Poster Presentations

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 1

Software

There are a number of software packages one could use to create a

poster. I recommend that students use Microsoft PowerPoint or
Microsoft Word for the following reasons:
Most students have had some exposure to these programs
These programs are available on the majority of University
computers and students’ home computers
These programs are compatible with a range of other software
packages
These programs are very user friendly and easy to learn

Other packages you may consider using are:

Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Paint Shop Pro
Microsoft Office Publisher

The instructions in the following handout will show you how to set up
your poster, add content, and print using Microsoft PowerPoint.

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 2

Setting up your poster

1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint

2. Make a blank slide
Choose Home  Layout, and select the Blank layout

3. Set up the page

Choose Design  Page Setup

Select between a Portrait or Landscape Slide Orientation.

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 3

Select the appropriate ISO size. Select Custom if the
appropriate ISO size is not available and enter the dimensions of
the paper in the Width and Height box. The table below displays
common ISO A series formats.

Common ISO A Series Formats

A0 84.1 × 118.9 cm
A1 59.4 × 84.1 cm
A2 42.0 × 59.4 cm
A3 29.7 × 42.0 cm
A4 21.0 × 29.7 cm

Note: Your computer may be default set to inches rather

than centimetres, so you may need to convert your
desired poster dimensions accordingly.
Choose OK.

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 4

Adding content

Text
Text in Microsoft PowerPoint is entered into text boxes. By default, text
boxes do not have any visible outlines or colours, but you may set how
the text boxes are to appear. The 'active' text box will have a thick line
around it. Recent versions of Microsoft PowerPoint have both horizontal
and vertical text box options.

Creating a text box

1. Select the Text Box button on the Insert tab.

2. Move your mouse cursor to the slide, hold down your left mouse
button, and draw the text box by moving your mouse cursor over
the slide. Note that there are both horizontal and vertical text
boxes, which can be rotated to any angle within 360 degrees.
3. Release the left mouse button when the desired size has been
reached.

4. Type in the text.

Modifying the text box

To change the size of the text move your mouse cursor over one of the
small circles that sit on the border of the text box. Hold down your left
mouse button and move your mouse until the text box is the
appropriate size.
By holding your left mouse button down over the green circle, you can
rotate your text to any angle within 360 degrees.

To modify any aspect of the text box, select the text box and the
Format tab is displayed. From here you can change the shape styles,
colours and outlines, layout and size.

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 5

Formatting Text

To change the appearance of your text, first select it, and then use the
Mini toolbar to make the necessary changes. The Mini toolbar (see
below) will allow you to change formatting such as the font type and
size, alignment, bullets and so on. The Mini toolbar appears when the
text is selected and is activated when you move your mouse to it. You
may also use the commands in the Font, Paragraph and Styles
groups under the Home tab to format your text.

Be very careful when choosing font sizes. Suggested sizes (for A0/A1
poster) are below; these are simply to get you started. You will
want to adjust these to match your poster layout and size.

Suggested font sizes for A0/A1 poster

Main headings 96 – 180 pt
Secondary headings 48 – 84 pt
Section headings 24 – 36 pt
Text and captions 14 – 18 pt

Formatting Paragraphs

To change the line spacing of your paragraphs and the spacing

between paragraphs, select your text and choose the Home tab, click
the arrow icon in the bottom right corner of the Paragraph group, and

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 6

modify the ‘Line Spacing’, ‘Before’ and ‘After’ properties in the
Paragraph dialog box.

Formatting Bullet Points

To change bullet points, select the text and choose the Home tab, click
the arrow beside the Bullets button, and then choose Bullets and
Numbering…. Select a bullet point style from the Bullets and
Numbering dialog box.

Inserting an external image

Images that have been scanned or taken with a digital camera can be
easily inserted into your poster.
To insert an external image:
1. Choose Insert  Picture
2. Browse the file location of the picture
3. Choose the picture file
4. Click Insert

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 7

Creating a diagram, graph or table

Choose Insert  SmartArt

 Chart
 Table

OR simply copy and paste these in from Microsoft Excel or

Microsoft Word

Inserting WordArt

1. Choose Insert  WordArt

2. Select a style of WordArt from the gallery.

3. Type in the text in the text box.

4. With the text box selected and the Format tab displayed, you
may set the WordArt effect by clicking the Text Effects ( )
button and make a selection from the list.

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 8

AutoShapes

AutoShapes are ready-made shapes such as rectangles and circles,

lines and connectors, block arrows, flowchart symbols, stars, banners,
and callouts. Below are some examples of available AutoShapes.

Lines Basic Shapes Arrows Flowchart Stars and

Banners
To draw an AutoShape:
1. Choose Insert  Shapes
2. Select a shape from the list.
3. Take your mouse cursor up to the slide, hold down your left
mouse button and drag your mouse cursor until the shape is the
required size.
4. Once the shape has been drawn, you can use the drag handles to
resize the shape or the free rotate handle to rotate the shape.

Inserting a background

To insert a background image:

1. Choose Design  Background

Styles, and click Format
Background…. The Format
Background window will appear.

2. Click the Color button ( ) and

select a fill color.

3. You may also select Gradient fill

and do some advanced settings for
the background.

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 9

To insert an easily-modified background picture:

1. In the Format Background window,

choose Fill  Picture or texture
fill.

2. Click the File… button, and select the picture file from the Insert
Picture dialog box.

3. Make any desired settings, e.g. the Transparency, and click the
Close button.

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 10

Printing

The printing of your poster will depend on where you print it, and the
type of printer. Make sure you check well in advance with the
printing provider as to:

How much the print job will cost

Which formats they accept e.g. PowerPoint, PDF, TIFF
How long the print job will take
What storage device your poster should be on e.g. CD, network
drive etc.

Other Resources

Poster Templates
Microsoft provides many free poster templates. They are available
at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-
us/templates/CT101439301033.aspx.
Browse the site and find one suitable for your subject. After you
have downloaded a poster template, you may freely modify the
text, layout, colour schemes etc.
Graphics
A good place to get free graphics and animations is
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx.

Effective Scientific Posters – Quick Reference by George R. Hess

http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/documents/QuickRef
erenceV2.pdf

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 11

 Do’s and Don’ts of Poster Presentations

Allow plenty of time to prepare your poster.

Consider the audience and purpose of your poster. Determine the one main point
that you want to get across, goal that you want to achieve, or central question that
you want to answer in your poster.
Plan the contents of your poster. Design the poster to address that one central
question or point. State the question or point clearly in the poster, and then use
your discussion time to expand on issues surrounding that central theme.
Gather together the materials and information that you need to construct the
poster, including photographs. Exclude any materials that are beyond the focal
point of the pointer.
Determine the size and orientation of the poster based on the nature of the
information that you wish to present. Posters are generally A0 or A1 in size, and
can be portrait or landscape in orientation.
Consider the alternative ways of presenting the information on your poster. Ensure
that the material presented on your poster has a logical structure and flow. Start by
making a sketch of the poster. For example, you could arrange the material into
three or four columns with a title bar across the top. Alternatively, you could
display the sections in a mind-map, issue tree or concept map arrangement.
Remember that the human eye tends to flow naturally from top to bottom and left
to right.
Organise and divide the material into appropriate sections.
Provide an introduction and conclusion for your poster.
Remember a poster should ‘sell’ your work.
The poster should have an informative and catchy, but concise, title which is in
boldface and upper case with a font size of about 96 point.
Use heading numbers, arrows etc. to show sequence and to link the various
sections together.
Posters are primarily visual. Therefore, the success of a poster directly relates to
the clarity of the figures and tables. Self-explanatory graphics should dominate the
poster. A minimal amount of written material should support the graphic
materials.
The poster should comprise approximately 40 percent graphics, 40 percent empty
space and 20 percent text.
Vary the size and spacing of the poster sections to add visual interest. Use regions
of empty space between poster elements to differentiate and accentuate these
elements.
Both the text and illustrations should be visible from at least two to three metres
away. The size of your text and visuals should reflect this consideration. Section

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 12

headings should be 36 point boldface. Supporting text should be 18 to 24 point,
double-spaced and boldface if appropriate. Align the text to the left for ease of
reading. Most importantly, be consistent!!!
Use an easily read font such as Helvetica, Palatino, Times Roman or Arial.
Give each graph or figure an explanatory caption. There is no need to number
graphs and figures.
Remove all non-essential items from graphs and figures, such as data curves that
are not discussed in the poster and excess grid lines.
Label all data lines in graphs directly, using a large font and appropriate colour.
The data lines should be larger than normal so that the trend is easily visible.
Eliminate legends and keys.
Use short sentences, simple words, phrases and bullet points where possible to
illustrate discrete points and reduce the amount of text. Exclude all redundant
references and filler phrases such as see Figure….
Avoid using acronyms, jargon or unusual abbreviations.
Use active voice when writing the text e.g. It can be demonstrated that becomes
The data demonstrate.
Consider the use of colour. Use softer colours or shades of gray for the
background. Use different background colours to distinguish between different
sections or issues. Use more intense colours as borders for emphasis. Use a light
background with darker photos and a dark background with lighter photos. Use a
neutral background to emphasise colour in photos and a white background to
reduce the impact of coloured photos. Border colours can be used to both
distinguish between and link the various displays of information. Remember that
too much colour can be distracting.
Coloured transparency overlays can be used for comparing and contrasting
graphic results.
Ensure that your poster is self-explanatory.
Your poster should provide an explicit take-home message.
Include your name and contact details on the poster.

REMEMBER:
A picture paints a thousand words …

Student Learning Centre, Centr e for Academic Development, 2008 13

Exposure07 Poster Judging

Poster presentation judging criteria:

Poster Title and Number ______________________

Judge: ______________________

Introduction: Did the researcher clearly identify his/her

name, department, and the University of Auckland on
their poster?
Rationale: How well did the researcher state the
Academic importance of the research and identify objectives?
Content
Methods: How well were the methodology and methods
stated? Was the research positioned well among existing
work

Results Were the findings clearly stated and explained?

Total: / 10
Conclusions: Were the conclusions clearly stated and
discussed?

Layout: Appropriate use of photographs, figures, and

Layout, Creativity charts? Font size clear?
and Visualisation
Creativity: Are the visuals captivating?

Linkages: Balance of figures and text?

Structure: Are all necessary components present and do

they direct the reader from start to finish?

Total: / 10 Visualisation: Does the poster present the research in a

clear and concise manner?

Comprehension: Were the main concepts easy to

Appeal to a broad understand?
audience
Appeal: Does the poster engage the viewer's interest?

Organisation: Was the poster coherent and well

structured?
Interaction: Did the student provoke thoughtful insight
and/or questions for viewers?
Total: / 10
Overall: Was the poster effective, creative and
professional?

Overall Total / 30