Designing Your Poster

Follow the guidelines below to build your poster. Click the button below to download acceptable templates for your poster.

Download Poster Templates

To print your poster, and for more resources, please click the button below.

Poster Printing

Preparing Text

Microsoft Word can be used to organize the text or text boxes you will insert into PowerPoint. The text should be as final as possible before moving it into the poster.

Putting it Together

  • Open Microsoft Power Point.
  • Choose New Presentation, then indicate the type of layout you will use.
  • Click File > Page Setup.
  • Change the “slides fixed for” to custom (width to 48 and height to 36). The slides should be landscape, and the notes, etc. portrait.
  • Click okay.
  • Enter the title of your project, authors, affiliations, and e-mail on the poster. Adjust the font size.

Transferring Pictures to the Poster

  • Open your picture file(s) by clicking on My Computer > [disk drive] > [picture file].
  • To copy your picture, right click on it, and select copy. You can also copy the picture by going to Edit > Copy on the Toolbar.
  • Move back into your PowerPoint poster and select Edit > Paste from the Toolbar. This will transfer your picture onto the poster.
  • To resize the picture, drag the corners with the arrow while the picture is active (selected).

Inserting Text into the Poster

Open the text file in Microsoft Word or in the poster. Click Insert > Textbox. This will allow you to begin typing. You can also select and copy text from the Microsoft Word document to paste into the poster. Be sure to put a heading above each section (i.e., Introduction, Method, Results).

Inserting Tables/Graphics/Charts

  • Open the needed file.
  • Copy and paste into the designated area of the poster.

Rearranging Slides

  • Select to view all slides simultaneously.
  • Rearrange slides by clicking and dragging the slide to the new position while holding down the mouse button.

Scanning Slides or Pictures

  • Open Adobe Photoshop.
  • From the Toolbar, choose File > Import. Choose the scanner you are using.
  • A new screen should appear. If you would like to change the resolution, this can be done, but isn’t necessary.
  • Click the Scan button, which is on the screen, to begin pre-scanning.
  • Make changes until you are satisfied with the pre-scan, then click Scan again to begin scanning the final picture.
  • Using Adobe Photoshop, you can crop the picture, enhance it, and use other tools to perfect the picture.