considerations. Print posters, traditional staples of academic conferences and public spaces, excel in delivering a tactile, permanent visual experience. Their physical presence allows for easy viewing in various settings, from gallery walks to outdoor displays. Digital posters, on the other hand, leverage technology to offer dynamic, interactive elements such as animations, videos, and hyperlinks, enhancing the engagement and accessibility of the content. This comparative analysis explores how both mediums cater to different presentation goals and audience expectations.

The Evolution of Poster Presentations

The evolution from print to digital posters mirrors broader technological advancements and shifts in communication preferences. Initially, the poster's role in disseminating information was predominantly served by print formats, favored for their simplicity and wide reach. However, the digital era introduced new possibilities for interaction and information sharing, challenging the traditional poster model. Today, digital posters can be easily updated, shared online, and integrated into virtual conferences, extending their reach beyond physical boundaries. This transition highlights the adaptability of poster presentations to changing technological and societal trends.

Practical Implications and Considerations

Choosing between print and digital formats involves practical implications regarding production, distribution, and presentation. Print posters require consideration of printing costs, materials, and logistics, particularly for large-scale or high-quality prints. Digital posters, while eliminating printing costs, may necessitate access to screens or devices for viewing and interactive features that require specific software or platforms. The decision often depends on the context of the presentation, the target audience, and the desired level of interaction and engagement. Real-world examples illustrate how presenters navigate these decisions, opting for the medium that best aligns with their objectives and the capabilities of their venue.

Expert Perspectives and Future Directions

Experts in visual communication and educational technology offer insights into the strengths and limitations of both print and digital posters. Studies and articles in academic journals, such as The Journal of Digital Learning, suggest that digital posters may enhance learning outcomes and audience engagement through interactive elements. Conversely, advocates for print posters highlight the value of a tangible, distraction-free medium that encourages in-depth, focused interaction. The future of poster presentations likely involves a hybrid approach, leveraging the advantages of both mediums to meet diverse needs and preferences.

Checklist for Poster Presentation Preparation

Crafting a Comprehensive Preparation Strategy

A well-organized checklist is indispensable for preparing an effective poster presentation , serving as a roadmap that guides presenters through each critical step of the process. From initial research and design to the final touches before presentation, a thorough checklist ensures no important detail is overlooked. This tool not only aids in structuring the preparation timeline but also helps in maintaining quality and coherence throughout the poster. Incorporating key tasks such as defining the poster's objectives, selecting appropriate software and tools, and practicing the presentation can significantly enhance the poster's impact.

Essential Checklist Components

The cornerstone of a poster presentation preparation checklist includes tasks such as:

Identifying the main message and target audience.

Researching and gathering relevant data and literature.

Selecting the right software and tools for design.

Drafting the layout and organizing content effectively.

Incorporating visual elements (graphs, images, charts) to complement the text.

Revising and refining the content for clarity and impact.

Ensuring adherence to the specific size and orientation requirements.

Printing or finalizing the digital version of the poster.

Preparing to create a concise and engaging oral synopsis for interaction with the audience.

Scheduling rehearsals to refine delivery and anticipate answers to questions.

Leveraging Real-World Examples

Examining real-world examples of successful poster presentations can provide valuable insights into effective preparation strategies. For instance, award-winning posters often demonstrate meticulous attention to detail, innovative use of visual aids, and clear communication of complex ideas. Academic institutions and professional conferences frequently share such examples, offering a practical glimpse into the preparation process that led to their success. These cases underline the importance of thorough planning and the impact of a well-prepared presentation.

Guidance from Experienced Presenters and Educators

Experienced presenters and educators emphasize the significance of early and thorough preparation. Resources like The Effective Poster Presentation Guide and The Academic's Handbook to Presentations offer comprehensive checklists and tips, covering every aspect of poster design and presentation. These resources advocate for a proactive approach, suggesting that presenters seek feedback during the preparation process and adapt their posters based on constructive criticism. Following a detailed checklist not only facilitates a smoother preparation experience but also increases confidence, ensuring presenters are well-equipped to engage their audience effectively.

Thanks for reading and be sure to share this guide if you enjoyed it!

Hungry to read more guides? Here are a few guides you might like:

Strategically Crafting Headlines and Titles

Mastering Data Visualization Skills Effectively

FAQs on Poster Presentations

What is a poster presentation format.

A poster presentation format involves a visual and textual summary of research or a project displayed on a large poster. This format is designed to facilitate interactive discussions between the presenter and the audience, often in an academic or professional conference setting. Key components include the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusions, strategically arranged for readability and impact.

What are the rules of poster presentation?

The fundamental rules include clarity in design and content, succinctness in text, effective use of visuals (such as graphs, charts, and images), adherence to specified size and orientation guidelines, humor and preparedness for an engaging discussion with the audience. Additionally, respecting copyright laws and citing sources accurately is essential.

How to prepare a poster?

Preparing a poster involves identifying the main message, gathering and organizing content, designing the layout using appropriate software, incorporating visual elements to support the text, and revising content for clarity. Following a detailed checklist can ensure a comprehensive preparation process.

How do I make my poster presentation stand out?

To make a poster stand out, focus on creating an eye-catching design, concise and impactful content, high-quality visuals, and a clear, logical flow of information. Interactive elements, such as QR codes for digital posters, can also enhance engagement. Practicing your pitch to communicate and sell your message effectively during the poster session will further distinguish your presentation.

What is the definition of a poster?

A poster is a visual tool used to communicate information concisely and attractively, combining text and graphical elements. It serves various purposes, including advertising, education, and information dissemination in both public spaces and specialized settings for events like academic conferences.

What is the purpose of a poster?

The purpose of a poster is to present information in a way that is accessible and engaging to a wide audience. In academic and professional contexts, for example, posters aim to summarize research findings or project details, facilitating discussion and knowledge exchange.

What makes a good poster?

A good poster effectively communicates its message through a clear, coherent design, concise content, impactful visuals, and a viewer-friendly layout. It engages and interests the audience, encourages interaction, and conveys the essence of the research or project succinctly.

How do you write a poster?

Writing a poster involves drafting text that is clear, concise, and focused on the key messages. Use bullet points for easy reading, integrate visuals to explain complex ideas, and ensure the content is organized logically, with distinct sections for the introduction, motivation, methodology, results, and conclusions.

What do you mean by poster presentation?

A poster presentation refers to the process of summarizing research or a project on a poster and presenting it to an audience, typically at academic, scientific, or related professional events. It allows for direct interaction with viewers, offering opportunities for feedback and discussion.

How do I make a poster presentation?

Making and selling a poster presentation involves several steps: selecting the right content and visuals, designing the poster layout, printing or preparing the digital display, and finally rehearsing an engaging synopsis of your work for presentation to the audience.

Discover how we can create magic in your communication

Creating a Poster Presentation Template

Methodically Creating a Poster Template

Establishing a Flexible Template Structure Introduction: Foundations of Versatility Creating a flexible poster template structure is essential for adapting to various content needs and presentation contexts. This adaptability allows users to customize their presentations while maintaining a coherent and professional design aesthetic. Background: The Importance of Flexibility In the realm

The Future of Poster Presentations

Predicting Emerging Trends in Poster Design

The Impact of New Technologies on Poster Design Introduction: Revolutionizing Visual Communication The landscape of poster design is undergoing a radical transformation, driven by the advent of new technologies. These innovations not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of posters but also extend their functionality, making them more interactive and impactful.

Poster Presentations in Virtual Environments

Adapting Posters in Virtual Environments

Best Practices for Virtual Poster Presentations Introduction: Mastering the Art of Virtual Presentation Virtual, poster boards and presentations have become a staple in the academic and professional landscape, offering a unique platform to showcase research and ideas remotely. Mastering this format requires understanding best practices that cater to digital environments.

104: How to Give a Perfect Poster Presentation

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It’s a tragic fact: many jaw-dropping, eye-opening, and heart-pounding research results never makes an impact on the scientific community.

And it’s partly your fault.

By “your,” of course,  I mean all of us.  Because when we waste the opportunity to share our results in their best light at a scientific conference or poster session, our viewers may overlook this valuable insight.

But we can do better!  With a little planning, collaboration, and hard work, we can make even a humble poster presentation a vehicle for inspiring the next discovery and building our scientific network.

Let’s get started!

Poster Perfect

A poster session is a unique opportunity for a young scientist.

As a viewer, you get the chance to engage in a casual conversation with other scientists, often one-on-one, about a topic that interests you.  It’s an opportunity to ask for clarity, pose a question, or offer ideas without an audience of 200 staring at the back of your head.

As a presenter, you get all of those benefits, as well as an opportunity to build your network and identify collaborators.  You also get many chances to practice your ‘pitch’ as new visitors step up every few minutes.  It will sharpen both your skill as a communicator and your research plan.

And while there are probably some guidelines for being a good poster-viewer, in this episode, we focused our discussion on the best ways to prepare and present a poster.

Before You Begin

As with any presentation, answering a few questions before you get started will save you hours in front of the computer.

Know Your Audience

If you are presenting to the Microbiology Conference, you may want to include more detailed background information than if you’re presenting to other experts in your sub-field at a Malaria Symposium.  Space is limited, and thinking ahead about what your audience may, or may not, know will help you prepare for the proper range of visitor experience.

Start Early

You may be a wizard of poster creation and can put off your design until the night before you fly to the conference, but that’s a bad idea.  Instead, leave extra time before printing share your file with collaborators for review.  They need time to look over your work and offer feedback before it’s committed to (gigantic) paper.

Practice, Practice, Practice

You’ll also need time to practice presenting the poster.  More on this later, but sometimes the act of presentation lets us see where we have gaps or mistakes in the logic or design.  It’s a good idea to practice with people from outside your lab because if they are already familiar with your work, they won’t notice when you skip steps or fail to explain a concept clearly.

Find Your Story

It may sound odd, but poster presentation is a form of story-telling.  The best posters make that story clear and concise.

Even if you have multiple projects in the lab, choose ONE to present in your poster.  Start by jotting down a central question you’re trying to answer, or a hypothesis your lab is testing.  Keeping this key idea in mind as you prepare the presentation will give you a firm structure on which to hang the other elements.

Making a Poster

There are a couple of broad guidelines to keep in mind as you create your poster.

First, remember that the poster is a visual form, and space is limited.  That means you should avoid printing long paragraphs of text.  Instead, use the space to display graphs, images, and figures, with a few bullet points or figure legends to help the viewer track the story.

Second, stick with a ‘standard’ layout.  Your viewers have been trained for years to look for titles at the top and conclusions on the bottom right.  You make viewing your poster harder by moving these elements around.

Third, maintain consistency within your poster.  Stick with one or two fonts, and be sure that headings, bullets, and figures are matched in style, weight, and size.

Finally, give your work some breathing room.  White-space is important, and will make the poster more readable.

Poster Pieces

Manuscript titles are often formulaic and a bit dull as they describe the basic findings of the research paper, but your poster title can be more creative.  The goal is to catch a viewer’s attention while also letting them know what they’ll see when they visit.

Again, remembering your audience, include enough information to help them understand your main question or hypothesis.  Avoid paragraphs, and include a figure or diagram if you can.

Hypothesis / Main Question

This section is an absolute must, so don’t forget it!  It lets the viewer instantly understand what the poster is about and what they can expect to learn if they follow you through to the conclusion.

Again, a diagram or figure works great here.  Use this section to help the viewer understand your experimental approach to the question.  You don’t need to detail every last step – save that for the paper you publish!

This is where the action is.  Remember – you don’t need to include every experiment you’ve ever done.  Just describe the results that help address the main question/hypothesis.

Use descriptive figure titles that help the viewer understand your conclusion.  “Gel of Protein X” doesn’t help anyone, but “Protein X is Up-Regulated After Drug Treatment” tells them what they should expect to see in the scan. 

Cut out extraneous information or parts of the image, and use arrows or boxes to help direct attention to the relevant parts.

Double check this section for readability – axes and labels can often be too small to read from a four-foot distance.

Conclusions

Another chance to draw a diagram!  Or use 2-3 bullet points to help summarize what you’ve found.

Other Sections

Some posters include acknowledgements or future directions.  These are optional and might make sense on a case-by-case basis.

Every poster should include the author’s contact info, though!  This allows people to reach out even if you’ve stepped away from the poster, and helps collaborators keep in touch after the meeting.

Presenting a Poster

Crafting the perfect poster is only half the battle, now it’s time to describe that work from start to finish.

Timing is Everything

Walking a viewer through your presentation should take roughly five to seven minutes.  That doesn’t seem like a long time, but it’s an important target.  Many presenters take too long to share the poster, leaving the audience bored, uncomfortable, and searching for a way out.

By telling your story in five minutes, you let the audience guide the conversation.  If they’re satisfied with your description, or bored out of their minds, they can move on to another poster.

If they’re excited and want to learn more, they can ask questions or probe the results more deeply.

Act Like an Actor

As you present, remember that you mustn’t turn your back on your audience!  You’ll be tempted to turn to look at the poster yourself, closing off the conversation.  Instead, keep an open stance and point out relevant sections off to your side.

Also, check your enthusiasm.  Too many poster presenters seem bored, tired, or listless.  If they don’t think their work is exciting, why should their audience?! 

Stop a moment to notice your energy level, and try to step it up as you present.  Make eye contact, welcome new viewers as the approach, and modulate your voice. 

Your enthusiasm for your work can be contagious.

Tailor Made

Because most poster presentations occur one-on-one, it’s imperative that you actively tailor your pitch to the person standing in front of you.

When they step up, you can briefly ask about their background or interest in the subject.  If they’re a neophyte, you’ll want to avoid jargon and check that they’ve understood each section before moving on. If they’re an expert, they may want to skip straight to the results!

Be aware of their cues and body language, and let them help steer the conversation.

That’s it! Now you’re a poster-presenting-pro!  Go make a splash at your next poster session, and be sure to share YOUR tips and ideas for poster presentation in the comments below.

For more information on attending conferences, check out Episode  097: Conference Like the Pros – How to Plan, Network, and Win

I’m Getting Seasick

This week, we sample a very special ethanol that has probably traveled farther than we have. 

Jefferson’s Ocean Bourbon  spends its time in a barrel bobbing around on a research ship as it sails around the world!  Supposedly, all of that rocking, equatorial heat, and sea spray mimics the way bourbon tasted when it was shipped back from the New World.  

Best part: you get to read the Captain’s Log of each batch’s journey!

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CAUSE AN EFFECT

Blog on science communication

How to design a poster presentation that makes your research stand out

Have you submitted an abstract for a conference poster? Great! It can be an amazing opportunity to get valuable feedback, advance your career, and make lasting connections. But let’s face it: most conference posters are crammed with too much text, unclear graphs, and are difficult to understand. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. This is a step-by-step practical guide to help you create a poster that’s so good, that people actually stop to read it, start a conversation and even remember your poster years later.

This blog is based on our extensive Poster Design Guidelines , where we’ve visualized all the tips in six posters.

Define the true goal of your poster presentation

When we ask researchers why they’re presenting a poster, the typical response is, “I want to share my research.” Fair enough, but let’s be honest: if sharing your research was the only goal, there are much easier ways to do it. You could submit a summary in the conference booklet, email your paper to colleagues, or put it on social media.

Poster sessions are social events. The main goal is to network and connect with other researchers.

But here’s the thing—a poster session isn’t just about showing off your data. It’s your chance to dive into conversations, make new connections, and get instant feedback. In fact, it’s a social event! While sharing your results is important, the primary goal of a poster session is to connect with others.

What is your personal goal for the poster session?

Beyond that, you can also set personal goals. What do you want to get out of the poster session? How can you use this opportunity to advance your research, get answers to pressing technical questions, make an impact, or learn from others in your field?

Don’t just create a poster because you have to, this is your moment to define what you want to achieve with it. Here are some ideas for personal goals to inspire you:

• Get valuable feedback on your research. Receive tips on improving your methodology, avoiding pitfalls in your dataset, or addressing issues with participants. Constructive criticism and suggestions from others can be incredibly beneficial for refining your work.
• Connect with key figures in your field. Networking with (influential) people can advance your career. They might even point you toward a great post-doc position or other opportunities.
• Find potential collaborators. Meet researchers who can join forces with you on your project. Sometimes, the missing piece is just the right team or a fresh perspective.
• Share and promote best practices. Whether you’ve developed a new methodology or discovered flaws in existing treatments, use your poster to recommend better practices or warn others of potential mistakes. Think about ways that you can help others in their work.
• Test new research ideas. Are you considering a new research direction? Use the poster session to gauge interest and gather feedback before diving in. This can help you refine your ideas before committing significant time and resources.
• Influence funding decisions. Funders and grant reviewers often attend conferences. A compelling poster can catch their eye and improve your chances of securing funding for future projects.

Use these ideas to make the poster session work for you and then design your poster to help you achieve it.

Idea: Gather valuable feedback through your poster

Viviam attended our poster design workshop in Norway and was struggling with significant challenges in her PhD. She decided that her personal goal for her poster was to gather as much feedback as possible. To achieve this, she designed her poster around these roadblocks, and asked visitors to stick post-it notes with their tips and advice on the poster board. This approach not only provided her with valuable input but also earned her two poster awards!

“It was an amazing experience and the outcome was exactly what I wanted, a lot of interaction with the public, feedback, questions, many post-it notes, lots of connections in LinkedIn and possibly new collaborations. Also, my supervisors are extremely proud and happy. I couldn’t ask for more! THANK YOU!”

See her poster in our Hall of Fame .

Read more about the goal of your poster and writing a pitch in our blog Define the goal & pitch for your poster presentation

The essential elements of a poster

Before diving into the design, let’s make sure you’re including everything a good poster needs. Remember that your poster is a summary of your most important research results, so keep it short and to the point. If visitors want to learn more about the details, they can read (a printout of) your paper or start a conversation.

• Title: Your title is your first impression and the one thing people will remember, so make it count! It should be big, clear, concise, and ideally communicate your main message or conclusion. Avoid jargon and abbreviations unless you’re confident that your audience will get it.
• Context: Provide a brief background or context to orient your viewers or explain why your research is important. Keep this section short, a single sentence is often enough.
• Study details: A quick overview of your study design (e.g., type of study, number of participants, duration, intervention, outcome measure, etc). This is essential, but not the most exciting part, so stick to the essentials.
• Evidence (data) : The evidence for your main message statement. This can be a graph or even a written description of your main results. Don’t fall into the trap of including every graph and making them so small that nobody can read them.
• Visuals: We often include a large visual to draw attention to the topic or main result. This could be an illustration, picture, or diagram from your research result. You get the most effect if this is a large image that can be seen from across the room.
• Call-to-action: What do you want your audience to when they visit your poster? Give feedback on how to improve your work? Connect with you on LinkedIn? Have a fruitful discussion? Visit your website? Contact you for more details? Get the most out of your poster and tell people how they can help you.
• Contact details: Include your full name, affiliation, and contact details. Make sure people can reach out if they’re interested in your work or want to connect. You can usually leave out departments and author degrees. I can be nice to include a photo of yourself. This way people can recognize who presents the poster when you’re not standing next to it, and walk up to you later.
• References : If your poster is based on a published paper, you may include a reference. However, keep it short (you don’t have to include all authors) and use a small font size. This way, your audience can find the paper, without it taking up too much space or attention.
• Add sections for extra interaction and your personal goal : Include a section to highlight important elements of your research with a title like “What’s new”. Or add a highlighted box with “Give feedback”, or “How can you help?” to encourage visitors to talk to you. Starting a conversation can be intimidating for visitors too, so these sections can also give them a starting point for a discussion.

QR code or not?

If you have additional materials or want to make it easy for people to find your LinkedIn page, you can consider adding a QR code to your poster. It can link to your full paper, other references, a video explanation, or any other online resource that complements your poster. However, keep the limitations of QR codes in mind. People might not have a phone that can scan a QR code, forgot their phone or have low phone battery. And most importantly: you probably don’t want people to stare at their phone in the middle of an engaging conversation.

If you decide to add a QR code, make sure you:

• Clearly explain where the link leads to , and write down what people can find there. e.g. “Download my full paper”, “Watch the video about my methods”, “Connect with me on LinkedIn”. Or a combination of these: “Connect with me on LinkedIn to get my paper”.
• Always provide an alternative , like a short URL so you don’t rely on the code, and show people where it leads. It’s also wise to have a pen and paper handy to jot down someone’s email address or name, just in case technology fails.
• Design the QR code with a tool like QRcodemonkey , where you can customize the color, pattern, and add an icon to match your poster’s style. And remember to remove the ugly white background.

Check out part 1 of our Poster Guideline about the essential elements of a poster:

The most important thing first: write a title that captures your main message

Now that you know the essential elements to include on your poster, let’s dive in to some of the elements to make them great. We start by focusing on the most crucial part—your title. Your title is often the first thing people read: it should capture attention and communicate your main message.

Don’t write vague descriptive titles!

Whatever you do, resist the urge to just slap the title of your paper onto your poster. Descriptive titles are used in almost all peer-reviewed papers, but for posters they are terrible: they don’t give any information about the main conclusion, and only tell us about the topic you’re researching.

Let’s have a look at this generic descriptive title from this article on air pollution as an example:

“ Urban Air Pollution and Greenness in Relation to Public Health ”.

When we read it, we still don’t know anything! And at the same time it raises all these questions: “Is there a relation?”, “Is less pollution related to greenness?”, “Does this paper answer how we can reduce pollution?”.

When you write a title like this, you’re delaying communication of the main message, which will frustrate your audience. Imagine if every newspaper headline was that vague—no one would bother reading past the first line.

The one thing all the people at a poster session are looking for is your main message . That’s why you want your main message to be the first thing people read. And that’s usually your title, since it’s big and bold and catches the most attention.

Think about the one thing you want people to remember after they’ve seen your poster. That’s your title.

When creating your title, think about the one thing you want people to remember after they’ve seen your poster. That’s your main message, and it should be front and center. Most of the time, your main message is your research conclusion, but it doesn’t have to be. It could be a recommendation, a warning, or promoting a new research method that’s more effective than the old ones.

Conclusive title are better than descriptive ones

The best titles don’t just hint at your research—they spell it out. A conclusive title ensures that even if someone only reads your title and nothing else, they’ve still walked away with your key message. And that’s a win in communication!

Let’s compare the following titles, and see which one tells you more useful information about the study:

Descriptive title : Urban Air Pollution and Greenness in Relation to Public Health.

Conclusive title : Expanding green spaces and enforcing low-carbon policies can effectively combat health risks from air pollution in Addis Ababa.

Write a conclusive title, so people can read your main message at a glance!

If you’re struggling to write a conclusive statement, or if your results aren’t finalized yet, consider writing your title as a question. A title question does not tell the whole story but it might make people curious enough to walk up to your poster to find out the answer or have a discussion with you. What about “Mental health in hospitals: what can health professionals do to ease the pain?”. It’s the perfect start to a conversation. Think about the first question that you would ask a person approaching you, that can be your title.

TIP: Does your research show negative results? Shout it from the rooftops! Don’t be disappointed, your research is just as important as anyone else’s. Do not hide it, show it, so other people can learn from it.

For more examples and tips on how to formulate your title, read our blog Write a compelling title about your research . Learn why descriptive titles are the worst for good science communication and try out different main messages to see which one works best for your research.

Write headings to tell a story

To be an effective science communication tool, your poster needs to be easy to scan. At a conference, most people will glance at your poster, spend a few seconds reading the title and maybe some bold headings, and then decide whether to stop and talk or move on.

If your main headings are the traditional Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion, then you’re missing a chance to communicate your message quickly. Those headings won’t tell your audience anything new, and they’ll delay getting your main point across.

Your goal should be for everyone to quickly grasp your entire research story without squinting at that tiny 12pt paragraph text. So, let’s dive into how to rewrite your headings to tell your story clearly and concisely:

Turn your lengthy introduction into a sentence for context

Start with a single, punchy sentence that gives context for your research. Forget the long paragraphs about why you’re doing this work—most people at the conference already know the big issues in your field (everyone’s out to cure cancer or save the planet, right?). Instead, summarize the core issue or background of your study in a single sentence. For example:

• T-cell therapy works very well for ‘liquid cancers’ such as leukemia, but is much less effective for solid tumors.
• Crucian carp can survive in ice-covered lakes without oxygen for months. We want to know if DNA methylation acts as a switch to transition from summer to winter months.

Turn your headings into sentences

With that context in place, keep the momentum going by writing conclusive statements for each of your headings. These sentences become the bold, eye-catching headings on your poster—the “chapters” of your story. This way, anyone can quickly scan your poster and immediately grasp the main message of your research.

Once you’ve set the stage with a brief context, continue with this to write a conclusive statement for each of your headings. These sentences become the bold headings on your poster, effectively turning them into the “chapters” of your story. This way, your audience can quickly scan the headings and immediately grasp the main message of your research.

For instance, instead of vague headings like “ Introduction ” or even the slightly better “ Costs of diabetes ,” go for something more informative like: “ Total costs of diabetes have increased to $245 billion .” This gives much more information at a glance.

People scan your poster, so turn your headings into a compelling story.

In our workshops, we encourage participants to start by writing their research in a single paragraph or a one-minute speech. Then, trim it down to just a few sentences. Those sentences will become your poster headings (think of them as the chapters of your story). This way, your audience doesn’t have to dig through paragraphs to find the key points—they can simply scan the bold headings and immediately understand your research.

If you’re afraid your supervisor is not going to like this departure from the traditional academic structure, you can keep those familiar headings as smaller, lighter eyebrow headings. This way you satisfy the more traditional academics while still making your main message stand out. (Learn more about eyebrow headings and text design in part 3 of our Poster Guidelines .)

Which behavioral and nutritional factors are targets for stomach cancer prevention programmes?

A meta-analysis and systematic review of 14 behavioral and nutritional factors in 52,916 studies.

Helicobacter pylori infection, smoking, alcohol, high salt intake were identified as the main factors contributing to stomach cancer.

These results may be utilized for ranking and prioritizing preventable risk factors to implement effective prevention programs.

Learn how you can write an engaging research story for your poster in our blog How to write a story from your research for posters & infographics .

Example of a story-based poster

Let’s have a look at this example poster we created from a paper on microbes in the Antarctic. Instead of sticking to dry, traditional headings, we transformed each section—Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion—into a conclusive statement that tells the story of the research. This makes it easy to scan. You can add more details in the paragraph text or graphs under each section. But don’t overcrowd your poster with details. If people want more information, it’s better to discuss these details or hand out your actual peer-reviewed journal article. The more information you give, the less people will remember.

Design your poster like a professional

How do you think you will come across if you use different backgrounds, colors and fonts for every section? Does that really make you look creative and professional? We know it’s tempting, but don’t use every tool PowerPoint has given you to design with. Don’t use gradients, drop-shadows, text effects if you don’t know how to use them.

The design of your poster should support your story, provide structure, and make your presentation more effective. Design can also help distinguish between the main message and supporting information. By using different designs for your main thread and quotes, anecdotes, or examples you make sure people don’t lose sight of your most important messages.

We love to show bad examples, so check out this poster presentation dissection:

Get inspired by creative posters in our Poster Hall of Fame

We’re so proud of our workshops participants when they create a beautiful poster or win a poster award! So we created a hall of fame to showcase great posters. As you will see, there is no one standard, you can create any type of poster and still attract attention. Each poster is made under different circumstances and conference requirements.

Design your texts to make them easier to read

Since text is often the bulk of your poster, let’s see how we can design it better to help your audience understand it better.

• Write in simple and active language . Write “We analyzed the data” instead of “The data was analyzed”. Active text is more engaging and understandable, so avoid passive sentences as much as possible. TIP: Write as if you’re talking to your visitor and read your text out loud to see if it makes sense.
• Keep sentences short . Sentences should be short and to the point. Keep most sentences to a maximum of 14 words if possible. Paragraphs are no longer than 35 words, or 5 lines.
• Write full sentences . Writing short sentences doesn’t mean you should remove important words (and make it impossible to understand). Every sentence should contain a subject and a verb (yes, this includes bullet-points and titles). Without those, they miss essential information.
• Font size: Your main title should be bold and easy to read, between 100 and 150 points . If your title is too long, split it up with a short bold main title, and a smaller subtitle with more nuance or details. Section headings should be bold and between 60 and 80 points . The text of your headings should include important information (and not just introduction, methods, results). The paragraph text of your poster should be between 30 – 40 point size. Viewers should be able to read it from a few steps away. Details and references can be smaller, but don’t go below 24 point size.
• Align left : Unless you have a very good reason, left-align your titles, sentences, bullet-points, and paragraphs. Centering or justifying text slows down reading time and is not considered good practice for accessibility.
• Highlight: If you cannot make paragraphs shorter, you can highlight important sentences in bold to make them stand out.
• Make it legible : All your text should be legible and easy to read. So keep uppercase to a minimum (we reserve it for eyebrow headings). And don’t underline text unless it’s a hyperlink in a digital version of your poster.

Only use bullet points for actual lists

If there is one piece of advice we would love for you to remember from this post: do NOT use bullet points for sentences! It transforms them into weird short sentences and doesn’t make your messages any clearer. Please, only use bullet points for actual lists. Like countries, study details, or different outcomes you are measuring. Disregard your instinct to put bullets before sentences and just write a nice readable paragraph instead. People will love you for it!

Check out part 3 of our Poster Guideline for tips on structure, and writing texts:

Font size guidelines, a poster

We like to create posters about posters. So check out this A1 poster that shows the best practices for legible fonts on your poster:

Use images and icons, but make sure they’re effective

Text alone can be a bit uninspiring sometimes. We encourage the use of images but make sure they contribute to your message. Either use them to show which topic you are researching (e.g. plane aerodynamics, body fat distribution, or the history of women’s rights), or when they have intrinsic value and show something that you cannot point out in words (e.g. the location of an aorta stent, or the flow of information between low-orbit satellites). Don’t add cute images of people, landscapes, university buildings or flower patterns to spice up your poster.

So please don’t use random useless stock photo’s like these in your presentation! #facepalm

Images aren’t just there to make your poster pretty—they’re there to attract attention and help people understand your message. Here’s how to use images effectively:

• Draw attention with a large visual that shows your topic or supports your main message. Make sure it reflects your personality, this will make it more memorable for people (and make it more fun for conference attendees to browse posters).
• Use high-quality images: Use clear, high-resolution images. Blurry visuals scream amateur and can distract from your message. If you need to, remove the white background from images and graphs in PowerPoint or go to remove.bg .
• Icons: Use meaningful icons that help your audience scan your poster quickly. Realize that a lot of people will not have the same idea of what an icon means, so avoid using vague icons for vague concepts like process or implementation . And always add text to an icon.
• Don’t decorate, educate: Leave out fun, cliché, or decorative visuals that distract from your main message. Choose visuals that enhance the content and are easy to understand at a glance. They should be directly relevant to your study and should not require extensive explanation.
• Be consistent: Create a consistent professional design by picking icons in the same style (e.g. choose between line icons and solid icons) and do not combine illustrations and images from different styles (line-drawings, 3D design, or photographs).
• Be inclusive & avoid stereotypes . Think about it: Do the elderly all use canes? Is your population all white and able? Are all human shapes male? We encourage you to acknowledge diversity and use appropriate descriptions, including those for gender, sexual orientation, racial and ethnic identity, disabilities, and age.

Don’t use Google to find images (these are usually copyright protected). Instead, check out these websites for great images:

• pexels.com (stock images & videos)
• unsplash.com (stock images)
• Phosphor icons (general icons)
• bioicons.com (biology & medicine icons)
• scidraw.io (lab research icons)

For a huge collection of useful websites where you can find images, illustrations and icons, check out our blog Our favorite (free) tools to create better designs for science communication

Visualize your data clearly and effectively

Data is the heart of your research, but it needs to be presented in a way that’s easy to digest. Here’s how to nail your data visualization:

• Save space by visualizing only the most important results from your research that support your main message and give evidence for your conclusion. One or two graphs is enough. There is usually no need to include diagrams, tables, or graphs in your introduction or methods section.
• Create graphs instead of tables to make it easier to see trends and compare data. Graphs and other data visualizations help your audience see patterns in the data and allow them to quickly compare data points. Tables take too much time to understand in the limited time you have to make your point.
• Give the conclusion from your graph in the title above it (instead of a descriptive title), and highlight the data that support your main conclusion. Which title do you think is better? Projected disease prevalence and mortality reduction over 20 years for the population aged 18 to 95 years in nine European countries with lower salt intake. OR Lower salt intake reduced the prevalence of stroke in Poland by 13.5% . You can even write sentences inside graphs to clarify certain data.
• Use direct labels instead of legends, adding your data labels right next to the graph lines (instead of further away) makes it easier to understand your data.
• Tell a story . Show people where the interesting data is hiding in a graph and tell a story. Do this by highlighting the data that supports your main conclusion and writing short explanations to tell people what it means.
• Simplify your graphs: Keep your graphs simple and easy to read. Remove anything that does not help people understand your data like (grid) lines, borders, and (white) backgrounds.

Check out part 4 of our Poster Guideline for tips on datavisualization.

Choose and apply colors wisely in your design

Color can make your poster stand out from a sea of boring light blue posters, but too many colors can turn it into a visual assault. Here’s how to use color wisely:

• Be intentional . Don’t just use colors randomly because it’s ‘pretty’. Think about their purpose. Do you want to highlight and draw attention? Do you need colors to show differences between items? If there is no reason to use different colors for clarity, don’t do it.
• Use a simple color scheme: Stick to a maximum of two colors to create a cohesive look. If you’re having trouble choosing colors, use a single accent color with black, white, and grey. Using shades of a single color is often a better idea than using multiple bright colors. The darkest color will draw the most attention, so use it to create visual hierarchy. Use an online shade generator tool like shadegenerator.com .
• Avoid color coding. Don’t use five colors for different datasets in a graph, or make each section a different color. It can be hard for people to distinguish between colors, and they might assume the colors have specific meanings. Plus, with color-blind visitors in mind, it’s essential to make your point clear without depending on color alone.
• Contrast: Make sure there’s enough contrast between your background and text. Use a contrast checker to make sure the contrast is at least 4.5 (the minimum for accessibility). This improves readability and helps important information stand out.
• Draw attention : Color is a great way to draw attention to a part of your poster that contains important information. But don’t do this more than one or two times. If you highlight everything, nothing stands out.
• Re-use colors for a professional look. See if you can re-use colors from images elsewhere to make the design look professional. You can use the eyedropper tool in PowerPoint or browser extensions like ColorZilla to pick the color code (HEX or RGB) from any image.

There are many tools and articles to help you pick the right colors. Learn from their expertise:

• blog.datawrapper.de/beautifulcolors/
• learnui.design/tools/data-color-picker.html
• chartio.com/learn/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization/

Check out part 5 of our Poster Guideline for tips on the use of colors.

Achieve balance and symmetry in your poster design

A well-balanced poster is a joy to look at. Here’s how to achieve that perfect balance:

• Reading direction. Give clues on how to read your design. The standard reading patterns (in the English-speaking world) are the F and Z-pattern, so when in doubt, stick to the top-to-bottom and left-to-right patterns. If your design is more complex, add arrows to indicate the reading order.
• Balance all the elements on your poster by aligning them to each other and apply the same amount of spacing between and around (text) boxes. You can choose to align the text inside a box with other elements, or you can align the box itself with the other elements (see the visual examples in part X of our poster guideline).
• Be consistent and apply the same styles to elements like boxes, lines, text, icons and images.
• Margins and spacing: Use margins to frame your content. Don’t take text all the way to the edges of a text box—give it some breathing room.
• White Space: Don’t be afraid of white space. It’s not empty—it’s strategic. It gives your design room to breathe and makes the content more digestible.

Prepare for a conversation

Don’t just prepare your pitch, also think of what you want to say when someone approaches your poster. Or better yet, what you want to ask them. It’s an opportunity to learn something yourself. It also helps to reduce your nerves if it’s your first time (or if it’s just not your cup of tea to talk to dozens of strangers).

Also think about what critical questions people may have about your poster and prepare a short answer. Is your research about the benefits of cheese and it is funded by the dairy industry? Expect some critical questions. Be grateful you get these questions, it’s what proper scientific discussion is all about!

Do not conform to the (invisible) design standards set by other academics!

That other people are cramming graphs and text into their poster is not your problem. You don’t have to copy them. Do all posters need to be blue on white and have hundreds of bullet-points? The reason why so many academic posters are badly designed is because everybody is copying everyone else. And since almost nobody has followed a design or science communication course, they just do what everyone else does: copy their paper to a poster.

Institution templates

Institution templates are another hurdle to tackle. Maybe you have to abide by a standard template from your institution, or add huge logos from every single collaborator (and even pictures of their locations!) on it. We advise that you do NOT give in to these demands without a fight. Remember: these guidelines are not made by science communication experts, but often by the press officer with a desire for a uniform look, or by more senior scientists who think design is something achieved by rainbow-colored text effects in Word. You get our frustration…

Of course, it’s good to adhere to the physical format of the poster mount and have large and legible text, but we’ll try to push you out of your comfort zone here a bit. You will not get punished by anyone for using different colors than your institution, use a more legible font size, and use design in a way that makes your research pop. Remember: you can not stand out if your poster looks like all the other boring posters in the room!

An ugly template well done

Leonardo came to our workshop to design a poster for a conference that uses a specific template. It was a very ugly template with a brown gradient and a large conference logo and title. Since we could not change any of that, we advized to go all-in with the template colors. So we used the same browns as the header and made sure it was easy on the eyes.

With this poster Leonardo even won the best poster award! This shows that even with badly designed template you can still create a good poster if you apply all the design tips.

Conference guidelines

Conference guidelines are not all bad. We were surprised to learn that a lot of conferences actually want you to create something beautiful! Here’s a selection of some tips international conference organizers gave on their websites that we fully agree with:

• Avoid overcrowding figures and cramming too many numbers into tables.
• Avoid long text paragraphs and try to be clear and concise.
• Remember to keep illustrated and written material simple.
• Include your email address so that attendees can follow up with you on any questions related to your poster presentation.
• Add pictures describing your idea.
• Some text to present the main contributions and the achieved results.

Use handouts for the details of your study

There is a fear among PhD students that someone will come up to their poster and dislike it because it’s missing a specific detail. We get it, doing your first poster presentation can be terrifying. But remember, your poster is not the only source of information, you are! You’ll be there, ready to fill in any details that didn’t make it onto the poster.

If this doesn’t ease your mind, print out the (preliminary) paper or additional details not included on your poster, and keep them handy. Chances are, nobody will ask for them, but just having them around might give you peace of mind.

However, you might end up with 20 printed copies and no one to give them to. Plus, let’s be honest—how often do people actually read all the handouts they collect when they get home? Instead of focusing on the details, think about how you can make a lasting connection.

We think that making connections is more important than sharing all the details of your research right then and there. So instead, give out your LinkedIn or ResearchGate details, or your personal website URL, so you are instantly connected and they will see any new updates you post in their timeline. If they are still interested in the details, you have their contact information to send them your paper when it’s published!

Get creative

Do you want to stand out? Bring a prop related to your research to the stand. Do you research fat cells? Bring a pound of lard with you (in a sealed bag please). Do you research tooth health? Bring a plastic jaw with you that people can touch. This will ensure that people visit your poster and can be a fun way to meet new people.

Bring post-it notes for people to write tips and feedback on. Or laminate your poster and give people a whiteboard marker to write things on it or highlight sections they think are important. This is not only a nice gimmick that people will remember, but can be good for you as a reminder of the feedback you were given. As an added bonus it gives visitors a chance to interact with each other.

A template to get you started

Want to get a head-start on designing your poster? We’ve developed a simple template for your poster to get you ahead of the curve. But don’t take this template too seriously! In fact, we usually advise against using templates; if everybody starts using them to create the exact same poster, nobody will stand out. It’s your job to make it interesting and fit your needs and limitations.

Poster design checklist

Use the good design checklist from our workshops after you finished the design. If you tick all the boxes, you can be confident that you have created a good poster:

• Is the main message clear at first glance?
• Is there a clear hierarchy in the design?
• Are important points properly emphasized ?
• Is the reading direction clearly indicated?
• Are the texts and visuals easy to understand without extra explanation?
• Does every sentence have a verb?
• Is the meaning of the arrows clear?
• Do all images , icons , and illustrations have a purpose?
• Is the design balanced and consistent in terms of style and color?
• Is the design accessible and inclusive?

Submit your award-winning poster design and inspire others

Are you proud of your poster design? Did it win an award, or do you think it could inspire others? We’re on the lookout for well-designed, original posters to showcase how effective and beautiful poster presentations can be in our hall of fame .

We’d love to feature your work and help inspire the scientific community! Send us your best poster design as a PDF or PPT, along with your name and LinkedIn profile, to [email protected] . Feel free to include a short quote about the feedback and discussions your poster generated, and how you felt presenting it. Your work might be featured, helping others create impactful posters too!

Learn more in our hands-on workshops

Want to learn more about how to create amazing posters? Check out our workshop on Poster presentation & Infographic design .

Are you’re a university communication officer or conference organiser, get in touch to learn about our webinars so we can train your researchers to present their work better.

About the Author: Liesbeth Smit

Search for more scicomm tips:, read more about science communication:.

Write a compelling title about your research

How to write a story from your research: structure for posters & infographics

Tool to create your own data visualisation with icons

Increase the visibility of your research project website and reach your target audience

Find inspiration for your design & create a unique style for your research website

Define the goal & pitch for your poster presentation

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Impact through creative science communication

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Basics of science communication, pitch your research to any audience

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• Jul 11, 2023
• 11 min read

How to deliver an engaging scientific poster presentation: Dos and Don’ts!

You've spent hours meticulously designing an award-winning scientific poster that beautifully showcases your research findings and stands out from the crowd. 🔬🧫

Now it’s time to talk to an actual human being!!

The thought of presenting can be nerve-wracking, and the real challenge lies in simply and effectively communicating your novel research findings.

But fear not!

In this blog, we've got you covered with expert tips and strategies to help you confidently nail your poster presentation. Get ready to conquer your fears and showcase your research with finesse and confidence. ✨

Let’s run through the dos and don’ts of presenting your poster at a conference, ensuring you leave a lasting impression on your audience.

So dive in and discover how to deliver an exceptional poster presentation! 👇

Scientific Poster Presentation Dos:

Ahhh, you made it! 💪

Maybe it felt like a mad dash to the finish line, 🏃‍♀️ or a long time coming. Either way the conference is here. After weeks designing your award-winning poster - picking a cohesive colour scheme , an attention-grabbing font and perfecting the layout , you and your scientific poster are ready to stand out !

But you hadn’t given any thought to the actual presentation, until now…

…Cue freak out!

Poster presentations are the perfect way to showcase your recently published work, to have more intimate conversations with your peers, and to foster collaborations.

So let’s give you a run down to make sure you get off on the right foot.

You can breathe again, you got this! 😮‍💨 💪

Number 1: Start a conversation

Seems simple enough! But the power of a conversation is unparalleled.

So how do you start a conversation with a stranger? And in a loud and busy poster hall?

Well let’s find out.

Once you spot somebody eyeing off your poster, smile at them and allow 5 or so seconds for them to read your title and digest your research topic, before asking them "Would you like me to run you through my poster?". Think of it like window shopping, giving them time to decide whether they are interested and want to know more.

You can also use body language as a great indicator to determine if someone is interested.

For example, if someone beelines to your poster, conference booklet in hand, opened to your conference abstract, it's safe to assume they want to know more. If they barely pause at your poster, and avoid eye contact, that’s okay. Not everyone will be interested in your research!

To set a positive tone, start with a genuine smile and a warm greeting. Don’t forget to introduce yourself. Here are some conversation starters to get you going. 👇

To encourage interaction and foster a meaningful conversation ask open-ended questions.

"Have you encountered similar challenges in your own work?”

"What are your thoughts on this approach?"

Listen attentively and show genuine interest in their response, delving deeper into their perspectives where appropriate.

By having a two-way conversation you are more likely to get valuable input on your research topic and make meaningful connections. 🙌

But to have a successful conversation, you need to know who you are talking to, which leads us to our next point.

Number 2: Tailor your presentation

Once you have lured them in, it's time to provide a concise overview of your research. Keep it brief. Focus on the key point to pique their interest, and tailor your delivery according to their knowledge base.

The key here is to ask more questions.

It is a great idea to gauge your audience's background before you start with your spiel. A great question to start with is “How familiar are you with topic X?”.

Then continue to ask your audience simple yes/no questions interspersed throughout your presentation to further gauge their background knowledge and understanding.

For instance:

Are you familiar with this concept?

Have you heard of X technique before?

Do you know about XYZ?

Once you have an answer you can adjust the level of detail and terminology accordingly. This will help you adapt your explanations and avoid unnecessary complexity or oversimplification.

Some people are interested in the nitty-gritty details of your research and others might only be interested in an overview. Let the conversation guide you!

For example, a professor who has been working in the breast cancer field for 30+ years, will need very minimal background and will comprehend complex concepts, technical jargon and specialised methodologies with very little explanation required.

In contrast, someone that has no prior experience in cancer, or possibly even science, will require a more detailed explanation. Using layman's terms and analogies to simplify complex concepts will ensure a clear understanding.

Remain flexible, be prepared to tailor your delivery to your audience on the spot.

If you are unsure if you are hitting the mark, it is perfectly fine to ask “Is that clear?” or “Feel free to stop me if you are not following.” This way you are encouraging a conversation, and opening up the opportunity for them to ask you questions, rather than just solely presenting information to them.

Even though you are the presenter, don’t think that you should be the only one talking. Good networking looks like a well-balanced conversation between two people exchanging value and ideas.

The entire goal of a poster presentation is to make sure everyone who visits your poster leaves invigorated with a comprehensive understanding of your research, which in turn means they are more likely to remember your work, and remember YOU! 😍

Number 3: Employ storytelling

Research shows that people are more likely to remember information that is presented to them in a narrative form compared to dry facts or statistics. 📊

This is because stories engage multiple regions of the brain and activate sensory and emotional processing, which enhances memory retention.

If you’re a loyal reader of ours, you would know that we love all things storytelling ! 🤩

📖 Stories naturally follow a structure, typically involving a beginning, middle, and end.

Or as Randy Olson prefers to refer to it the And - But - Therefore framework:

‘And’ provides the context (or background if you will).

‘But’ provides drama, hooking in the reader (most likely your knowledge gap)

‘Therefore’ brings your story to a resolution (ie results and conclusions).

By creating a logical flow to your presentation, it makes it easier for your audience to follow along and understand the progression of your research.

To create a memorable story and leave a lasting impression, try sharing personal experiences, challenges, or triumphs, things your audience can relate to which will evoke an emotional connection. 💛

Facts and figures alone are easily forgotten, the approach of storytelling means your audience is more likely to remember long after the presentation is over.

Number 4: Use open body language

Non-verbal language also speaks volumes!

Use your body language to your advantage. Engage with your audience by maintaining eye contact, smiling, and displaying open body language. 🙂 For example:

Exude a confident, relaxed posture. Stand tall with your shoulders back, arms down and face your audience.

Smile. Genuinely. 😉 A fake smile doesn’t have the same warm and welcoming feel. But a genuine smile conveys friendliness and approachability, whilst creating a positive atmosphere. We suggest smiling both whilst your audience is perusing the posters as well as during your presentation.

Use natural gestures. Try to use gestures that complement your words. Point to your poster, use open hands, and purposeful, controlled gestures to emphasise key points or convey enthusiasm.

Maintain eye contact. 👀 Eye contact is a powerful way to establish a connection. It conveys attentiveness and interest. Try using the 50/70 rule. Maintain eye contact for 50 percent of the time while speaking and 70% of the time when listening. This helps to display interest and confidence. 4-5 seconds is the sweet spot. Be mindful of cultural differences, for example many Western cultures tend to value eye contact, but some Eastern ones see it as a form of disrespect. Be perceptive to cues of discomfort.

All of these small things might seem small, but they all add up. The more open you are with your body the more likely you are to have people come up to you and consequently hold their attention for longer during your presentation.

But it’s not just about you, be attentive to others' body language. Notice their gestures, posture, and facial expressions.

Pay attention to these cues, you can gauge their level of engagement, understanding, or potential discomfort. If they lean in, it indicates interest and engagement. If you notice a change in body language or eyes beginning to glaze over, it may indicate confusion or disinterest. 😬

Consider adjusting your content, providing more context, or shifting your body language to create a more comfortable and receptive atmosphere.

Scientific Poster Presentation Don'ts:

So now that we have what to do down pat. ✔️

Lat’s talk about some things to avoid! 🙅‍♂️🚫

Number 1: Try not to overcomplicate

This seems like a simple enough concept.

However, when you are so intimately familiar with a topic, the lines between simple terminology and technical jargon become blurry . You start to forget what words are niche to your topic and unfamiliar to those outside your field. 🙈

While it's important to convey the depth and accuracy of your research, we recommend you always:

Avoid excessive technical jargon

Minimise the use fancy words or writing-style language

Restrict unnecessary detail

Strive for a balance between scientific accuracy and accessibility.

If your research is complicated, analogies and relatable examples are a powerful way to help simplify the complexity — bridging the gap between overtly technical concepts and common knowledge, makes the ideas easier to grasp.

Next, stick to the main ideas. You want to clearly and concisely communicate your key message in just a minute. Identify your main research finding and nut out the real-world applications or implications, these are your main messages! Avoid overwhelming your audience with excessive details or venturing off on irrelevant tangents.

✨ Less is best! ✨

Everyone can understand your explanation when you use simple clear language, but only a small proportion will follow when riddled with technical terms and excessive jargon.

Number 2: Avoid being over-rehearsed

Whilst practising your presentation can provide you with confidence, being over-rehearsed can be a detriment, hindering the flow of conversation and the ability to tailor your presentation.

Your aim is to generate a memorable and genuine conversation. Being over-rehearsed can make your presentation feel robotic, rigid and devoid of authenticity.

Let’s be clear, we absolutely encourage practising. After all, practice makes perfect, but the aim is not to deliver a memorised scripted poster presentation! Save that for the 3MT . 😉

An excessively scripted presentation can ironically lead to increased stress and anxiety, causing you to appear tense and nervous. This is because you feel pressured to deliver a flawless presentation, and a single interruption, deviation or mistake from the rehearsed script can throw you off.

You become fixated on sticking to your rehearsed script, that instead of actively listening, you are preoccupied with remembering your lines. 🙈

As a result your presentation lacks connection, the conversation may feel stiff, if even present, and you may struggle respond naturally to questions, or pivot according to your audiences cues.

Instead of rehearsing a perfectly written script, try practising each section separately.

Familiarise yourself with the story structure, know the key ideas and work on improvisation. Become comfortable with strong introductory sentences to each of your sections, prepare some useful analogies and free flow from there.

This more balanced approach, allows you to:

Feel comfortable discussing your material in any order

Adapt and adjust your delivery based on your audience

Be present in the moment

Deliver a more authentic and flexible presentation

Stay attentive and develop meaningful exchange

So avoid the trap of reciting your perfectly crafted script and learn to improvise and converse! ✨

Number 3: Don't neglect your audience or your poster

We are not talking about maintaining eye contact, asking open-ended questions or paying attention to your audience. 👀❓

We are talking about the most important point… actually being there.

Be present beside your poster for the entire duration of your scheduled session.

An interested collaborator can’t talk to you if you are at the buffet the whole time, a potential employer can’t gauge your interest if you are hanging out at your friends' poster.

Waiting by your poster is crucial!

Now we aren’t saying you can’t grab a bite to eat, or go to the bathroom. But perhaps ask a friend to stand in for your, or better yet ask them to grab you a plate of food.

Came alone to the conference? No problem make friends with the presenter next to you and help each other out! The potential for meaningful connections are endless, make sure you are present!

Remember the advice I got from a big shot professor at my first national conference? It was in our blog Beyond publication: 5 science communication tips to maximise your research impact.

Well it doesn’t have to be you seeking out a connection, you could make a connection with someone who approached you at your poster. 😉

While we are talking about connection, connecting with your poster is almost as important as connecting with your audience!

As you deliver your presentation, point to key parts of your poster, guide your audience through it with you. Your presentation should complement the content on your poster and reinforce your key message(s) . Avoid skipping large sections of your poster, jumping around or talking about data not present on your poster (unless you are answering their question).

Your poster is a visual aid, use it to helps enhance your explanations and reinforce the key ideas with the help of visuals.

By giving attention to both your audience and your poster, you create a balanced and engaging presentation. Prioritising connection, interaction, and clarity to ensure your audience gets the most out of your research.

Number 4: Minimise bad presenting habits

You are so close to delivering an effective poster presentation, now let’s cover some poster presentation traps you want to avoid falling into!

There are lots of small habits you can avoid when presenting that can make the biggest of difference.

Reading directly from your poster 🚫 Try not to read the text verbatim of your poster. Your audience can likely read and therefore your presentation provides no value add. It can also make your delivery monotonous and disengaging for your audience. We recommend a natural conversation instead with explanations beyond what is presented on your poster.

Overuse of filler words 💬 Strive to minimise or eliminate filler words such as "um," "uh," "like," or "you know" from your speech. These words used in excess can detract from your message and make you appear less confident and knowledgeable. Try pausing briefly instead to gather your thoughts. It’s okay to not fill every silence, a meaningful pause allows your audience time to digest the information they just received.

Misdirecting your voice 🗣️ It can be easy to continue talking whilst you are looking at your poster. However, conference poster halls can be loud places, and it can be difficult to hear. When you are looking at your poster you are projecting your voice in the wrong direction, and you are not making eye contact. Instead, allow yourself to pause look at your poster to orient yourself or emphasise a point and then look back at your audience projecting your voice towards them at an appropriate level whilst maintaining eye contact.

Avoid closed body language 🙅‍♂️ So simple and yet for many of us our default stance is a closed posture. Avoid crossing your arms or hunching over. Try not to constantly turn you back to your audience by staring at your poster. These can create barriers and convey a defensive or disinterested attitude. Try open body language which is much more inviting.

Ignoring time constraints ⏳ Showing a lack of consideration for your audiences time can come across as rude. Over explaining or going off on irrelevant tangents are easy traps to fall into. But respecting your audiences time is crucial. They may have several other posters they want to get to, or maybe they need to leave to catch a flight. Practice your presentation to ensure that you can effectively convey your key points within 1-2 minutes. Of course the duration of your spiel can change depending on how much detail our audience is after, there is no one size fits all approach here! Just be mindful of the clock and watch for cues of discomfort. If you are unsure, it’s okay to ask “Would you like to know more about X?”

With these tips you can deliver a more engaging, and confident presentation that leaves a positive and lasting impression on your audience. ✨

BONUS TIP: 😉 Be prepared

Okay here are some bonus tips to level up your delivery:

Keep a pen on hand to quickly note down contact information if someone wants to collaborate or stay in touch.

Poster presentations are the perfect networking tool and business cards are the perfect networking tool, and yet so many researchers don’t have them. We think business cards are a must.

You could have some other handouts , such as are an A5 poster handout, or other memorable tokens like a keychain, or wrist band something related to your research. This will make you stand out and allow your audience to take something physical away from your presentation.

Anticipate and prepare for general questions and potential gaps in your research. Have concise points ready for missing experiments, alternative experimental design choices, and additional research avenues that may arise during discussions.

So there you have it, our top tips for making the best out of your poster session.

Remember, don’t present your poster, present yourself!

The conversation is more important than a perfectly planned speech, and these are not a rigid set of rules to follow, just be yourself. Be approachable, adaptable and engage with your audience through a genuine conversation and enjoy the experience.

Want more tips to nail your poster presentation?

Our online or in-person science communication workshops are perfect!

With a focus on science communication, storytelling , and communication you will hone all these skills and be competent to present your research to both expert and lay audiences. But we need your help by recommending us to your institution!

Here’s what one of our satisfied universities have said about our workshops:

"I submitted my first ever poster at a technical conference and not only received many compliments, but also won two poster prizes! I am sure that I will continue to make good use of all the information for many years to come." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Eleanor Bilogrevic, Australian Wine Research Institute, Australia

If you’re interested in becoming a confident presenter, get in touch with us now!

Related Posts

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How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: A Quick Guide 

Are you looking to make a lasting impression at your next conference or academic event?  Have you ever been in a situation where you had to present a poster presentation for a conference but didn’t know where to start?  Designing a winning poster presentation design can be daunting, especially when you have limited time and resources. But don’t worry, with a little planning and creativity; you can create a poster presentation that will grab your audience’s attention and effectively communicate your message. 

In this blog, we will dive into the world of poster design and provide a quick guide on creating a creative poster presentation design. From choosing the right layout and color scheme to selecting the best images and fonts, we will share examples and templates to help you along the way. 

Are you ready to design a poster presentation that will make an impactful impression? 

Let’s get started!

What is a poster presentation?

A poster presentation is a great way of communicating research, study findings, concepts, and ideas. It is a visual representation of information used to attract the audience’s attention and explain the topic in an easy-to-understand manner. A poster presentation typically consists of a poster and a brief explanation.

The poster should be designed to be visually appealing and include a compelling title slide that will draw the audience’s attention. The content should be organized logically and include a clear message that differentiates it from other posters. 

The text should be concise and written in a large font size to be easily read from a distance. Additionally, the poster should include images, PowerPoint tables , graphs, and other visuals to help illustrate the points made.

The brief explanation should be five minutes long and provide an overview of the poster’s content. The speaker should be friendly and professional and use appropriate language for the audience.

How to make a poster presentation?

Making a poster presentation can be a great way to showcase your research or project, but it can also be a bit overwhelming if you’re unsure where to start. Here are tips for poster presentation that will grab your audience’s attention and effectively communicate your message.

Start with a plan

Before you start designing your poster, it’s essential to have a clear idea of what you wish to achieve. Think about your audience, message, and the key points you want to communicate. Once you have a plan in place, it will be much easier to create a poster presentation PowerPoint that is both visually appealing and informative.

Choose the right layout

The layout of your poster presentation is important as it can affect how easily people can read and understand your information. A good layout with a clear information hierarchy will be easy to read. You can use various fonts, sizes, and colors to emphasize the most important points.

Use images and graphics

A poster presentation full of text can be overwhelming, so it’s important to include images and PowerPoint graphics to break up the text and make it more visually appealing. Make sure to choose relevant images for your topic, which will help to communicate your message.

Use contrasting colors

Choosing the right color scheme is essential for ensuring your poster presentation design is easy to read and engage. Use contrasting colors for the background and text, and ensure that the text is easy to read against the background.

Proofread and edit

Once you’ve finished designing your creative poster presentation, it’s vital to proofread and edit it to ensure there are no mistakes or typos. It’s also a good idea to get feedback from others to see if any changes or improvements can be made.

Creating a creative poster presentation takes a bit of planning, creativity, and attention to detail, but by following these tips, you can design a poster that will engage your audience and effectively communicate your message. Remember, a poster presentation PPT is not just a collection of text and images; it’s a visual tool to communicate your ideas and research.

Tips for Poster Presentation

Creating an appealing poster presentation perfectly captures your audience’s attention and effectively communicates your message. Here are five tips to help you create an effective PowerPoint poster presentation:

Keep it simple

Your poster should be easy to read and understand. Avoid using too many colors or borders, as this can be distracting and look untidy. Use a limited color palette and keep the text concise.

Choose an eye-catching headline

Think of some eye catchy or witty text as your poster’s focal point to grab people’s attention. They will want to look closer if it makes them laugh or piques their curiosity.

Use high-quality photos

You can use pictures to design posters, and choosing high-resolution photos is essential, especially if you print them in large pixels or sizes. Any pixelation or slightly blurred graphics can turn your design into a disaster.

Introduce your poster presentation with a “1 Minute Pitch.”

You don’t want to “give everything away,” so to speak, but rather capture the interest of your audience, introduce yourself and the project, and spark a dialogue.

Add a memorable call to action

Your poster will only be meaningful if it makes the audience act on the message you delivered. Compose a clear call to action to inform them of what to do next. You can add details on where to purchase tickets for event posters in your call to action.

By following these tips, you can create a compelling and creative poster presentation design that will capture your audience’s attention and effectively communicate your message.

Poster Presentation Examples

When creating a creative poster presentation, seeing examples can be a great way to get inspiration and see what works. In this section, we will be showcasing a variety of poster presentation examples that demonstrate different design techniques and styles. 

From scientific research posters to creative projects, these examples will give you a better understanding of how to create a poster that will grab your audience’s attention and effectively communicate your message. 

Wrapping It Up

Creating a creative poster presentation requires careful planning and attention to detail. It is essential to identify the poster’s goal, consider the target audience, decide where to share it, use a pre-made PowerPoint template , pick a relevant or branded color scheme, include a clear call-to-action, and use fonts to create a hierarchy of information. 

Additionally, ensuring the poster has an attractive visual impact, a compelling title, a clear message, cohesiveness, design and readability, storytelling, alignment, margins, and white space is essential. By following these tips, you have access to various ideas for poster presentations that will have a lasting impact.

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Designing and Presenting Effective Posters: A Two-Part Coaching Workshop

Increase your confidence in creating and delivering purpose-driven poster presentations..

PLEASE COMPLETE THIS SURVEY TO BE CONTACTED IF WE OFFER THIS WORKSHOP AGAIN

For a scientific poster to be effective, it must be both well-designed and well-presented. You can increase your poster’s quality by considering key elements of accessible and engaging graphic content, texts, and storytelling for diverse audiences. You can further your poster’s impact by preparing a poster “pitch” that describes your research with clarity and confidence. And through practice, you can hone the conversational skills needed to navigate unpredictable questions and moments, as well as build rapport with your audience.

This two-part workshop combines a curated curriculum of online resources with the opportunity for participants to present two iterations of their poster in a small-group setting. Accepted participants will receive feedback from a scientific communication coach and their peers, benefitting from practical guidance to inform and strengthen the design, preparation, and presentation of their poster. Participants should have a complete poster ready to share and receive feedback on by mid-March.

Accepted participants will:

Part 1: Poster Design

• Submit an initial draft of your poster in mid-March. (Please note that the poster will be printed out to review and discuss during the first session.)
• Complete 2-3 hours of pre-work.
• Participate in the first of two in-person sessions (2 hours) on poster design.

Part 2: Poster Presentation

• Submit an updated version of your poster in mid-April. (Please note that the poster will be printed out to review and discuss during the second session.)
• Participate in the second of two in-person sessions (2 hours) on presenting posters.

Meet the Coach

For nearly three decades Cheryl D. Vaughan, Ph.D., Ed.M. has worked at the intersection of science and education at Harvard University. First managing operations and content development for large introductory courses at Harvard College, Dr. Vaughan went on to Direct the Master’s in Biotechnology Program at the Harvard Extension School. In 2014, she was recruited to design, develop, and deliver the Skills Development Center for the newly funded Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (an initiative of the NHLBI). Since 2016, Dr. Vaughan has served as a speaker and leader in the Poster Presentation session of the long-running Harvard Catalyst course Effectively Communicating Research (ECR). These Poster Presentation coaching sessions were developed as a natural next stage of that educational effort.

Session Dates and Times

We will ask for your availability across these options for this two-part workshop. If accepted, you will attend one of these sets of two dates.

• Option 1: Tuesday, April 2 and May 14 from 10:00am - 12:00pm 
• Option 2: Tuesday, April 2 and May 14 from 1:30pm - 3:30pm
• Option 3: Wednesday, April 3 and May 15 from 3:00pm - 5:00pm

Sessions will be held in person on the Harvard Longwood Medical Area campus. Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access can contact [email protected] in advance of the sessions.

This workshop is free for participants from Harvard-affiliated schools and institutions .

Eligibility

This workshop is open only to Harvard-affiliated schools and institutions . Availability is limited. Participants will be selected at random, based on availability.

We believe that the research community is strengthened by understanding how a number of factors including gender identity, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, religion, national origin, language, disability, and age shape the environment in which we live and work, affect each of our personal identities, and impacts all areas of human health.

• Introduction to Oral Communication
• Prepare for Any Talk
• Elevator Pitches
• Designing and Delivering Effective Flash Talks
• Preparing and Delivering Effective Elevator Pitches

Poster Presentations: Tips and Tricks

By  Carolyn Trietsch

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Carolyn Trietsch recently defended her Ph.D. in entomology at Penn State. You can view her website or follow her on Twitter @carolyntrietsch .

Poster presentations are a staple of academic conferences. They’re a valuable way to share research visually, and it pays to know how to design one well . The good news is, we seem to be living in a time of a new poster renaissance!

There’s been a lot of recent debate about how to create better posters , with Ph.D. student Mike Morrison leading the charge for designing more visually appealing posters that state results clearly .

Here are some other ideas for how you can take your poster presentation to the next level.

Encourage Written Audience Feedback

Poster sessions may only last for an hour or two, but your poster may be displayed for much longer than that. How do you engage and interact with your audience when you’re not there?

Put Post-it notes and pens next to your poster, with a sign encouraging visitors to write down their questions or comments.

You can even add a space directly to your poster for audience comments. When my adviser and I wrote a code of ethics for insect collectors, we wanted to hear what others in our field had to say about it. We split our poster into two halves, with the code of ethics on one half and an empty space for audience comments on the other half (see image above). We presented our poster at that year’s Entomological Society of America meeting in Denver and received many helpful comments from other researchers on how we could improve our code and turn it into a useful classroom resource.

Beyond the QR Code: Videos, Augmented Reality and More

A QR code is a great addition to a poster; you can create a code to link to your website, publications or whatever you want, and anyone who scans the code will be able to instantly access it.

You can take this further with augmented reality apps like HP Reveal (formerly Aurasma) and DAQRI . Using apps like these, you can link pictures on your poster to videos so that when viewers scan them with their phones, it will bring your poster to life with sound and moving images.

Another way to engage your audience when you’re not standing at your poster is to create handouts. For our poster on insect collecting, we printed out pocket-size versions of the code of ethics we had drafted.

I’ve also seen some researchers print out postcard-size versions of their poster so that attendees could take a copy of the poster with them. Many researchers will also leave business cards in a pocket or folder at the bottom of their poster so that researchers can get in touch with them.

Giving Permission (or not) for Photography and Social Media

When you’re presenting your research publicly, there’s a good chance that someone is going to take a picture of it. Make it clear to your audience members whether they are allowed to take pictures of your poster and share on social media (or not) by including “no photography/social media” or “photography/social media allowed” (see the social media guidelines here for examples).

In the future, conferences might provide these icons as stickers that presenters could add to their posters, but until then, it’s best to either print these as fliers to display around your poster or add the icons directly to your poster.

Printing on Fabric

Printing and transporting paper posters can be cumbersome, especially if you’re traveling by plane. One way to avoid the hassle is by printing your poster on fabric -- t his way, you can fold your poster up and pack it in your bag rather than having to lug a poster tube around the airport or conference hall. It’s also much harder to rip fabric than paper, so there’s less worry when hanging up and taking down your poster.

Printing on fabric can be expensive, so this might be a better option for posters you will display multiple times. But it can be worth the money if you don’t have to purchase a poster tube or pay extra airline fees for bringing it on the plane.

Proactive Printing: Plan Ahead!

Whether you print on fabric or paper, try to print your poster ahead of time in case there are any problems. I had a few colleagues print a poster at the conference hall to save time, only to end up with a poster that was a quarter of the size. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to reprint the poster and had to present the miniature version.

Some print shops can only print up to a certain size and will have larger posters printed at a central location or third party and shipped to you. This can take more time, so plan ahead -- make sure your print shop can handle larger jobs, and print your poster early so you can deal with any mishaps that arise.

Also, don’t forget to plan how you will hang your poster. Bring extra pushpins and/or Velcro. Even if you don’t need it in the end, there’s sure to be someone else there who will -- and be sure to help out your neighbors!

Sharing Your Poster After the Conference

You don’t have to stop sharing your poster just because the conference is over. You can publish your poster online in an open-access data repository like figshare , which gives your poster a unique digital object identifier (DOI) that you can use to cite your work. You can also upload your poster to your institutional repository (Penn State uses ScholarSphere ) or websites like ResearchGate so you can continue to share it with the research community after the conference is over.

As for your physical poster, don’t just throw it in the trash after the conference. If you have any bare walls in your lab or office space, old posters make great decorations and conversation starters. Many departments will also display posters to show what their students are accomplishing, so if the walls in your building are looking empty, talk to your department head and see what you can do about it.

In addition to the ideas above, there is one place you should always share your poster after the conference -- on your CV. This is valuable public speaking experience that you should not overlook, especially after all the time and effort you spent designing your poster and presenting your research. Don’t ever sell yourself short.

Do you have any other ideas for how to take poster presentations to the next level and make them pop? What was the best poster presentation you ever saw? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

A special thanks to Shelby Kilpatrick for her insightful comments and contributions to this post.

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What is a poster presentation? 10 rules that you should follow for a good poster presentation

by Daniel Zaldumbide | Dec 19, 2018 | Poster Tips | 0 comments

In this post, we are going to talk about what is a  poster presentation  and the 10 basic rules we must follow to make a good  poster presentation.

What is a poster presentation?

A poster presentation is something that helps you advertise any project you want to. It combines text and graphics to present the project in a different way. It is visually interesting and accessible. A  poster presentation  allows you to display your work to a large group of scholars, so you can talk about it and receive feedback from all the interested viewers.

10 rules for a good poster presentation

Down below, we are going to list and talk about the  10 most important rules  we must follow to make a good poster presentation.

Rule 1: Define the Purpose of your Poster Presentation

The purpose of a poster presentation will vary depending on the work. Every project has a different status, nature or intent. Some  posters designs  are intended to be used once and again. For instance, those  posters  which make that the audience of a conference is aware of a shared resource. Other  scientific posters  will be probably used just once at a conference and then they will be relegated to a wall in a laboratory.

Before you start preparing your poster presentation, ask yourself these questions: What do you want people to do when they look at your  poster ? Engaging in a debate about its content? Learning about the topic and encourage them to go and try to do something similar by themselves? Do you want them to collaborate? All the above? None of the above? Anything else? The  poster design  and its style should be made according to your needs.

Rule 2: Sell your work in a short time

There will be hundreds or thousands of posters at some conferences so you will need to push for people’s attention. The first impression of your poster is of utmost importance. One of the approaches is to raise your work as addressing a decisive question. Then you will address that question the best you can. Once you have raised the question, which may also be the motivation for the study, the focus of your poster should be on giving an answer to your question clearly and concisely.

Rule 3: The title of your Poster Presentation is important

The title is always a nice way to sell your project. It is probably the only thing that the people at the conference see before they reach your poster . The title of your work should be an invitation for them to come and visit it. The title has the capability to raise a decisive question, define the scope of the study , or hint at a new finding.

There is something extremely important to take into account, and it is that the title should be short and comprehensible to a wide and diverse audience. Your  poster title must be like a newspaper headline—short, sharp, and compelling.

Rule 4: Poster acceptance means nothing

Do not take the acceptance of a  poster  as an endorsement of your work. Conferences need that their attendants are financially solvent. Many of the attendants who are there on grants cannot attend a conference unless they are there presenting their projects. There is a small number of speaking slots compared with the number of attendants. How can we solve the dilemma? Introducing  posters — so this way, everyone can present their projects. In other words, your  poster  has not been endorsed, just accepted. To get the endorsement from your partners, you must do good science and present it well on  a good   poster .

Rule 5: Many of the rules for writing a good poster apply to posters, too

Identify your public and provide them with the appropriate scope and depth of content . If the conference includes a non-specialist audience, you must cater them properly. Just as the abstract of a paper needs to be a succinct summary of the motivation, and the hypothesis needs to be tested, so does your poster.

Rule 6: Good poster have unique features not pertinent to papers

The amount of material presented in a paper is so much more than what is presented on a poster. A good poster requires you to synthesize the work, without losing the message or the logical flow. Posters need to be viewed from a distance, but you can take many advantages of their presence. Posters can be used to provide supplementary information or used as a distribution medium for copies of associated papers. Posters allow you to be more analytical.

Usually, only the titles or, at best, the abstracts of posters can be considered published, which means widely distributed. Probably, most of them may never be seen again. There is an opportunity to say more than what you would say in the traditional literature, which for all intents and purposes will be part of the immutable record. Take advantage of these unique features.

Rule 7: Layout and formal are critical

As a  poster maker , your canvas is a white space. You must guide the passerby’s eyes from one succinct frame to another in a logical way from the beginning to the end. Unlike the literature, which is linear by virtue of one page following another, the reader of a poster is free to wander over the pages as if they are tacked to  the poster board  in a random order.

You are the poster maker, so guide the reader with arrows, numbering, or whatever else you want that makes sense in getting them to move from one logical step to another. Try to do this guiding in an unusual and eye-catching way. Look for appropriate poster layouts in the posters of others and adopt some of their approaches. Finally, never use less than a size 24-point font, and make sure the main points can be read at eye level.

Rule 8: Content is important, but keep it concise

Everything on the poster should help convey the message . The text must conform to the norms of sound scientific reporting: clarity, the precision of expression, and economy of words. The last one is particularly important for posters because of their inherent space limitations. Use of the first-rate pictorial material to illustrate a poster can sometimes transform what would otherwise be a bewildering mass of complex data into a coherent and convincing story.

One carefully produced chart or graph often says more than hundreds of words. Use graphics for “clear portrayal of complexity”, not to impress (and possibly bewilder) viewers with complex artistry. Allow a figure to be viewed in both a superficial and a detailed way. For instance, a large table might have bolds waths of color indicating relative contributions from different categories, and the smaller text in the table would provide gritty details for those who want them.

Likewise, a graph could provide a bold trend line (with its interpretation clearly and concisely stated) and have many detailed points with error bars. Have a clear and obvious set of conclusions—after the abstract, this is where the passerby’s eyes will wander. Only then will they go to the results, followed by the methods.

Rule 9: Posters should have your personality

A poster is a different channel from a paper, which is conventionally dry and impersonal. You must think of your poster as an extension of your personality. Use it to draw the passerby, to take a closer look or to talk to you. Scientific collaboration often starts for other reasons further than the shared scientific interest , such as a personal interest. A photo of you on the  poster not only helps people to find you at the conference but also to illustrate a hobby or an interest that could help to start a conversation.

Rule 10: The impact of a poster presentation happens both during and after the poster session

All the efforts made to get a good poster could be in vain if you do not take care of every detail the day of the presentation. That is really important so that the poster can achieve the maximum impact. This requires the right interaction between the presenter and the audience .

You must work to be engaging and get a crowd. Once a viewer is engaged, the rest of the viewers will be engaged too. Don’t interrupt the visitors, let them read. You need to be ready with the second rule. Work all the audience at once, do not leave visitors waiting for your attention, and remember to make eye contact with people .

Then, make it easy for the attendants to contact you afterward. It is very important that you have copies of relevant papers on hand as well as copies of the poster on standard-sized paper . For more mature work, you must have the poster online and make the URL available as a handout. You also must have your e-mail and other demographics clearly displayed and follow up with people who come to the poster by having a signup sheet.

The visitors are more likely to remember you than the content of your poster. Make yourself easy to remember. As the host of the work presented on the poster, you should be attentive, open, curious, and self-confident , but never arrogant or aggressive.

Leave the visitors time and space — they can “travel” through your poster at their own discretion and pace. If a visitor asks a question, talk simply and openly about the work. This is probably your opportunity to get feedback on the work before it goes to publication. It is better to be tripped up in front of your  poster  than by a reviewer of the manuscript.

Good posters  and their  presentations  can improve your reputation, both within and outside your working group and institution, and they may also contribute to a certain scientific freedom.  Poster prizes  count when your partners look at your resume.

We hope that our post about the presentation of a poster has liked you and that it will help you to prepare some good presentations in the future. If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact us . We will be happy to help you at all times.

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How to Create a Research Poster

• Poster Basics
• Design Tips
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What is a Research Poster?

Posters are widely used in the academic community, and most conferences include poster presentations in their program.  Research posters summarize information or research concisely and attractively to help publicize it and generate discussion. 

The poster is usually a mixture of a brief text mixed with tables, graphs, pictures, and other presentation formats. At a conference, the researcher stands by the poster display while other participants can come and view the presentation and interact with the author.

What Makes a Good Poster?

• Important information should be readable from about 10 feet away
• Title is short and draws interest
• Word count of about 300 to 800 words
• Text is clear and to the point
• Use of bullets, numbering, and headlines make it easy to read
• Effective use of graphics, color and fonts
• Consistent and clean layout
• Includes acknowledgments, your name and institutional affiliation

A Sample of a Well Designed Poster

View this poster example in a web browser .  

Image credit: Poster Session Tips by [email protected], via Penn State

Where do I begin?

Answer these three questions:.

• What is the most important/interesting/astounding finding from my research project?
• How can I visually share my research with conference attendees? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, images?
• What kind of information can I convey during my talk that will complement my poster?

What software can I use to make a poster?

A popular, easy-to-use option. It is part of Microsoft Office package and is available on the library computers in rooms LC337 and LC336. ( Advice for creating a poster with PowerPoint ).

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign

Feature-rich professional software that is good for posters including lots of high-resolution images, but they are more complex and expensive.  NYU Faculty, Staff, and Students can access and download the Adobe Creative Suite .

Open Source Alternatives 

• OpenOffice is the free alternative to MS Office (Impress is its PowerPoint alternative).
• Inkscape and Gimp are alternatives to Adobe products.
• For charts and diagrams try Gliffy or Lovely Charts .
• A complete list of free graphics software .

A Sample of a Poorly Designed Poster

View this bad poster example in a browser.

Image Credit: Critique by Better Posters

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Ten Simple Rules for a Good Poster Presentation

Posters are a key component of communicating your science and an important element in a successful scientific career. Posters, while delivering the same high-quality science, offer a different medium from either oral presentations [ 1 ] or published papers [ 2 ], and should be treated accordingly. Posters should be considered a snapshot of your work intended to engage colleagues in a dialog about the work, or, if you are not present, to be a summary that will encourage the reader to want to learn more. Many a lifelong collaboration [ 3 ] has begun in front of a poster board. Here are ten simple rules for maximizing the return on the time-consuming process of preparing and presenting an effective poster.

The purpose will vary depending on the status and nature of the work being presented, as well as the intent. Some posters are designed to be used again and again; for example, those making conference attendees aware of a shared resource. Others will likely be used once at a conference and then be relegated to the wall in the laboratory. Before you start preparing the poster, ask yourself the following questions: What do you want the person passing by your poster to do? Engage in a discussion about the content? Learn enough to go off and want to try something for themselves? Want to collaborate? All the above, or none of the above but something else? Style your poster accordingly.

Rule 2: Sell Your Work in Ten Seconds

Some conferences will present hundreds of posters; you will need to fight for attention. The first impressions of your poster, and to a lesser extent what you might say when standing in front of it, are crucial. It is analogous to being in an elevator and having a few seconds to peak someone's interest before they get off. The sad truth is that you have to sell your work. One approach is to pose your work as addressing a decisive question, which you then address as best you can. Once you have posed the question, which may well also be the motivation for the study, the focus of your poster should be on addressing that question in a clear and concise way.

The title is a good way to sell your work. It may be the only thing the conference attendee sees before they reach your poster. The title should make them want to come and visit. The title might pose a decisive question, define the scope of the study, or hint at a new finding. Above all, the title should be short and comprehensible to a broad audience. The title is your equivalent of a newspaper headline—short, sharp, and compelling.

Do not take the acceptance of a poster as an endorsement of your work. Conferences need attendees to be financially viable. Many attendees who are there on grants cannot justify attending a conference unless they present. There are a small number of speaking slots compared with attendees. How to solve the dilemma? Enter posters; this way everyone can present. In other words, your poster has not been endorsed, just accepted. To get endorsement from your peers, do good science and present it well on the poster.

Identify your audience and provide the appropriate scope and depth of content. If the conference includes nonspecialists, cater to them. Just as the abstract of a paper needs to be a succinct summary of the motivation, hypothesis to be tested, major results, and conclusions, so does your poster.

The amount of material presented in a paper far outweighs what is presented on a poster. A poster requires you to distill the work, yet not lose the message or the logical flow. Posters need to be viewed from a distance, but can take advantage of your presence. Posters can be used as a distribution medium for copies of associated papers, supplementary information, and other handouts. Posters allow you to be more speculative. Often only the titles or at most the abstracts of posters can be considered published; that is, widely distributed. Mostly, they may never be seen again. There is the opportunity to say more than you would in the traditional literature, which for all intents and purposes will be part of the immutable record. Take advantage of these unique features.

Pop musician Keith Richards put the matter well in an interview with Der Spiegel [ 4 ]: “If you are a painter, then the most important thing is the bare canvas. A good painter will never cover all the space but will always leave some blank. My canvas is silence.” Your canvas as poster presenter is also white space. Guide the passerby's eyes from one succinct frame to another in a logical fashion from beginning to end. Unlike the literature, which is linear by virtue of one page following another, the reader of a poster is free to wander over the pages as if they are tacked to the poster board in a random order. Guide the reader with arrows, numbering, or whatever else makes sense in getting them to move from one logical step to another. Try to do this guiding in an unusual and eye-catching way. Look for appropriate layouts in the posters of others and adopt some of their approaches. Finally, never use less than a size 24 point font, and make sure the main points can be read at eye level.

Everything on the poster should help convey the message. The text must conform to the norms of sound scientific reporting: clarity, precision of expression, and economy of words. The latter is particularly important for posters because of their inherent space limitations. Use of first-rate pictorial material to illustrate a poster can sometimes transform what would otherwise be a bewildering mass of complex data into a coherent and convincing story. One carefully produced chart or graph often says more than hundreds of words. Use graphics for “clear portrayal of complexity” [ 5 ], not to impress (and possibly bewilder) viewers with complex artistry. Allow a figure to be viewed in both a superficial and a detailed way. For example, a large table might have bold swaths of color indicating relative contributions from different categories, and the smaller text in the table would provide gritty details for those who want them. Likewise, a graph could provide a bold trend line (with its interpretation clearly and concisely stated), and also have many detailed points with error bars. Have a clear and obvious set of conclusions—after the abstract, this is where the passerby's eyes will wander. Only then will they go to the results, followed by the methods.

A poster is a different medium from a paper, which is conventionally dry and impersonal. Think of your poster as an extension of your personality. Use it to draw the passerby to take a closer look or to want to talk to you. Scientific collaboration often starts for reasons other than the shared scientific interest, such as a personal interest. A photo of you on the poster not only helps someone find you at the conference when you are not at the poster, it can also be used to illustrate a hobby or an interest that can open a conversation.

When the considerable effort of making a poster is done, do not blow it on presentation day by failing to have the poster achieve maximum impact. This requires the right presenter–audience interaction. Work to get a crowd by being engaging; one engaged viewer will attract others. Don't badger people, let them read. Be ready with Rule 2. Work all the audience at once, do not leave visitors waiting for your attention. Make eye contact with every visitor.

Make it easy for a conference attendee to contact you afterward. Have copies of relevant papers on hand as well as copies of the poster on standard-sized paper. For work that is more mature, have the poster online and make the URL available as a handout. Have your e-mail and other demographics clearly displayed. Follow up with people who come to the poster by having a signup sheet.

The visitor is more likely to remember you than the content of your poster. Make yourself easy to remember. As the host of the work presented on the poster, be attentive, open, and curious, and self-confident but never arrogant and aggressive. Leave the visitors space and time—they can “travel” through your poster at their own discretion and pace. If a visitor asks a question, talk simply and openly about the work. This is likely your opportunity to get feedback on the work before it goes to publication. Better to be tripped up in front of your poster than by a reviewer of the manuscript.

Good posters and their presentations can improve your reputation, both within and outside your working group and institution, and may also contribute to a certain scientific freedom. Poster prizes count when peers look at your resume.

These ten rules will hopefully help you in preparing better posters. For a more humorous view on what not to do in preparing a poster, see [ 6 ], and for further information, including the opportunity to practice your German, see [ 7 ]. 

Acknowledgments

Thomas Erren's contributions to this piece are based on [ 7 ] and were stimulated by exchanges with Michael Jacobsen. Thanks also to Steven E. Brenner for useful input.

Thomas C. Erren is with the Institute and Policlinic for Occupational and Social Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Cologne, Lindenthal, Germany. Philip E. Bourne is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America.

Funding. The authors received no specific funding for this article.

Competing interests. The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

• Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLoS Comput Biol. 2007; 3 :e77. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030077 . [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for getting published. PLoS Comput Biol. 2005; 1 :e57. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.0010057 . [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Vicens Q, Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for a successful collaboration. PLoS Comput Biol. 2007; 3 :e44. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030044 . [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Interview with Keith Richards. Meine Leinwand ist die Stille. Der Spiegel. 1998; 45 :167–170. [ Google Scholar ]
• Tufte ER. The visual display of quantitative information. Cheshire (Connecticut): Graphics Press; 2001. p. 191. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wolcott TG. Mortal sins in poster presentations or how to give the poster no one remembers. Newsletter Soc Integr Compar Biol Fall. 1997. pp. 10–11. Available: http://www.sicb.org/newsletters/fa97nl/sicb/poster.html . Accessed 23 April 2007.
• Erren TC. Schau mich an! Ein Leitfaden zur Erstellung und Präsentation von Postern in der Medizin und den Naturwissenschaften. München/Wien/New York: W. Zuckschwerdt Verlag; 2006. [ Google Scholar ]

How-To Geek

How to make a poster using microsoft powerpoint.

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Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs, Sheets, Slides: Which Is Best?

6 reasons to install windows on a steam deck, the 8 best netflix features you're probably not using, quick links, define the poster dimensions, design your poster.

Microsoft PowerPoint isn't just for presentations---it also provides all of the creative tools you need to design a beautiful poster. Just set the dimensions, design the poster, and print it out. Here's how to make a poster using PowerPoint.

Posters come in all sizes, but the first thing you need to know is PowerPoint's slide limit is 56-inches x 56-inches, so you'll need to plan accordingly. It's also important to note that you want to set your poster dimensions before you start designing your poster. Otherwise, you might end up having to rework parts of your design due to the size change.

Related: How to Reduce the File Size of a PowerPoint Presentation

Here are some of the standard poster sizes to get you started:

• Small poster: 11" x 17"
• Medium poster: 18" x 24"
• Large posters: 24" x 36" or 27" x 39"

Once you've decided on your poster size, set the dimensions in PowerPoint. To do this, open PowerPoint and navigate to the "Design" tab.

In the "Customize" group, select "Slide Size."

Select "Custom Slide Size" from the dropdown menu.

The "Slide Size" window will appear. Input the width and height specifications to match your required size. Keep in mind that if your height is larger in size than your width, the orientation of the slide will automatically change to "Portrait."

When you're finished, select "OK."

Once selected, a new window will appear giving you two scaling options: Maximize or Ensure Fit. If your slide already has content on it, you'll want to select "Ensure Fit."

Your slide will now be resized.

Your poster design is going to depend completely on you. You'll want to pay attention to the background of the poster, text and image arrangement, font size and style, etc. Essentially, you should treat this part exactly as if you were just creating another slide for a presentation.

Because the design and process of this step is going to differ for everyone, we'd like to offer some of our previous guides to get you started in the design process:

• Insert a picture or other object.
• Use an image as a background.
• Insert an image inside text.
• Get a picture behind text.
• Make a border or frame.

Once your design is ready, all that's left to do is print it out and hang it up!

Related: How to Troubleshoot Printing Issues in Microsoft Word

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft PowerPoint

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40 color schemes built-in to every research poster template

Five reasons to print your poster with us >, professionally designed research poster templates.

QUICK FIND POSTER TEMPLATES American standard poster sizes (inches) 
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 91x122 | 70x100 | 100x140 | 100x100 | 100x200 | A0 | A1 | Virtual IMPORTANT Check the requirements of your conference before you download and work on a poster template. If you need further assistance, our phone support is available and free. We are here to provide the best service you can ask for.

Step-by-Step Tutorials

This series of short videos and animated tutorials will walk you through the research poster-making process, answering the most common questions along the way.

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Free powerpoint poster templates for research poster presentations.

Poster template design: Aragon Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold  | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design: Beaumont Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold  | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Newfield Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold |  Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Winchester Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Lockwood Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Kensington Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Stone A new, simplified concept for better poster design Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download A0 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Marquee Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Winston Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download A0 ► View Samples    ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Chamberlain Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Forrest Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

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Ready to use out of the box. Great solution for tabletop 36x48 Trifold poster presentations. Price includes printing, mounting and free Ground FedEx shipping.

Poster Font Size Checker

A convenient way to visualize what size the text will be on your printed poster.  Wondering how big the fonts will be on your poster? Download and print this PDF on your desktop printer.

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Click here to choose from over 350 easy to copy and use ALT code symbols.

Fabric Research Posters

Say goodbye to poster tubes with a professional fabric poster you can pack in your luggage! With our crease-resistant EasyTravel™ fabric your presentation will look professional, sharp, and will pack nicely in your carry-on.

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Join our free service designed to help you coordinate your group’s poster orders, get discounted rates and customized special features not normally available for standard orders.

Links to university corporate identity (Logo) pages

List of corporate identity pages where you can download university logos to use with your poster presentation. Help your fellow researchers. Good quality logos for use in printed research posters  are difficult to find online. If you have a link to the identity page of your university, email it to us and we will add it to our list for others to use.

UC Berkeley Texas A&M UCLA Columbia Medical Center Stanford University

Adelphi University Duke University UPENN Bradley University ENMU

UNC Chapel Hill Northwestern University Magnet recognition Seal  Howard University University of Houston

Drexel University Carlow University UNLV UNR UFL

TUFTS George Mason U. St. Scholastica College Mount Royal University Penn State

Yale University University of Wisconsin SD School of Mines USC GATECH

STARTER POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATES

Standard size research poster templates in inches use these starter poster templates as a starting point for your own poster designs, thumbnails of posters are shown in proportion to each others’ sizes based on a 48 inch (height) x 96 inch (width) display area, 36” tall x 48” wide
.

STARTER 36x48 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE The 36x48 scientific poster template size is one of the smaller sizes and also one of the most common. It is very suitable for scientific posters with low to moderate amount of text and graphics. The 36x48 research poster template can also be printed at the following sizes without distortion or any necessary adjustments: 36x48 (Standard), 42x56, 48x64, 30x40

Trifold (tabletop)

STARTER    TRIFOLD POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE These free PowerPoint poster templates are designed for a standard 3x4 foot poster presentation to be mounted on a standard Trifold poster board. This research poster template should be printed only at the following size: 36x48 (Standard Trifold) This poster template is for a standard Trifold board presentation. You can use it with poster boards available at office-supply stores or our professional ready-to-use Trifold poster presentation product. Are you looking for a larger MonsterBoard template? Use this PowerPoint MonsterBoard template.

36” Tall x 56” Wide

STARTER    36x56 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x4.5 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 36x56 (Standard), 42x65.3, 48x74.6

36” Tall x 60” Wide

STARTER 36x60 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x5 foot poster presentation. This is also one of the standard sizes. It is used mostly when the height of the presentation board is only three feet and there is more content to present that can fit in a 48x36 poster.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 36x60 (Standard), 42x70, 48x80

36” Tall x 72” Wide


STARTER    36x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x6 foot poster presentation. The same as the above scientific poster template, only wider by a foot. Again, it depends on how much content you need to present.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 36x72 (Standard), 42x84, 48x96

36” Tall x 96” Wide

STARTER    36x96 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x8 foot poster presentation. 
It’s the widest one you can use on a three foot tall presentation board. It has five columns.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 96x36 (Standard), 24x64

42” Tall x 60” Wide

STARTER    42x60 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.5x5 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 42x60 (Standard), 36x51.42, 48x68.57

42” Tall x 72” Wide

STARTER    42x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.5x6 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 42x72 (Standard), 36x61.70, 48x82.28

42” Tall x 90” Wide

STARTER 42x90 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.5x7.5 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a large size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
42x90 (Standard), 36x77.14, 44x94.28

44” Tall x 44” Wide

STARTER 44x44 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.7 x 3.7 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium size poster. It is suitable for many poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate amounts of content.
 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 44x44 (Standard), 36x36, 42x42, 48x48

48” Tall x 72” Wide

STARTER 48x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 4x6 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium/large size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content. 
This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 48x72 (Standard), 24x36, 42x63

48” Tall x 48” Wide

STARTER    48x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 4x4 foot poster presentation. This scientific poster template is a good size for limited available spaces without compromising room for content.

 This research poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 48x48 (Standard), 36x36, 24x24, 42x42

48” Tall x 96” Wide

STARTER    48x96 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 4x8 foot poster presentation. This poster template is for the largest size poster usually allowed in conferences.

It can accommodate a lot of content. You can use this template if you also have a large number of photos, tables, charts, and text.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 48x96 (Standard), 24x48, 42x84, 36x72

40” Tall x 30” Wide

STARTER    40x30 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 40x30 inch poster presentation. This vertical poster template can accommodate a moderate amount of content. It can accommodate several photos, tables, charts, and a decent amount of text. This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 40x30 (Standard), 48x36, 56x42

Free PowerPoint poster templates in metric sizes (cm) for international poster conferences

Thumbnails of posters are shown in proportion to each others’ sizes based on a 200 cm (height) x 100 cm (width) display area, 91 wide x 122 tall.

STARTER    91cmX122cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 91 cm by 122 cm scientific poster presentation for international poster sessions. This PowerPoint poster template is essentially a vertical version of a standard 48x36 inch poster presentation. 

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 91 cm x122 cm (Standard 36x48 inches), 76x102 cm

70 Wide x 100 Tall

STARTER 70cmX100cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 70 cm by 100 cm scientific poster presentation for international poster sessions. This PowerPoint poster template is for a small size poster poster presentation commonly used at international conferences.

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 70 cm x100 cm (Standard 27.5x39.37 inches), 100x143 cm

100 Wide x 140 Tall

STARTER    100cmX140cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 100 cm by 140 cm scientific poster presentation for international poster sessions. This PowerPoint poster template is for a small size poster poster presentation commonly used at international conferences.

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 100 cm x140 cm (Standard 39.37x55.12 inches)

1 Meter x 1 Meter

STARTER    100cmX100cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 1 meter by 1 meter scientific poster presentation for international or domestic poster sessions. This template is commonly required at the Keystone Symposia research poster conferences.

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 100 cm x 100 cm (Standard 39 x 39 inches). Any square size up to 121 x 121 cm

100 Wide x 200 Tall

STARTER    100cmX200cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 1 meter by 2 meter scientific poster presentation for international or domestic poster sessions.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 100 cm x 200 cm (Standard 39 x 78 inches)

STARTER A0 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric A0 scientific poster presentation at a 841mm x 1189mm size for international or domestic poster sessions. This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 46.81 inches x 33.11 inches

STARTER    A1 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric A1 scientific poster presentation at a 594mm x 841mm poster size for international or domestic poster sessions. This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 23.39 inches x 33.11 inches

VIRTUAL POSTER PRESENTATION

STARTER    POSTER TEMPLATES These free PowerPoint poster templates are designed for screen presentations at virtual meetings Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio)

Virtual poster sessions for conferences and meetings of all sizes

If you are a meeting organizer we can help you set up a virtual poster session, free yourself from managing poster submissions and provide your meeting's attendees with a versatile presentation platform that will meet all your requirements.

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Free Editable Poster Presentation Examples

Poster presentations are a popular presentation format for research and clinical findings. These presentations effectively communicate the research data and concepts to the audience using a balanced combination of visuals and text. We will also look into a few poster presentation examples to see how they help communicate with the audience perceptively and concisely.

1. What is a Poster Presentation?

A poster presentation is a short, concise yet clear way of communicating your research, study findings, concepts, and ideas. There are two most critical elements in any poster presentation example: a poster and a brief explanation.

Creating a poster presentation starts with analyzing and evaluating information or synthesizing ideas to present all necessary data and facts. The properties of an effective poster presentation are:

• The flow of information is well-organized and easy to follow.
• The text is easy to read, as a large font is used, and the information is not cluttered.
• Allows to convert to a mind map or a timeline diagram from the Gantt chart
• The balanced use of visuals, text, colors, and graphics makes the poster presentation attractive without losing its functionality.

2. The Poster Presentation Examples

Poster presentations include a part of the information from the research paper or the main text. So, it is crucial to pick the right amount and type of information, which is part of the analysis phase. Let us review some poster presentation examples to understand the salient features of well-made poster presentations.

Example 1: Nursing Poster Presentation Example

This nursing poster presentation example shows a nursing research paper's findings in a well-organized manner. It uses columns and rows to break down the information into different segments to make the text more readable. It also uses graphics, including graphs, bars, and charts, to show the relevant data and figures.

You can see that the flow of the information is very smooth and very understandable. The audience can quickly go to the section they want to read without skimming through the information for the required text.

Example 2: Medical Poster Presentation Example

The medical poster presentation example presented here is the perfect sample to product the summary of a medical research paper in organized and readable layout. It is a clinical case study with learning objective and case presentation. The case presentation also includes an image placeholder to explain the problem more clearly. The other important section in this poster presentation example are nutritional intervention, topic discussion and references.

Example 3: Research Poster Example

This editable research poster example is an excellent tool for any project team to produce their findings and information. The format is straightforward because it breaks down information into many sections. You can quickly put in the relevant information in every section without formatting issues. The title contains the logo, poster title, and author information. The later areas include project introduction, goals, and description. The central section presents the evaluation strategy, findings, and reference literature. We have the conclusion and implication, acknowledgment, and contact information in the concluding paragraph.

Example 4: App Poster Presentation Example

This app poster presentation example also deals with health behavior theory analysis. You can take inspiration from this template and show your research findings using this research poster example. It combines text and visuals to present the data and information attractively and effectively. It makes efficient use of tables to deliver the data, while some graphics and charts are also used to give information in an easy-to-understand manner.

Example 5: Scientific Poster Presentation Example

This scientific poster presentation example is a template focused on presenting the summary of research in an easily readable format. The template starts with a logo and introduction to the study, and a list of authors. The later parts include abstract, introduction, results, discussion, and other relevant sections. Another distinguishing feature of this poster presentation example is the detailed guidelines presented in each area. So, even a beginner can create an effective poster presentation using this template and guidelines.

Example 6: Psychology Poster Presentation Example

This document's psychology poster presentation example shows a scientific poster that produces the relevant information in a very effective and well-organized layout. The layout is immaculate yet collects a good amount of data without clutter. You can see a pie chart and a lot of bullet text. The central part of this research paper example is exciting. It has two parts, each with a circle in the center and four sections. It gives inspiration for presenting a large amount of text interestingly.

Source: EdrawMax Online

Example 7: Science Poster Presentation Example

This science poster presentation example uses columns to divide the content into manageable parts. The content division makes it easy to read, easy to edit, and makes going to specific information straightforward. Colorful headings and background color make this template attractive without distracting the flow of information and losing focus on the text.

Example 8: Good Poster Presentation Example

A good poster presentation example must be editable, well laid out, well organized, and guidelines for the poster presentations. The main sections are an introduction, method, results, conclusions, and bibliography. This example can also see placeholders for charts, graphs, and figures. The use of the right size of the font, proper text format, and proper use of graphics makes any poster presentation an excellent tool for communication.

Example 9: Mathematics Poster Presentation Example

Mathematics poster presentation examples are based on graphs, charts, and maps to show the statistics, mathematical functions, and data. Mathematicians need less amount of text and rely more on data presentations. This example shows how to include numerous charts and graphs in one poster presentation without losing any value in information and readability. It uses classic blue and a good size font for the contained text.

3. Online Scientific Poster Maker

A poster presentation example must present the information and data in an engaging, readable, and attractive layout. It is essential to communicate your important information effectively without losing anything to the structure. An online scientific poster maker is a tool that allows you to create scientific posters in less time and with all essential elements. EdrawMax Online is a great candidate for your best scientific poster maker because it has an easy-to-use editor, great font and layout toolkit, and an excellent collection of templates. You can use the professionally made scientific poster templates for inspiration and a quick start. These templates are fully customizable, so you can add your text and graphics to create an attractive scientific poster. Also, you can import your data easily with a few clicks and export your poster in many file formats.

4. Key Takeaways

Scientific posters and poster presentation examples are more complex than other posters because their information needs to be accurate and complete. Also, the text, data, and graphics must be visible even from a distance. Therefore, an excellent scientific poster maker like EdrawMax allows you to create a perfect poster presentation easily and quickly. A good choice of charts, graphs, and data representation also contributes towards a more effective poster presentation. You cam find more science diagrams or poster presentations in the Templates Community .

Related Articles

The best poster designs: 56 inspiring examples

Our pick of the most eye-catching poster designs, from classics to modern posters from film, advertising, art and politics.

Modern poster designs

Classic poster designs.

The best poster designs can be a fantastic source of creative inspiration. Despite the shift to digital formats, the poster remains a powerful medium through which designers can communicate and provoke. And when they hit the right mark, they're a joy to look at.

Posters as a means of communication really took off through advertising and promotional posters way back in the 1870s. Initially, poster designs were black and white and largely text-based, but the introduction of Jules Cheret's three-stone lithographic printing process in around 1880 allowed artists to start developing striking, colourful designs. 

On this page, we've gathered a selection of our favourite poster designs, including both commercial projects and indie posters, from classics that still inspire today to more modern designs and including some of the best film posters . For more stunning advertisements, see our roundup of the best billboard advertising , and to upgrade your own design setup, see our pick of the best graphic design software .

We'll start with some inspiring contemporary poster designs. If you're more interested in classics, skip to the best classic poster designs.

01. Your Name film poster

Many fil posters are printed on both sides with a mirrored image to prevent them from looking washed out on lightboxes. This clever poster design for the Japanese anime film Your Name makes a twist on that idea, with different designs printed on each side. When it's held up to the light, the two designs merge to create a full picture. But it's more than just a trick for cleverness's sake; the design perfectly communicates the theme of the film, in which a teenage girl and boy start to swap bodies.

Posters don't always need to be flat. Matt Chase makes clever use of opening advent calendar-like doors on his cosmo poster to comment on "Secrets and the delicate art of selective disclosure." The Washington DC-based graphic designer has several playful poster designs.

03. Back to the Future

It can be hard to find new angles for something that's already been the subject of tons of posters, but DKNG found one with their Back to the Future poster for Mondo. The poster focuses on the DeLorean time machine like many that came before it, but it zooms in closer on the detail through the gull-wing doors and throws in a few easter eggs. The neon 80’s colour palette sets the perfect mood.

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04. Go Vote

Posters usually aim to get attention, and this poster certainly achieves that. Based on Barack Obama's phrase "Don't boo, vote", it promoted voting in the 2016 US elections with a simple minimalist concept that the eye can't ignore. The poster was designed by San Francisco-based graphic designer and illustrator Viet Huynh

05. Coffee Facts

Infographics have become hugely popular for use in media in order to present a ton of data in a visually appealing, easily digestible way, but they've also become popular for posters, as demonstrated in this presentation of coffee facts by ONO Creates , a must for any caffeine-addict.

06. Lost & Found by Alva Skog

Swedish illustrator Alva Skog created this vibrant poster for a commission by Lost & Found market – a big vintage market in Barcelona. Skog was asked to create images of a man and a woman drinking Estrella beer and wearing something they had bought at the market. Her response was to draw the characters so you can't tell which is the man and which is the woman. 

The bright block colours are deliberately chosen because Skog feels that colours can feel gendered. "I try to find a balance between the pinks, blues and greens in my work," she told Computer Arts. 

The message lies in the detail, says Skog. "The addition of painted nails and a ring on one character, as well as earrings and what could be interpreted as a more feminine-looking top on the other, make it difficult to distinguish whether either whether either is male or female."

07. Fatih Hardal

Fatih Hardal is a graphic and type designer who is inspired by Swiss designers and designs from the past. This selection of posters includes work created for the Typografische Monatsblätter (a journal that celebrates Swiss typography), plus typographic experiments printed on transparent paper using silkscreen. 

08. Alisa Bay by Purple Creative

This eye-catching poster was created for Alisa Bay, an unconventional distillery operated by chemists. The company uses technology to assess the chemical properties of the whisky and then machinery generates data related to the process. Purple Creative used this data to create generative art for the visual identity.

"We loved the idea that distillery data could be reinterpreted as generative art and was able to capture the essence and personality of Ailsa Bay, which is scientific, technical but also creative," said Gary Westlake, founding partner and creative director at Purple Creative.

"It’s been an exciting creative challenge for us. We’ve had to learn a lot about algorithms and responsive code, but hopefully the imagery and dynamic applications have been worth all the hard work!"

Zag created a striking campaign for the British Stammering Association that seeks to improve public understanding and perception of the condition. The organisation itself has also been renamed Stamma in a bid to reach people who stammer earlier in their lives.

The poster design is centred on the written phrase 'I stammer', which is stretched in places to represent the pauses that occur across various designs, including posters. The spaces are filled with the thoughts and frustrations that often go through the mind of someone who stammers during these moments. The aim is to correct common misconceptions, such as the idea that people stammer because they’re nervous.

10. Rock the Farm

This poster design is included for its innovative approach to typeface and branding. Created by Shoptalk for Chase Distillery, which produces gin and vodka created from produce grown on its Herefordshire farm, the campaign focuses on the potato. In fact, the custom typography was made using potato prints.

"At Chase Distillery, everything starts with the humble spud, so we felt it was important that the new brand and identity did too," says James Wood, Shoptalk's co-founder and creative director. "We took inspiration from the stencilled potato crates, jute sacks and enamelled signs that can be found on Chase Farm, and devised a unique typeface using potato carving."

The potato prints were refined digitally to create the spud sans typeface for use on posters, lanyards, digital platforms, promotional material and wayfaring signage. We're also fans of the collage-effect imagery and use of white space. 

11. Sometimes Always

Sometimes Always , a graphic design studio based between São Paulo and Berlin, recently unveiled a striking series of posters for São Paulo fashion boutique Cotton Project’s AW 2019 collection, named Contra. Studio founder Gabriel Finotti says the collection "explores the counterculture spirit behind the rise of surfing and rock climbing" – sports that he states have "questioned a conservative and consumerist society" through participating in more "libertarian and hedonistic lifestyle" pursuits since the 1950s. The images use only black and white, with a typographic focus alongside imagery shot by Brazilian photographer and director Hick Duarte.

Gabriel adds that the aesthetic draws on a "magical moment" in the history of the sports: "a golden age" defined by neither money nor social status but "driven by a group of young people living on the edge of society, questioning morals and venturing into the unknown."

12. Mother Design for AIGA

Creative agency Mother Design was challenged with creating the visual materials for the annual gathering of America’s leading design association, AIGA, at a point in time when the organisation has undertaken a new vision to become a hub for broader creative constituencies. A vibrant poster series was a particular highlight.

“Our design solution became a metaphor for the organisation and annual conference itself: evolving over time and embracing the beautiful, messy and sometimes unexpected ways that people and ideas come together in one place,” explains creative director Jason Miller. 

“Conceptually, the AIGA ‘cube’ represented a magnetic centre of gravity, drawing design disciplines together,” Miller continues, “while dimensionalising and fostering all kinds of inspiring interactions and collisions along the way.”

13. This is Pacifica for Surf City Festival

Make Waves is a series of three-dimensional posters on silk paper with fibreglass coating (shown close up in the article's hero image), created by communication agency This is Pacifica for the international Surf City Festival held in Barcelona. 

The process of creating the posters was similar to that of building a surfboard. “To shape the posters, a professional surfboard shaper was invited to create a series of structured casts that allowed him to shape each poster with different waveforms and volumes, transforming a graphic piece that is usually flat into a poster with three-dimensional waves,” explains This is Pacifica creative director Pedro Serrão.

Overall, he describes the collection as “a formal piece of design and the spirit of surf together in a singular and human representation of the sea.”

14. Annik Troxler for Jazz Festival Willisau

Swiss designer Annik Troxler created the visual identity for the 2018 Jazz Festival Willisau, and her poster designs combine playfulness with a strict coherence and attention to functionality. 

In developing her design vocabulary for this project, Troxler referred to the systems of rhythms and forms in music, creating shapes and typographic elements. Troxler’s intention was to make movement ‘visible’ by using a simple device: circle elements rotating with and against each other on different layers of the surface. 

The design identity began with an accident. “As I zoomed in on an area a ‘pixel pattern’ appeared. I immediately knew that I wanted to make something out of it using varying densities, brightnesses and typography,“ explains Troxler.

Annik Troxler’s works are usually vibrant and colourful, but for this identity, she chose black and white with silver accents. “I think the shapes and patterns have more impact in black and white – but when I added silver to the silkscreen, it gave the image the elegance of reflective light.”

15. Superunion for Shakespeare's Globe

The 2018 radical rebrand of Shakespeare's Globe resulted in some bold poster design. The entire poster series is deceptively complex in its striking simplicity. The 20 sided symbol, used on each of the posters in a different way, represents the shape of the Globe itself, and was physically made from a rubbing of the original wood. 

There are reasons for the choice of colour scheme and typeface too. To find out more about the inspiration for the brand strategy see our piece on How Superunion modernised Shakespeare's Globe . This Hamlet poster is our favourite because of how it brings the classic symbol of the skull bang up to date, using the Globe's new logo to create a tribal theme that reflects the diversity of the director's interpretation.

16. Pronomade(s)

The design team Helmo – Thomas Couderc and Clément Vauchez – created this dramatic series of posters for a fashion event at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris. The concept is centred on the idea of animal instinct versus fashion instinct. The posters were displayed on a huge scale, over the windows and dome of the store.

17. Knochenbox gig poster

Music venues don’t get much more indie or experimental than Knochenbox in Berlin – it occupies a crypt under a chapel. It’s fitting, then, that this gig poster also steps away from the norm. The limited-edition screenprint poster is the work of Palefroi , Berlin-based French design duo Damien Tran and Marion Jdanoff. 

"Palefroi produced a screenprint with the meandering line, splotchy composition and eccentric digressions of an art print,” commented acclaimed design writer Rick Poynor, in an article for Computer Arts magazine . "This is a playfully indirect communication from the subcultural fringes for musicians who command a small but intensely loyal following.”

19. Noise x GIF Fest identity

Noise x GIF Fest is Singapore’s biggest GIF festival. When it came to crafting the event’s loud identity, local studio BÜRO UFHO realised the design would need to work as both a static piece of print as well as an animation. “It was pretty much set from the start that the poster would have to be an animated GIF,” laughs BÜRO UFHO creative director Jun T. 

The team created 13 different logo variations, which, when played as a sequence, create an illusion of movement. Meanwhile, textures move across the event’s poster to produce a sense of depth and animation. “We also constructed the face in 3D,” adds Jun T, “resulting in a looping GIF poster that’s in line with the theme and concept.”

19. Solo: A Star Wars Story

This teaser poster was one in a series of four designed to tantalise fans looking forward to the upcoming Star Wars movie all about Hans Solo. Masking visuals inside the typographic titles is an effective treatment, with each poster showing a different character. However, like much to do with the production of this film, the teaser poster release didn't run smoothly. It wasn't long before someone spotted an uncanny resemblance to a range of Sony Music France album covers released in 2015, and a plagiarism scandal swiftly followed.

20. Ready Player One

Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One was a retro sci-fi extravaganza, and we're including this design as an example of the floating heads genre done well. The movie poster mirrors the film's aesthetic, with a vintage style that draws on the works of legendary poster illustrator Drew Struzan – of Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars fame.

19. Thor: Ragnarok

The official Thor: Ragnarok poster design was warmly received by designers and fans alike, thanks to its refreshing and sophisticated visuals, and some cool typography that harks back to 1980s gaming (for more on this, take a look at our article on typographic trends in Marvel logos ). A psychedelic masterpiece, the poster harmoniously positions key characters to build a sense of excitement around the film. This poster design is a masterclass in how to use the Photoshopped approach without descending into messy chaos.

22. The Evil Dead

Illustrator Olly Moss is well known for his clever, minimalistic poster designs. As well as this officially licensed screenprinted poster for a 2010 screening of The Evil Dead, he’s also created posters for the Harry Potter posters, The Jungle Book, Star Wars Trilogy and more.

23. Stranger Things 

One of 2016's biggest TV events, Stranger Things came out of nowhere and grabbed everyone's attention thanks to its gripping supernatural story and pitch-perfect retro stylings, and Kyle Lambert 's stunning poster was a vital part of the whole package. Briefed to create a 1980s-style poster reminiscent of classic, hand-painted movie artwork, he created this using an iPad Pro and Procreate. You can read about his process here .

24. Ford adaptive poster

Created by Ogilvy & Mather Istanbul (now Ogilvy ), Ford's clever 'adaptive poster' was used to promote the company's new adaptive lighting technology. Using an optical illusion, the poster was designed to allow people to experience its Adaptive Front Lighting System that reacts to steering input when going round corners.

As the viewer moves around the multi-layered poster, the perspective shifts and allows the viewer to 'see' round the corner. It was launched in authorised Ford dealers and certain locations around Europe – and you can see how it was done in the video above.

Released in 2015, Iris is a documentary film celebrating the life of fashion icon Iris Apfel, and this poster by Gravillis Inc is one of the best we've seen. Iris herself appears in black and white, while a vibrant patterned background showcases her love of fashion. A clever and original concept that doesn't disappoint in the style stakes.

26. Maze Runner: Scorch Trials

Another film that didn't set the movie world alight was 2015's sci-fi offering Maze Runner: Scorch Trials. While the creators did release some more typical poster designs, the public was also treated to this more left-field design, which makes clever use of negative space . The lab flask shape is a nod to the movie's plot, while the bold use of red in the central strip intensifies the feeling of heat in the scene.

27. Green Man

Gig posters are an arena in which graphic designers can really indulge their passion for both art and music. So, it's always a delight to see music festivals and designers coming together to produce something incredibly special; that's exactly what Green Man festival and the UK Poster Association have done here.

"The festival asked us to create a series of limited edition prints for some of the acts playing at the festival," explains designer Luke Drozd . "Eight acts were chosen in total, and they show the diversity of acts that are playing the festival as well as the diversity of talent exhibiting at the UKPA stall. Each poster was created as a limited edition A2 screen print."

28. It Follows

Everyone knows that making a character stare directly out of a movie poster is a sure-fire way to grab the attention of passers-by. Brilliantly illustrated by Akiko Stehrenberger , this poster for 2014 horror hit It Follows ramps up the intensity by framing the figure's eyes in the reflection of a car windscreen mirror. Stehrenberger has crafted posters for a huge range of indie and commercial releases, and it's easy to see why he's in such demand.

29. The Lobster

Who couldn't stop and stare at this one? An unconventional poster design for an unconventional film, artist Vasilis Marmatakis has captured the characters embracing empty silhouettes of each other. Marmatakis has also crafted the titles for Dogtooth as well as working on a range of other movie posters.

30. 1,462 Days of Trump

Donald Trump is president of the USA. When Trump was elected, Kurt McGhee calculated that a four-year term is 1,462 days, and he created this poster to ram that fact home and to give you some minimal therapy as you cross off every day that passes. "It may not seem that long until you see that amount of time in days," he says. "No matter who it is, a lot can go wrong in 1,462 days."

31. Vintage Heroes

Comic book lover and avid gamer Grégoire Guillemin often creates superhero inspired designs and these minimalist vintage posters have hit the right spot when it comes to inspirational graphic design.

The likes of Batman, the Green Hornet and the Silver Surfer are all included in the retro re-imaginings. The gorgeous typography teamed with the brilliantly sketched superhero illustrations have had us falling head over heels for the series.

32. Call Me Lucky

We love it when illustration is given centre stage with movie posters and this one for 'Call Me Lucky' is an absolute delight to look at. Contrasting a minimal colour palette with an intricate execution, the design was conjured up by Vodka Creative, with Jesse Vital taking care of the artwork itself.

33. Barack Obama 'Hope' poster

With his roots in the skateboarding scene, South Carolina-born graphic designer and illustrator Shepard Fairey built a name for himself with his 'Andre the Giant' guerrilla sticker campaigns – but it was his involvement in the 2008 US Presidential election that really catapulted him towards global recognition.

Fairey's now-iconic Barack Obama 'Hope' poster, featuring a four-colour portrait of the then-Senator in red, beige, light and dark blue, also came in 'Change' and 'Progress' versions, and was created in a day. Having started life as a screen-printed poster (which sold out almost immediately), the design spread virally across the United States and the rest of the world as a symbol of what American politics could become.

The revelation the following year that Fairey had based the design on a photograph by Associated Press photographer Mannie Garcia without permission – and later admitted to destroying evidence in the ensuing legal battle with AP – led to community service and a hefty fine. Amongst designers, it's now as much a symbol of copyright infringement as it is a piece of political iconography. But whatever the circumstances of its creation, its influence during the election campaign was enormous.

34. Godzilla X Kong poster designs

They weren't the main posters for the film, but we loved these Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire character posters . Part of Legendary's presence at the CCXP convention in São Paulo, Brazil, there are three in the series: Godzilla, Kong, and Skar King, the villain of the film. The designs show the face of each monster framed within one of its own footprints. Some fans were intrigued by one particular feature in the Godzilla poster, not having noted before that Legendary Godzilla only has 4 fingers (see our piece on the history of Godzilla character design ).

35. The Lure of the Underground

The iconic branding of the London Underground began early in the 20th century when, with dwindling passenger numbers and a shaky public view of the dirty subterranean rail system, Frank Pick saw a need to step up the self-promotion of the tube. Pick totally overhauled the way the Underground marketed itself, even holding public exhibitions of the art produced for Underground advertisement. The result has been that tube posters offer a wonderful reflection of the changing face of graphic design and emerging artistic styles over the last century.

The Lure of the Underground was created by comic strip illustrator Alfred Leete in 1927.  We love this example for the individual characters and 1920s styling.

36. 1923 Bauhaus Exhibition in Weimar

Joost Schmidt’s now iconic poster for the 1923 Bauhaus Exhibition shows a cross comprised of circles and squares, and includes the Bauhaus logo designed by Oskar Schlemmer.

Produced for a competition, the poster had to incorporate the logo, exhibition information, venue details and the date. Schmidt was one of the pioneers of Bauhaus typography, and the original version of this poster was placed in 120 railway stations in Germany.

37. Mass Non-Violent Direct Action

November 17 2011 was an international day of action organised two months after the first Occupy Wall Street demonstration. R. Black ’s poster for the event includes a single protester coming forward from the massed ranks – a callback to the Chinese man who blocked the path of a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989. 

“Like many effective protest posters, R. Black’s blocky, constructivist design for Occupy has the stridency and urgency of a brick lobbed through a window,” says Rick Poynor. This memorable poster is all over the internet and, as with many images of this kind, it is far more likely that it was viewed on a laptop or tablet than encountered as a print.”

38. Metropolis

German graphic artist and painter Heinz Schulz-Neudamm designed this art-deco poster for the premiere of Fritz Lang's groundbreaking 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis. Only four known surviving copies of the poster exist, one of which took the record for being the most expensive ever sold, after reaching a record price of £398,000 in London in 2005.

39. Lord Kitchener Wants You 

This hugely influential 1914 advertisement by Alfred Leete – often referred to as 'Britons Wants You' – became an icon of the enlistment frenzy in Britain during WWI. The poster features Lord Kitchener, the British secretary of state for war, above the words “wants you”, and set the tone for hundreds of copycat posters the world over.

Russian constructivist Alexander Rodchenko experimented with graphic design after retiring from painting. Books combines photography and graphic design, and Rodchenko’s depiction of immediate communication is characteristic of official Soviet art of the period, which sought the best method of conveying the messages of the Communist state to the masses.

41. Le Chat Noir

Perhaps one of the most well known posters of all time, this iconic advertisement for the Parisian entertainment establishment, Le Chat Noir, was created by Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker, Théophile Steinlen.

It epitimises the Bohemian, Art Nouveau style and Cabaret culture of late nineteenth century Paris that stemmed from the legendary venue, which, in its heyday, served as an artist salon, music hall and busy nightclub.

42. Dubonnet

French artist and typographer A.M. Cassandre became famous for his commercial poster designs in the 1920s and 30s. Notably, he was one of the first to create posters designed for those passing by in vehicles. Perhaps his most well-known work was for wine company Dubonnet. 

The poster shown here is a particular favourite of Turner Duckworth founder Bruce Duckworth, and the one that began his poster collection when he purchased a super-sized 1952 second edition version in New York in the late 1990s. 

“I’d hankered after the poster since I was a student at Kingston Polytechnic,” he says. “You can’t beat the graphic impact of a massive poster! I have breakfast sitting under it every day, and I’ll never tire of it – every element of it is beautifully crafted and fully considered. Of all my possessions, I’d grab this on the way out if my house caught fire.”

43. We Can Do It!

Perhaps one of the most iconic images of the 20th Century, American graphic designer, J. Howard Miller's beloved Rosie the Riveter was designed to boost morale in during WW2. This poster is still used today and re-modelled on everything from modern feminist texts to tattoos as well as spawning numerous parodies. His bold, modern illustrative style, mirrors the comic books popular at the time and defined an era of advertising.

44. Moulin Rouge

This poster design for the Moulin Rouge is another by French artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec . When the cabaret opened, Lautrec was commissioned to create a series of posters, with this design being one of his most well known. The piece features images of Moulin Rouge dancer La Goulue and her partner Valentin le Desosse. Lautrec captured La Goulue's provocative kicks and Valentin's lanky frame perfectly in this design.

American artist David Klein designed and illustrated dozens of posters for Howard Hughes’ Trans World Airlines (TWA) during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, this stunning TWA poster of New York City became part of the permanent collection of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in NYC.

In many of Klein's designs, he used bright colours and shapes in an abstract style to depict famous landmarks and scenes of cities around the world. Best known for his influential work in the field of travel advertising, Klein's iconic images are much imitated.

Illustrator and designer Peter Stults published a set of retro poster designs with a twist. His awesome 'What if' series explores what if movies we're all familiar with were made with a different slice of time? Who would be in it and direct it?

Our favourite was this Drive poster, with James Dean as the lead male role. Other designs include alternate posters for Pulp Fiction, Groundhog Day, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

47. Harper's

It's impossible to talk about American poster design without mentioning graphic artist Edward Penfield . Often referred to as a master of graphic design, it was during a school exhibition that Penfield's work was first noticed by the art editor of Harper's Magazine, the company that he went go on to create no less than 75 poster designs for.

48. Berlin 1936 Olympic Games

The 1936 Games was dominated by propaganda, as Hitler grasped the opportunity to promote the Nazi line of Aryan racial superiority. Thankfully, the black athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals and made Hitler look pretty stupid. We can't deny, however, that the poster designed by Franz Würbel was brilliant, showcasing one of Berlin's most iconic landmarks. It made the Führer happy it seems, after 44 of Germany's finest artists had failed.

49. Absinthe Robette

In the late 19th Century, the popularity of Absinthe coincided with the increase of large lithographic advertising posters as a commercial and artistic medium. Some of the greatest artists of that period created posters for the alcoholic beverage, including Belgian posterist Henri Privat-Livemont, who illustrated this iconic Art Nouveau Absinthe Robette image in 1895.

50. Monaco 75

This striking design for the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix was created by talented artist Michael Turner . With minimal type, Turner let his illustration do all the talking, using a vibrant and eye-catching colour palette, the car takes centre stage with the beautiful destination of Monaco in the background.

51. Die Gute Form

The Swiss graphic designer Armin Hofmann was one of the leading figures in the International Typographic Style, also known as the Swiss style, which emerged as the dominant style in poster design after World War II. The use of bold sans serif typefaces and monochrome in this poster is typical of the movement's philosophy of creating striking but clear communication in what was becoming a globalised world.

52. The NeverEnding Story

Today, it's easy to see photos of the characters being montaged together, much like the posters for The Lord of the Rings films. But where would be the fun in that? Renato Casaro , who painted over 1,500 posters during his career, including those for The NeverEnding Story, believes that without the hand of an artist, today's posters are often devoid of that touch of magic.

A striking poster even has the power to launch a new symbol into the international vocabulary. Ken Garland's poster for a march from Trafalgar Square, London, to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston took Gerald Holtom's original design of a symbol for the British nuclear disarmament movement, and made it simpler and bolder, contributing to the expansion of its use internationally. Holtom's original design took the semaphore shapes for the letters N and D, standing for 'nuclear disarmament' (see our article on the unknown stories behind everyday icons ).

54. Vertigo

Bass created entire identities for movies, contributing to the whole look and feel of the release by producing a package of materials including title sequences. He produced four posters for Hitchcock's 1958 classic Vertigo, but this is the one that's most remembered. The two figures falling into the warped hypotrochoid curves reflects the vertiginous atmosphre of the film.

55. Air New Zealand

When Air New Zealand celebrated its 75th birthday, the company dug out some of its best poster designs. The posters provide a history of the developments in aviation, as they move from advertising solent flying boats (which flew a maximum of 36 lucky passengers at a time) to modern 737s.

The vibrant Technicolor design provides an interesting contrast with modern advertisement methods – a clear reflection of how things have changed in the last 75 years.

Inspired? See the best prices on Adobe 's Creative Cloud package if you need to upgrade your software for your own poster designs.

56. The original Star Wars poster

This Tom Jung poster for the original Star Wars film is another classic movie poster. It's not his best known (see our pick of the best Star Wars posters ) but we think it was the most original and evocative design. The asymmetric composition is unsual for a movie poster, arresting our attention, and the illustration encapsulates George Lucas's intention of combining sci-fi, fantasy and adventure. The beefy Luke Skywalker and Princess Leah look like they've walked out of a swords and sorcery flick. Conan the Barbarian anyone?

Some content was originally published in Computer Arts magazine. For more inspiration see our pick of the best print ads . And to hone your skills, see our roundup of Illustrator tutorials .

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Rosie Hilder is Creative Bloq's Deputy Editor. After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016. Since then, she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts, 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. In 2018, she joined Creative Bloq, where she now assists with the daily management of the site, including growing the site's reach, getting involved in events, such as judging the Brand Impact Awards, and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can. 

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Blog Marketing How to Make a Poster in 10 Steps (2024 Poster Design Guide + Templates)

How to Make a Poster in 10 Steps (2024 Poster Design Guide + Templates)

Written by: Sara McGuire Jan 21, 2024

Posters are one of the oldest, most tried-and-true types of marketing collateral. Posters are an effective way to draw attention to your sales, events, fundraisers and more.

While there is no one right way to make a poster , there are still poster design best practices that you should follow.

So we decided to take it upon ourselves to write the ultimate, most in-depth poster design guide out there. If you want to learn how to design a poster from scratch (or with our professionally designed poster templates ), you’re in the right place.

These poster design tips can be applied to virtually any poster you design. So let’s get into it!

How to design a poster from scratch

Creating a poster from scratch can be a fun and enriching experience. Whether you’re crafting a school project to impress your teacher, using one to promote an event or simply presenting information in an engaging way, posters offer a unique opportunity to express yourself visually and share your message effectively.

This step-by-step guide will equip you with the tools and techniques to make your own compelling poster:

• Identify the goal of your poster
• Consider your target audience
• Decide where to share your poster
• Select a professional poster template
• Pick a relevant or branded color scheme 
• Include a clear call to action
• Use fonts to create a hierarchy of information
• Use icons to visualize concepts and grab attention 
• Add high-quality images & stock photos
• Download & export in the right format

How to design posters for different occasions

1. identify the goal of your poster.

The most important step in the poster creation process is to understand why you are creating this type of promotional material in the first place.

Is it because of advertising purposes for a new product? To grab the audience’s attention about a concert in the area? To highlight important details about a campaign? Or even just because there’s a sale coming up? All of these are goals that an ad maker and some engaging poster templates can help you achieve.

If you think about your main goals from the beginning, you can use those goals to guide your choices like a professional designer would.

For example, if the goal of your poster is to invite your community to a fundraising event , then your poster should be designed strategically to help you achieve this goal. A common rule for written communication is that simplicity wins.

Take a look at another fundraising event poster :

Just so you know, some of our poster templates are free to use and some require a small monthly fee. Sign-up is always free, as is access to Venngage’s online drag-and-drop editor.

Now, if you’re looking for information posters for your fundraising event, here’s another example you can keep in mind:

CUSTOMIZE THIS POSTER TEMPLATE

Start with a goal and plan your custom poster around it. 

2. Consider your target audience 

Next, you should consider who you are trying to reach with your poster. Answering this question will probably remind you of all the important details you should highlight while you make your poster.

For example, say you’re advertising an event for women’s rights like below:

Now compare it to this other design below:

The goal and audience on each of these templates are different and both designs will appeal to distinct groups of people. Make sure you have decided exactly who you want to appeal to, before jumping into your online poster creator tool and starting your creation process.

A perk of these eye-catching posters is that we can see inclusive visuals, maximalist elements and bold shapes — which happen to be some of this year’s biggest graphic design trends .

Also, remember that you can make multiple posters that cater to different customer personas . You don’t have to use one for every type of customer! 

3. Decide where you want to share your poster

The final thing you should determine to save time — before designing your poster — is where it will be shared. 

Would you like to hang it up on a wall? Or just share it with your followers on social media so they can leave comments and send it to other friends? 

It’s important to decide where you want your poster to be seen before you start working on your online poster maker. This is because, as you will see below, optimizing a poster properly for print is slightly different than for Twitter or Facebook. 

Optimize your poster for print 

You probably have an idea of where you’re going to share your poster. Where you decide to pin it up can help you make a few design decisions. 

If you’re planning on printing out your poster, there are some basic guidelines you should keep in mind.

Visualize where you will pin up your poster

If it’s going on a wall with a bunch of other movie posters though , print your poster in a larger size so it will stand out:

But if it’s going on a relatively bare wall, print it in a smaller size and pin up a bunch of them to then create posters with a larger footprint like the minimalist poster templates below:

If you’re looking for more ideas to present your findings effectively, search through our selection of scientific poster templates .

Select a standard paper size

Unless you want to create a big poster background, you probably don’t want to spend money on getting it printed. You can print it yourself by simply designing your custom poster to fit the standard ISO A1-A5 printer paper.

With Venngage you can magically resize any of our poster templates into Letter, A3, A4, A5 and any custom dimensions with a few clicks. First, click on the page size tab on the top left and then select what size you would like: 

The page resize option will also reformat your poster content to fit the new size you select — if you want it to. This simple feature will save you a TON of time in the long run, so be sure to try it out. 

You’re more than welcome to manually resize your poster the old-fashioned way, by updating the page size: 

You can also set the size of your poster background in Pixels, Inches, or Centimeters as well. 

That said, for most of the posters that you’re going to print out, it’s best to use the preset sizes. This will ensure that your printer can actually print out a beautiful poster.

above, there’s now a white border added to your design. This is — you guessed it — the bleed marks! 

Optimize your poster for social media.

There are fewer restraints when designing a poster for web than for print. This is a great opportunity to do something really fun with your design. Still, there are some guidelines you should follow.  

If you want your poster to look really good on social media, size it for the specific platform you’re promoting it on . You may want to make a couple of different versions of your poster for different platforms.

Remember, a square or portrait orientation looks best for mobile viewing. People are used to scrolling up and down on mobile, rather than side to side.

These are the ideal dimensions for each of the big social media platforms:

• Facebook : 1200 x 630 pixels
• X ( Twitter) : 1200 x 675 pixels for landscape images, 900 x 900 pixels for square images and 506 x 253 pixels for 2:1 aspect ratio images.
• Instagram : 1080px by 1080px at a 1:1 aspect ratio. For landscape posts, use an image that is 1080px by 566px, with an aspect ratio of 1.91:1.
• Pinterest : You have more wiggle room here for length, but try to use a ratio of 2:3 to 1:3.5. 

If you’re creating an advertisement poster for Twitter or Facebook, banners generally fit better on their newsfeeds. In that case, landscape orientation is fine.

Or if you’re looking for awareness campaign poster ideas to share on a Pinterest board:

4. Start with a professional poster template 

You don’t need to hire professional designers to create powerful poster backgrounds. Designing your own poster might sound intimidating but with Venngage’s free poster maker , you can make an engaging poster online — for business, virtual events, scientific facts, and much more.

A poster template will give you a foundation to create your own poster stand, your own design.

Start by picking a template that will help communicate the goal of your poster. Look for templates that reflect your poster’s theme or have the right layout you’re looking for. 

Here are some things to keep in mind when picking a poster template :

• Look for a poster template with a layout that fits your vision and goals (ex. header placement, image placeholders, icons and more).
• Pick a poster sample with the right dimensions for where you will be sharing your poster (ex. on a wall, on Facebook, in an email marketing campaign, etc).
• Remember that you can always  customize your templates  if there are aspects of the design that you don’t like.

For example, if you want to create a poster for your job fair, you would want to focus on the location, date, and jobs available:

However, if you’re creating information posters to raise knowledge and awareness about an important holiday or event:

If you’re creating an advertisement poster to promote a sale, the discount and date are probably should be the most eye-catching parts of your poster:

As you can see, these are all great poster templates, but each example is designed to help you achieve a unique goal. So just make sure you are picking a template that fits your goal and you will save a ton of time. 

Now if you want to learn how to create an event poster, business poster, sales poster and more, jump to the last section. There you will find a more in-depth guide on creating a killer poster. 

5. Pick a relevant or branded color scheme 

One of the first things that someone will probably notice about your poster is the color scheme.

In most cases, the appropriate color scheme will be obvious. So try not to overthink it! 

For example, if you’re creating a poster for a winter event, then a color scheme of warm green, red, and white will evoke the feeling of the holidays.

If your company has strict brand guidelines you need to follow, then you can incorporate your brand colors into your custom posters.

Now if you want to use your brand colors on any of our poster templates, just click the My Brand Kit tab on the left side of the screen: 

Then click one of your branded colors to add them to any poster template:

Click the palette again to change where the branded colors are used:

With a few clicks, you can create a ton of variations of your poster, like so: 

However, if you’re still struggling to come up with a relevant color scheme, take a look at the meanings and emotions of each color. 

The color blue is usually associated with wisdom, trust, and loyalty. Use this color palette on a business, event, or marketing poster to make it feel very professional: 

Green is associated with energy, the environment, and tranquility. It would make sense to use a green color combination on a nonprofit or fundraising poster, like below:

Red is associated with strength, courage, and joy. It also is super eye-catching, which you can see in the minimalist but stunning poster below:

As you can see, color theory should help you pick the right color palette in no time. Now if you’re not sure where to start when it comes to pairing colors, a color scheme generator tool like Coolors can be helpful.

6. Include a clear call-to-action

Once you have someone’s attention, you need to make it very clear what their next steps are to help. This is commonly known as a Call-To-Action (CTA). 

Every poster, no matter the topic or type, should have a CTA. Otherwise, what is the point of creating a poster in the first place?

In this marketing poster template, the CTA is the “ Register Online ” at the bottom:

The designer made sure this CTA would stand out from the rest of the poster by highlighting it in blue and using a unique font.

Additionally, they made the CTA very simple to follow. You don’t want to make your CTA a chore, especially if your poster wants them to visit a website.

The same can be said about this fitness poster template:

But in this example, the creator of this poster made the CTA stand out even more!

As you can see these CTAs are both near the bottom of the poster. This is on purpose and allows the reader to get more information before taking action:

Can you imagine if the first thing you read on a poster was CTA? It would be very confusing and probably make you ignore the rest of the poster.

Not all CTAs require the reader to visit a website, call a business or make a purchase immediately.

That action may be as simple as telling their friends about what they learned on the poster. Or about when a garage sale happens to be: 

The call to action on this poster is actually the entire black section of the poster. The top section informs the reader and the bottom helps them take an action. 

In this case, the action is visiting the garage sale, but it still is a CTA. Without it, no one would know what this poster was trying to get them to do. 

7. Use fonts to create a hierarchy of information

What information you choose to include on your poster will depend on the goal of your poster. 

But if you’re creating a fairly standard poster, it’s best practice to follow a hierarchy of information.

For example, if you are creating an event poster the information on your eye-catching posters should be read in this order:

• The name of your event.
• The date and time of your event.
• A short description of the event or a catchy tagline.
• The location of your event (if you choose to include it).
• A simple call to action like a website, social media page or contact number.
• The name of your company, department, organization, etc.

As you can see in this event poster design, the designer used a handful of different fonts to organize the information: 

The title of the event obviously uses the largest font, because it will hopefully catch someone’s attention. It also will give the reader context for the other information on the poster. 

But if they aren’t interested in learning more, they can quickly move on with their day after reading the title. 

If they are interested in the event, they can move on to the next piece of information, the date.

The designer used a bright yellow to catch your eye directly after reading the title of the event. If they would have used a simple white, the information would have been easily overlooked. 

The tagline of the event is italicized below the title, giving the reader a little more context about the event. Again, if this sounds interesting to the reader, they can move on to the next piece of information, and so on.  

This process will help eliminate people who don’t really need to see the CTA at the end of your poster. 

And finally, after moving through all the information, the CTA at the bottom uses another bold font and color so that people will not miss it. 

Can you imagine how hard it would be to navigate this poster if they would have used the same font throughout? It would look like a term paper that no one wants to read.

Now if you’re struggling to decide what the hierarchy of your poster should look like, think about the most important info you want the reader to walk away with.

In this example, the title of the event, the location and the CTA seem to be the most important.

Additionally, the font color used in this design contrasts exceptionally well with the poster background color. If you choose a font that doesn’t contrast, it will be very difficult to read your poster. 

As you can see below, a good rule of thumb is to use a light font color on a dark background:

Or a dark font on a light background:    

Even if you use a single font on your poster, you can quickly create a hierarchy of information just by changing the font’s color, size or weight. So again, don’t overthink it!

8. Use icons to visualize concepts and grab attention

Icons are symbols used in design to represent concepts. Icons are the perfect way to enhance your custom posters. You can use icons to embellish points and, in certain cases, replace text. 

They’re also great for illustrating ideas quickly. Or you could make icons the main focal point of your design, like the template below:

Keep these best practices in mind when using icons in your poster design:

• Pick icons with a consistent style (line thickness, flat or illustrated, line art or filled).
• Use icons sparingly and allow for plenty of whitespaces to let your design breathe.
• Add a simple border or background shape to your icons.
• If you do replace the text with icons, make sure that the meaning is very obvious.

Let’s take a look at some of those best practices in action, starting with keeping your icons consistent.

As you probably know, there are a few different kinds of icons that you can use. Some are flat, and can be changed to match the color of your poster very easily: 

While others are illustrated, and the colors can’t be changed:

Whatever icons you choose to use while designing a poster, just make sure the styles are consistent, like in the examples above. 

So if you use a flat icon in one section, use flat icons throughout your poster and vice versa.

Next, let’s talk about using whitespace correctly when it comes to icons. If you’re not aware, whitespace is the open space around a design element like a block of text, a title or an icon:

Without it, your poster design will feel exactly cramped and unprofessional. It will also make your poster very hard to read or navigate. Check out how odd the poster below looks without adequate whitespace:

It looks like a mess, so be sure to take the time to use whitespace throughout your poster! 

One very easy way that you can create this whitespace around your icons is by using a background or border shape. Each icon in the template below uses a background shape:

Using background shapes in this way will not only give your icons some room to breathe, but it will also make them a lot more eye-catching. Without the border shapes in the example above, the icons would have just faded into the background. 

Plus, if you’re using illustrated icons it will make the design feel much more consistent across the poster:

And the finally best practice, be sure that if you replace text with an icon, the reader will actually understand it. The poster example below illustrates this tactic well in the contact section:

Readers are going to be able to decipher those icons because they are used a lot in the real world already. Others might not be so easy to understand, so you might have to add a label or title to them. Like below:

With Venngage, you can quickly swap any icon on your poster or one of our customizable poster templates , with just a few clicks as well. First, select on any icon on your poster and then click the Replace button:

Then just search for the icon that you want, and click on it to replace: 

It’s really that simple and can help you turn any template into your own unique graphic in no time. 

9. Use high-quality images & stock photos

If you have been paying attention to the templates and examples in this article you may have noticed that they use a lot of premium images.

Venngage’s free poster maker tool offers free and premium images, icons and graphs to help you edit poster designs with ease — no prior design skills needed. Here are some examples of stock images in the background: 

While others make it one of the main focal points of the poster:

But all of them use very high-quality images, no matter the type of poster.

If you plan to print out the poster or enlarge it, using high-quality photos is important. The slight blurriness or pixelation will quickly become a nightmare. 

It doesn’t matter if you are using a stock photo or one that you took, all of them should be very crisp and clear. Sometimes it’s better to use a professional stock photo in place of a blurry personal photo as well.

Plus, Venngage’s free poster maker tool is integrated with Pixabay and Pexels to elevate your design. Access stunning, professional photography with just one click.

Just head over to the left sidebar and click the Photos tab to bring up the search bar: 

Once you find the perfect stock photo just click the photo to add it to your poster.

Additionally, like with icons, you can swap any photo on your poster using the Replace button:

After you select Replace , you can search for any stock photo in our library and insert it into the poster with one click:

Now if you don’t want to use any of our stock photos, you can upload your own images by dragging it on the screen or by selecting Image Upload in the left sidebar:

As you can see, adding your own photos to your poster is very easy, just make sure you pick the right ones. 

10. Download & export your poster in the optimal format

After you have finished your poster, it’s time to share it with the world. On Venngage you can quickly download your poster by clicking the Download button on the right side of your screen:

Then select what type of file you would like your poster downloaded as:

Downloading your poster as a PNG should be fine for emails or social media. 

But if you want to print out your poster, download it as a PNG HD. This will make sure your poster is crisp and perfect once it gets back from the printer! 

Phew, that was a lot of info! Need a quick recap or want to share this information with your team? We have you covered with this video : 

All of the advice we outlined above can be used on almost any poster. But in this final section, we are going to get a little more specific.

Below are some of the most popular types of posters that you can create. 

But instead of waxing poetically on each type of poster, we are going to outline a simple checklist for each type of poster! 

So let’s get into it! 

How to make an infographic poster

• Choose a powerful topic you’d like to inform about.
• Do your research and gather relevant facts.
• Select an outstanding template that’ll help you grab attention.
• Add icons and graphs. Data visualization is key in an infographic poster.
• Create a content hierarchy and highlight the most interesting insights.
• Add your logo and company’s branding.
• Download in multiple formats and share.

Related: What Is an Infographic Poster and How To Make One?

How to make an event poster

• Start with an interesting background image or color.
• Use a large and bold font for your event title.  
• Add some embellishments to the title to make it pop.
• Add the date, location and time of the event. 
• Include a simple call to action.
• Describe your event or why people should attend.
• Make sure you add your logo and brand colors.

Related: 10 Event Poster Design Ideas [+ Free Templates]

How to make a marketing poster

• Arrange the 4 P’s of your strategy: your product, price, promotion and place.
• Choose a design that will mark your audience and look good in your selected place.
• Make your campaign details the focus of the poster.
• Add high-quality images of your product or service.
• Include a relevant call to action.
• Incorporate your branding.

CCUSTOMIZE THIS POSTER TEMPLATE

If you want to dig deeper into the steps to create a marketing poster and find campaign poster ideas, read this article: How to Design a Marketing Poster (10+ Templates Included).

How to make a sales poster

• Start with a simple background color or texture.
• Make the savings or discount the main focal point. 
• Show where or what store the sale is taking place.
• List exactly what products are on sale or discounted. 
• Add the start and end date or time of the sale. 
• Add some contact information or a website 
• Include your branding or logo. 

How to make an HR poster

Summarize important information, helpful resources, processes or events information.

• Define the department you’re referring to.
• Include only the key information.
• Choose the best layout to showcase your announcement.
• Customize a brand-aligned design.
• Optimize your poster for distribution.

Related: 17 Essential Human Resources Poster Templates (Updated) .

How to make a conference poster

• Start with an interesting background texture or color.
• Use a large, eye-catching font for the conference title. 
• Outline the speakers, events, or special guests.
• Add the time and date of the conference.
• Add the location(s) of the conference. 
• Include a CTA for tickets or to sign up.
• Describe why people should attend this conference.
• Add the logo or branding of the conference organizer.  

How to make a medical poster

• Select your health awareness topic or medical information theme.
• Write a catching title with bold fonts.
• Highlight important data, stats and recommendations.
• Add images and icons to ease retention.
• Invite your audience to a website or to access more resources.

Related: 15 Medical Poster Templates for Patient Education .

How to make a real-estate poster

• Include a few high-quality pictures of the house or listing. 
• Add an eye-catching “For Sale” or “For Rent” header.
• List the purchase price or estimated rent.
• Add the address of the house or listing. 
• List a few of the most interesting features of the house or listing.   
• Elaborate on the listing, location, or real estate agency.  
• Add a simple call to action.
• Include the contact information for the real estate agent.
• Add the logo or branding of the real estate company.

Hopefully, these simple checklists will help you create a poster in no time! 

If you want to learn more about designing these types of custom posters , start with these articles:

• 20+ Attention-Grabbing Event Poster Templates
• 55+ Creative Poster Ideas, Templates & Design Tips
• 17 Essential Human Resources Poster Templates
• 10+ Research Poster Templates to Share Information Professionally

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Posters Inspiration

60+ really good poster examples with memorable design.

By Sandra Boicheva

3 years ago

You may also like Show related articles Hide

With everything going digital, printed posters are getting more appealing than ever. They are special, classic, and available for everyone. The best thing about posters is that they are versatile and serve endless purposes from personal use and interior design to advertising, making announcements or educating people. Whatever the reason, posters are a powerful medium that instantly captures attention and causes a response. The greatest thing about posters is that, when designed well, they can communicate their main message without a verbal explanation. With this in mind, today we’ve collected 60+ really good poster examples to inspire your next design.

60+ Really Good Poster Examples Overview:

Infographic posters.

• Scientific Posters

Academic Posters

• Medical Posters
• Movie Posters
• Propaganda Posters

Conference Posters

Event posters, advertising and promotional posters, campaign posters, typography posters.

• Other Posters

Sometimes I have chosen to see films just by their posters. Jean-Paul Gaultier

Starting with the first collection, let’s look at some beautiful data visualization designed specifically for infographic posters. Such posters aim to present data and knowledge in a clear and appealing way and the creative designers whose work we found managed to do it flawlessly.

Kyoto Infographic Poster by Lourdes Morales

2021_9 PENCIL by Sung Hwan Jang

Infografía: Dirección Administrativa by Cristina Romero

2021_5 TOKYO Poster by Sung Hwan Jang

Infographics Poster by Vanshika Kundaliya

What I Eat in a Week Poster by Anna Maria Lewke

1806 Understanding Cat Care Infographic Poster by Sung Hwan Jang

1704 Black tea Infographic Poster by Sung Hwan Jang

Phone Addiction JUNKiE Part 1 – Infographic Poster by Sabrina Lim

2021_3 CHOCOLATE Poster by Sung Hwan Jang

Infographic Poster Design by Ilgın Ataş

1607 Paper Infographic Poster by Sung Hwan Jang

Mats Sundin Poster by Fahim Uddin

Scientific Poster Examples

Similar to infographic posters, and often using data visualization elements as well, scientific posters are a unique way of scientific presentation that aims to communicate scientific data in a concise and simple form.  In addition, the posters do that in a way that will interest the audience provide them with a clear message that they can understand quickly through scanning the presentation. The following scientific posters achieve this through a good mix of layout, fonts, color, and content.

Sporogenesis Poster by Courtney Stabb

Anatomy Of Sleep Poster by Jagoda Kolodziej

Sea Glass Poster by Claudia Foo

Geologic Time Scale Poster by Todd Cook

2020_08 THE SPACESUIT Poster by Sung Hwan Jang

Scientific Poster by Osvaldo Branquinho

Apollo annotated by Adam Sharratt

Inspired by Science – Poster Design by Vlada Raich-Shimanovsky

The Fundamental Guide Trilogy by Max Mollison

Effective academic posters manage to balance information and layout through illustrations and infographics. Often academic posters are a great way for beginners presenters to introduce their work to other students or their teachers. In this section, we’ll have a look at some really good poster examples designed for academic purposes.

100 Years Democracy Poster by Robin Hübscher

Academic Poster by Srivatsav Cheruku

Artificial Intelligence Poster by Ana Cuna

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICS by Ileana Legaspi

The Pathology Lab Process by Annie Campbell

BSCS FYP Poster by Ghayoor Balti

ACADEMIC ART by Jane Iosifidi

Poster for UMHS by Masha Zolotova

Medical Poster Examples

To make a good poster that displays medical research, medication or a certain disease can be a daunting task as it takes a lot of organizing heavy data into a visual presentation. In this section, we collected different types of medical posters, from ones with a simple message, to posters that fit the entire research.

The Heart Poster by Zain Jamal

Scientific Research Poster Design by Costello Medical Design

Human torso skeleton by Eva Klinkenberg

RED ZONE | International Design Project by Victor Kovalenko

Campaña de salud / Educación Sexual sin tabúes. by Kar Zubiaga

MEDICAL POSTER by Marta Pawelec

Movie Poster Examples

Movies are a completely different matter. If there’s an industry that can’t go without promotional posters, it’s the movie industry. The four-step formula of attention, interest, desire, and action is the core foundation of a successful movie advertising campaign and posters are a huge part of it. There are different techniques designers for movie posters achieve that: through showing without telling; through appeal relying on famous actors; with consistent style or recognizability.  here we collected alternative posters for famous movies made by creative designers from all over the web.

MOVIE POSTER SERIES by Rena Aghayeva

The Revenant Artwork by Levente Szabo

Evil Minds Movie Poster by Xinyilian JPGStudio

Alternative movie poster “Matrix” by Chepelnikov Art

Poster Squid Game | Round 6 – Netflix by Jadson Sales

Mad Max – Fury Road by Levente Szabo

Poster by Agustin R. Michel

The Terror: Infamy by Yun Chen

L O S T | Manipulation by Mohamed Elarabii

Sopranos Poster Design by Abu Bakar Siddique

Akira Poster by Paiheme Studio

Poster for short movie Nomvula by Aleksey Rico

KUBRICK by Ethem Onur Bilgiç

Propaganda Poster Examples

Of course, here we talk about posters designed to mimic propaganda posters from the XX century. Many designers use these specific aesthetics to convey the deeper meaning of oppression, struggle, and corruption especially for SciFi dystopian storylines for movie posters, book covers and etc. These posters also often mean to ridicule real-life events and expose them as something sinister that threatens freedom. In this section, we will look at some propaganda-style posters for famous movies with fitting plots, and other campaigns.

Space Odyssey Propaganda Posters by Loïc Kessler

Propaganda Poster by Rachel Nichols

Comic Book Heroes In Soviet-Style by Zoki Cardula

Food vs Human by Bogdan Katsuba

New world order by Albert Engströmer

Star Wars Propaganda Poster by Marie Bergeron

Good conference posters tend to present the topic for the viewer to read in under 5 minutes, no matter the complexity. For this section, we’ve gathered two types of conference posters: ones that make a quick presentation of the topics that will be discussed during the conference, and ones that serve as even promotion.

Academic medical scientific Research Conference by Jane Tarlinton

Povinelli Nanophotonics Laboratory by Han Gao

Poster by Vadim Umbriaco and Anya Korelskaia

Gradient poster by Wang Mengqi

Industry Day South-West by Michał Markiewicz

When promoting an event, you need to make sure your poster will instantly grab attention. Such posters usually have interesting background images, large and bold fonts with embellishments, instantly accessible info about the date, time, and location of the event, and a simple call to action. Let’s look at some creative examples.

Fingers Dance Poster Daisy Wu

Quiz Night | Poster Collection by Przemek Bizoń

80 ans du Palais de la découverte by Gwen Keraval

NOC KSIĘGARŃ 2021 poster by Igor Kubik

LUN Event Poster by Zamorkova Christina

Eureka Festival Poster by Ieva Paliukaityte

Festival des Nouvelles Explorations 2019 by Paykhan

Design by Giovanna D’Apuzzo

Cat Poster by Vadim Umbriaco

JAZZ MUSIC FESTIVAL by María Verdugo

Affiche festival du court métrage by Magda Achkar

AIGA Design Camp 2019 by Studio MPLS

Spectacular visuals that give an instant in-depth look for the viewers to read the content: this is a must for any marketing campaign posters. For this section, we collected concepts for promotional and advertising posters for inspiration.

Phoebe Bridgers Album Poster by Soumya Badam

Poster by Vadim Umbriaco

Creative poster by Diana Moroz

Baby Water Medicine (Posters) by Sandy Awny

Pregnacare by Amir Yousef

Poster by Sarah El-Naggar

Self Promotion Poster by Jose Berrio

This type of poster means to inspire action through strong messages embedded in even stronger visuals. Whether we’re talking about political campaigns or ones related to saving the environment or inspiring a healthier lifestyle, campaign posters should speak of impact.

Poster for change by Riya Shah

Quit, it kills Poster by Mathew George

Design by Vadim Umbriaco

These posters heavily rely on typography and variety. It’s probably the hardest design to achieve as choosing the right typography to create visually interesting messages can often backfire into a bad reading experience. Here we collected a couple of typography posters that stay on the edge, keeping the balance between visual story and readability.

História da Tipografia by Eduarda Majewski

Academic Typography Posters by Alina Ignatova

Poster by Manh Le

Other Poster Examples

There is no limit to what you can turn into a poster as long as it has a simple and clear presentation enhanced with good visuals. This is why, in this last section, we included other poster examples such as the Riso print manual, calendar, inspirational posters, and more.

The Zodiac Constellations | Poster Design by Malka Shtern

Risograph Poster by Laura Henderson

Poster by Veronika Filimonova

DAILY-PART1 by HIHI C

Poster Design by Chang Lin

Poster Design by Umut Akkan

2021 Calendar Poster Design by SHUO WANG

POSTER DESIGN by Nini Mangoshvili

Posters by Daria Polushkina

Tinkuy Patterns Posters by Amuki Studio

That’s it!tas

Good poster design can achieve both getting their message across and making it memorable. We hope you enjoyed these 60+ really good poster examples on different topics and feel inspired to create even better ones. 

In the meantime, why not take a look at the related articles to get some more inspiration or grab a couple of freebies:

• [Inspiration] 20 Really Good PowerPoint Examples to Inspire Your Next Presentation
• [Inspiration]  85 Really Good T-Shirt Design Ideas to Inspire You for Your Next Project
• [Freebies]  80 Free Business Illustrations For Your Next Creative Designs

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How to Make a Poster: Beginner’s Design Guide (& Templates)

Written by: Mahnoor Sheikh

Posters are excellent marketing tools that can be used to advertise movies, events, fundraisers, sales, businesses and more.

If you’re looking for an easy way to make a poster online, you’re in the right place.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create a poster in 7 simple steps.

We’ve also handpicked 25 stunning poster templates for various purposes that you can edit and download right now.

Ready? Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What are the dimensions of a poster, 7-step process for making an eye-catching poster, bonus: make your digital poster interactive, 25 poster templates to help you get started, poster faqs.

• A poster is a printed or digital design that promotes business-related activities like events, grand openings, special promotions, etc.
• Posters have a set of standard sizes, but it’s best to check with your printing service or home printer first before starting on the design.
• The poster-making process includes identifying its purpose, choosing a template, adding text and visuals, customizing colors and fonts, adding a call to action or online form, and sharing with your audience.
• Poster design for beginners is easy when you have Visme as your content creation tool. Not only can you design using professional poster template s, but you can also create a myriad of client-facing and branded content.
• If you're running short on time and need to create eye-catching posters quickly, try out our AI poster generator !

When designing a poster, there are no set rules for the poster size or dimensions.

However, some printing companies use the same, consistent poster sizes, so it’s always a good idea to ensure your poster fits those dimensions.

Here’s an infographic summarizing the standard poster sizes used by printing companies worldwide. Keep reading for a brief explanation about each poster size.

• A4 Paper: 8.5” x 11” (21 x 29.7 cm). These posters are ideal for printing at home or at your local printing shop for personal use or for sticking on your shop window.
• Small Poster: 11” x 17” (28 x 43 cm). These posters are normally used as flyers or for sticking on street lights and bulletin boards. You can also use these posters for decorating offices, as they don’t take up a lot of space.
• Medium Poster: 18” x 24” (46 x 61 cm). These posters are mostly used in places like clinics, offices, shop windows and university walls. They can hold more information than small posters, but you should still keep the text minimal.
• Large Poster: 24” x 36” (61 x 91 cm). These posters are used by organizations for advertising businesses, films, events, fundraisers and promotions. You can usually find these posters outside malls, events and clubs.

The poster size that’s best for you will depend on your poster’s purpose and how you plan to use it. Make sure you ask your printer about the sizes and formats before designing one.

If you’re creating a digital poster that you plan to share online on social media or your website, you can check out this blog post on the best image sizes for different social media platforms .

Now, let’s get to the fun part: creating a poster!

Follow this poster making tutorial in order or jump ahead to a section of your interest.

Step #1: Identify the Purpose of Your Poster

Step #2: choose a poster template, step #3: add in your text content, step #4: add photos and graphics, step #5: customize colors and fonts, step #6: include a call-to-action, step #7: share and download your poster.

The first step of making a poster is to identify its purpose.

Answer the following questions before moving on to poster design:

• What’s the goal of your poster?
• Who is the audience?
• Where do you plan to share your poster?

Addressing these questions will help you determine the right poster size, draft appropriate poster content and find the right poster template.

For example, if you’re designing a poster to advertise an event, you need to understand what you want your audience to do after they see it.

Do you want them to register online? Do you want them to go to a physical place to buy tickets? Do you want them to scan a QR code ?

Knowing this will help you pick a poster size that fits in all the important information without looking cluttered or difficult to read.

If your audience is female students, for example, you’d want to start with a poster template with colors and a design style that appeals to them.

This leads us to the next step.

Once you’ve identified the purpose and audience of your poster, it’s time to choose a template that best fits your needs.

The first thing you need to do is log in to your Visme account. If you don’t already have an account, you can create one for free here .

Inside your dashboard, click on Create New . In the drop down menu, select Project then Printables .

This will open up the templates library. Click on Posters to browse through the various options and designs that appear below. When you find a poster template you like, hover on it and click on Edit to open it in the Visme editor and start customizing it.

Poster Templates

Music Quote Poster

Social Distancing Poster

Life is Like Riding a Bicycle Quote Poster

Elephants Poster

Live for Today Albert Einstein Quote Poster

Yellow Blue Motivational Quote Poster

Create your poster View more templates

Alternatively, you can also search for relevant templates by typing in a keyword in the search bar at the top, such as “university poster” or “art poster.”

You can also browse through other template categories, such as flyers and social graphics, to find a design you like and customize the dimensions.

If you don’t want to move forward with a pre-designed template, you can also start from scratch by clicking on Custom Size at the right side of the screen. Then, simply add in your size requirements to open a blank canvas in the editor.

If you don’t want to move forward with a pre-designed template, you can also start from scratch by clicking on Create from Blank at the left side of the screen, above Generate with AI. Then, input content boxes, design elements and images.

And if you’re short on time, another option for creating your poster is to use the Visme AI Poster Generator . This AI-powered tool can design a visual poster from a single text prompt. In the template library, click on Generate with AI and a chatbot will open. Write your prompt in the text box, select one of the suggested styles and let AI do its magic.

Now, it’s time to customize your poster.

The first thing you need to edit in your poster template is the text.

Visme has realistic placeholder content written by professionals in almost all of the templates, and you can use it to inspire your own content.

For example, this minimal template already has a title and subtitle. You can replace this text with your own, and even add more text boxes.

If you’ve already written the content for your poster separately, you should add it to your poster in this step.

Double-click on any text box to edit it, and copy and paste your content. To add more text, click on the Header & Text in the left sidebar to choose from pre-designed text blocks.

Make sure you use separate text boxes for different parts of your content so you can move them around and so your content doesn’t end up looking like one big block of text.

Don’t forget to add details like event timing, contact information, location and more depending on the nature and purpose of your poster.

A part of the poster-making process is ensuring that the text is not too long or has any grammar mistakes. If you need some help, use the AI Writer to help you finesse your poster text by editing and proofreading it. Additionally, craft headlines that really grab the attention of your audience.

Once you have all your text content in place, it’s time to add some visuals.

This is the fun part! Make your poster speak volumes with eye-catching visuals.

Whether it’s a meaningful photograph, an illustration that sets the mood, an AI generated graphic, or bright and colorful icons that balance out the text — visuals can bring your poster to life.

In Visme, you have several options to add photos and graphics to your poster design:

• Browse millions of free stock photos in the built-in image library. Search for relevant keywords and scroll to look for options. When you find an image you like, drag and drop it onto your poster.
• Upload your own images by clicking on Photos and then on Upload. Your images will be saved in your Content library.
• Use the AI Edit Tools that help you unblur and upscale legacy photos, and remove pesky backgrounds or unwanted objects from photos.
• Generate unique, branded images and graphics with Visme AI Image Generator . Choose from the suggested output styles: photos, illustrations, paintings, and more.
• Add free vector icons, illustrations, shapes and more by browsing through the graphics library inside the editor.

Regardless of how you add visuals into your poster, you can edit them using Visme’s photo editor .

Resize your photos and graphics, crop them into shapes, apply filters, color overlays and borders, tweak the opacity settings and more.

When you’re happy with the text and visual content of your poster, it’s time to adjust the design style to pull everything together.

Great, your poster is almost ready.

All you need to do now is adjust the colors and fonts in the template so they are aligned with your brand style, theme, topic or vision.

If you have set design guidelines to stick to, you can easily set up your Brand Kit in Visme — upload your logo, color palette and fonts to use in your poster and any other Visme design project.

If you’re designing a poster for personal purposes, or if you don’t have any brand guidelines in place, you can always choose from the preset color themes that come built-in with the editor.

Simply click through the themes to change the entire color scheme of the poster in one go. Pick the color theme that works best with your poster topic, mood and visuals.

You can also use the color picker tool to adjust the colors of the background and each individual object.

The next thing to pay attention to are your fonts. Make sure you keep font pairing best practices in mind when designing your poster.

You don’t want to use a font style that clashes with your poster idea. Also, you want the font to be clear and easy-to-read, depending on where you plan to use the poster.

Woah — you’re almost done with your poster design! This takes us to the last step, adding a call-to-action. This ensures your poster is as effective as it’s good-looking.

For business and advertising purposes, adding a call-to-action (CTA) to your poster is one of the most crucial parts of poster design.

Before adding a CTA, go back to the first step and think about the goals and purpose of your poster. What do you want your audience to do when they see it?

Do you want them to register for an event, buy tickets for a movie, or visit your website or store in person? Whatever it is, articulate it into concise and compelling copy, and place the CTA where it’s prominent and doesn’t interfere with the design.

That’s it! You’re done with your poster design. When you’re happy with the result, it’s time to get your poster ready for printing or publish it online and share it with the world.

Finally, with Visme, you can share or download your poster in multiple formats, including high-quality JPG, PNG, PDF, HTML5 or social media posts.

The format you choose will depend on your printing and distributing needs. It’s better to ask your printer what format they prefer to use. They will typically accept a PDF file, which you can download from Visme with or without bleed marks.

If you’re planning to share your poster digitally, you can also download it as an HTML5 file (offline web), or share it via a live URL or embed code.

Additionally, when you share your poster as a live link , you have the ability to track its performance thanks to Visme's analytics dashboard . View data about who opened the file, saw the poster, from where, for how long and more.

And finally, from inside the Visme editor, you can also share your poster as a social media post. Use the integrated content calendar to schedule your poster design for your favorite social media platform.

If you’re working on a digital poster rather than a printed one, we’ve got great news for you — Visme lets you make your posters animated and interactive!

Other than photos, you can also add audio clips, video clips, animated backgrounds, animated illustrations and characters, animated icons, special effects and more from the built-in library.

You can also enable hover effects and pop ups on click, and add links into your poster to make it interactive.

For example, if you’ve added a CTA to register for an event in your digital poster, you can link it to your registration page to direct the viewer!

Furthermore, you can include a form on your poster, turning it into lead generation content . Use Visme Forms to create branded sign up forms you can then embed on posters; as well as websites, newsletters and more.

It’s easy to share your animated or interactive poster in Visme by generating an embed code and adding it to a web page or sharing it via a public or private URL.

Now that you know how to create a poster in Visme, let’s look at some beautiful poster templates to give you a head start.

Create beautiful posters in minutes with Visme!

• Choose from our fully customizable templates
• Customize fonts and colors to match your theme
• Access built-in photos and graphics that tell your story

Visme comes packed with dozens of pre-designed, customizable poster templates that you can edit and download right away.

Just pick a template that works best with your topic, industry or design style, and click on the button below it to start editing it in Visme.

Alternatively, create your poster with AI using our AI Poster Generator . In the template gallery, click on Generate with AI and input your text prompt into the chatbot window. This tool doesn’t just for creating posters, it also helps you make first draft versions of plenty of other documents and printable designs.

Template #1: Social Distancing Poster

This social distancing poster is informative and attractive.

It can be used by doctors, health organizations, nonprofits, schools, universities and anyone who wants to communicate guidelines, best practices and important information to the public.

Customize this social distancing poster with your own information or use it as it is to spread awareness about the pandemic and prevention measures.

Template #2: Real Estate Poster

This real estate poster is ideal for advertising property listings of all kinds, such as offices, apartments, villas, shops and commercial land. Put the features of your property front and center and showcase them in an attractive way.

Make this poster template your own by changing the image, editing the text and color scheme, customizing the fonts and adding more information.

Save time before every open house and reuse templates for new real estate listings. Make them even more practical by adding dynamic links for the realtor’s name or the home’s address. With this feature, you can edit multiple templates without messing with the design.

Template #3: Conference Poster

The professional conference poster will make everyone want to attend your business events. With an eye-catching color scheme and a modern layout, this poster design puts focus on the things that matter — the topic, the speakers and the dates.

Personalize this template with your own text, colors, fonts, images and more. Swap the icons for other, relevant ones from Visme’s built-in icon library.

If you’re planning to share this poster online, you can even add animations and interactive links to take your audience immediately to the event registration page.

After you’ve finished the poster, complete the marketing stack and start working on your conference flyer using the same fonts, colors and information.

Template #4: Fashion Sale Poster

A trendy, colorful picture and the word “Sale” in big, bold letters is everything you need to catch your shoppers’ attention.

With this poster template, you have the perfect layout and design ready-to-go — all you need to do is plug in your own content and download your poster in high-quality for printing.

Template #5: Inspirational Education Poster

Inspire students and teachers alike with this quote poster with a saying by Malcom Forbes. Use icons and design elements to create a composition with the text and make it more memorable.

Change the colors of this poster template using Visme’s preset themes or upload your own brand colors. Personalize each and every detail so your poster is unique and engaging.

Template #6: We’re Hiring Poster

Get applications pouring in from the right candidates with this hard-to-miss we’re hiring poster template. If you have a job opening at your company, you need to ensure as many potential candidates know about it as possible.

Customize this poster with your own brand colors and fonts, add your logo, edit the text, and share it on social media or print it out and stick it in areas where your audience spends their time.

Template #7: Garage Sale Poster

Announce a garage sale with style using this poster template. The clean and modern layout puts all the important information front and center, and you can always move things around, remove elements or add more content to personalize this poster.

Make this poster your own by swapping the image with one from our stock library or by uploading from your computer. Change the color scheme, modify the fonts and do much more in Visme’s powerful drag-and-drop editor.

Template #8: Business Poster

Create a sleek and professional poster for your business with this customizable template. A poster like this is ideal for businesses of all sizes, and you can get it printed in large, medium, small and even A4 sizes, depending on how you plan to use it.

Personalize this poster with a photo of your own business, products or office building. Change the text, colors, icons and more in minutes using the drag-and-drop poster editor. Download it in high-quality image or PDF format when you’re done.

Template #9: Brand Promotion Poster

This conceptual geometry poster is a great pick for architectural firms or other business organizations with an eye for design. The photos in the triangles are easily replaced with another from your media library, or generated with AI.

Use shapes and frames to emphasize the visual aspect of your poster. You can also customize this poster template with your own colors, text, fonts, images and more.

Template #10: Yoga Class Poster

Spread the word about your yoga, meditation and fitness classes with this sophisticated poster template. This poster has a serene, calming design that can work for any topic related to health and wellness.

You can also customize it extensively to fit practically any theme. Change colors, fonts, photos, icons and more in a flash with Visme’s drag-and-drop editor. Download your finished poster in JPG or PNG format, or save it as a PDF to send off for printing.

Template #11: Fitness Gym Poster

Motivate your audience to join your gym and meet their fitness goals with this clean and modern poster template. This poster works as both an advertising tool and as an aesthetically pleasing addition to your gym’s exterior.

Customize this template with your own colors, fonts, text and photos. Add more information and text boxes by dragging and dropping from the left sidebar. Emphasize key points and visualize contact details with vector icons.

Template #12: Social Studies Research Poster

Get more eyes on your research with this social studies research poster. Use this design to share your findings with students and members of the faculty.

This poster template is super easy to customize with your own data. You can even animate the charts and add interactive links to it if you plan on sharing the poster digitally. Download your poster in high-quality to get printed in virtually any size.

Template #13: Restaurant Poster

A classy restaurant deserves a classy poster. And that’s exactly what you get with this restaurant or cafe poster template.

Personalize this template with your own images, food photos, text, colors, fonts and more. Drag and drop icons, cutouts and more onto your poster from the built-in editing panel.

Template #14: Poverty Foundation Poster

This poverty poster is thought-provoking and can easily be used by nonprofits to raise awareness for their campaigns. Even for-profit organizations looking to draw attention towards their social projects can take advantage of this template.

This poster is fully customizable, so make it your own by adding your own brand’s images, logos, fonts, colors and more.

Template #15: Elephants Poster

This inspiring poster is a great pick for all individuals, professionals and nonprofits looking to raise awareness and funds for their social campaigns.

It comes with stylish fonts that go well with the high-resolution stock photo in the background. Use this poster template as is or customize it by adding your own logos and fonts.

Template #16: Class Rules Poster

This fun-looking class rules poster can work well in most educational settings. It includes basic etiquette and manners expected from students in the class and promotes positive behavior.

It can easily be used as is by educators, or customized with different content and for other purposes, such as for employee rules in organizations.

Template #17: Music Workshop Poster

The music workshop poster template immediately draws attention and encourages the audience to read further, thanks to the colorful graphic and eye-catching fonts.

It can easily be used by all kinds of musicians, schools, community centers and more looking to promote their events or music classes.

Template #18: Scientific Research Poster

Looking for the perfect science poster to present at your next symposium? This scientific research poster is just what you need. This poster design is ideal for medical research purposes, but you can also customize it for any other health industry. Edit the text, colors, fonts, images and more in minutes using Visme’s drag-and-drop poster maker.

Template #19: Motivational Graffiti Poster

Looking for a fun, artistic poster to inspire students or colleagues? This poster template might be just what you’re looking for. Customize this motivational quote poster with your own colored font, background image and bold design elements.

In the template the background is of a man walking in front of captivating graffiti, but you can easily swap it for another image by uploading from your computer or choosing one from our free stock library.

Template #20: Photography Art Exhibition Poster

Advertise your art and photography events with this beautiful, clean and modern poster template. The best part about this template is it’s so versatile, you can use it for practically anything.

Get started with this template by customizing it with your own brand colors, logo, fonts and images. No brand assets? Choose from our preset color themes, built-in premium fonts and millions of free stock photos.

Template #21: Psychology Study Research Poster

This sleek and sophisticated poster template is ideal for presenting a research project on the rise of depression in New York City. But you can use for any type of research by customizing it in Visme’s drag-and-drop editor

Change the colors, fonts, images, icons and any other elements used in this poster template. You can also add animation and interactivity if you plan to share your poster digitally.

Template #22: Learning Quote Poster

If you’re looking for a quote poster to motivate your students, employees and any other audience, your search has come to an end. This quote poster is highly engaging, colorful and versatile — it will look just as good with any quote of your choice!

Customize this poster template with your own colors, fonts, text and more. You can also add an image in the background if you want to give this poster a thematic look.

Template #23: Political Finance Research Poster

This political research poster template is a great choice for you if you’re working with financial research and fundraising statistics. Likewise, it’s the ideal template for presenting any type of research that needs visualizing.

The design of this poster is minimal and versatile, and you can replace the charts easily from within the chart and graphs settings. Choose from bar graphs, line graphs, histograms and more.

Template #24: Farmer’s Market Poster

This colorful farmer’s market poster is an excellent pick for anyone looking to organize a local community event, such as one for local grocers and farmers to sell fresh fruits and vegetables.

The delightful font selection and color scheme of this poster immediately attracts the reader’s attention. Stick to the existing design or customize it extensively in Visme’s drag-and-drop editor with ease.

Template #25: Education is Essential Poster

If you're looking for a modern poster template with beautiful colors, fonts and icons, then get started with this education poster template.

This poster template is ideal for private organizations and nonprofits looking to promote a cause they believe in, and even for schools and colleges aiming to raise awareness for education for all.

Curious about other poster making topics? Here, these FAQs might help.

What Is the Best Tool to Make a Poster?

The best tool to make posters is Visme, the all-in-one content authoring tool. Not only can you use Visme to design a poster, you can also manage brand assets, collaborate with team members and create content for internal and external communications effortlessly.

Alternatively, you can use any of these other poster making tools like Canva but you can imagine which one we’re partial to.

Can I Print Posters Myself?

Yes, you can print your own posters. All you need is:

• A Visme account
• A computer, tablet or phone
• A printer with ink
• Poster paper

If you don’t have a printer at home, you can take your Visme designed poster in a USB stick to a printing shop or send it to them via messaging service or email. Finally, you can take your design to a self-service printing store like FedEx Office and print them there.

Can You Turn a Picture Into a Poster?

Yes, you can turn a picture into a poster. But first, make sure you have permission to use said image. When you create posters with Visme, you can use any of the millions of high resolution and royalty-free stock photos without worrying about licensing rights. Another option is to use photos you’ve taken yourself or that you’ve got the rights to use. Simply upload those to Visme and create your poster.

What Paper Do I Need to Make a Poster?

Depending on your needs, you can print a poster on glossy paper, matte paper, satin paper or vinyl paper.

• Glossy is shiny and is ideal for images and graphics.
• Matte is best suited for text heavy posters
• Satin is a combination between glossy and matte.
• Vinyl is durable and ideal for outdoor use.

How to Make Posters at Home?

Poster making at home is straightforward if you have a Visme account, and optionally, a printer. With Visme, you can make a poster at home in no time. All you need is a template and your ready-to-use information .

Now Over to You

Congratulations! You’re ready to create your own poster!

Whether you’re making a poster for personal purposes, business advertising, sticking on your shop window or sharing digitally on social media, Visme has what you’re looking for.

You can find the perfect poster template in the dozens of ready-to-go options in the template library.

Access design tools like preset color themes, built-in stock photos, icons, shapes and graphics, premium fonts, resize, cropping and editing tools, AI-powered tools and much more to create your poster in minutes — no design skills needed!

Sign up for a free Visme account today and start creating your stunning poster.

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About the Author

Mahnoor Sheikh is the content marketing manager at Visme. She has years of experience in content strategy and execution, SEO copywriting and graphic design. She is also the founder of MASH Content and is passionate about tea, kittens and traveling with her husband. Get in touch with her on LinkedIn .