Create a Research Poster
Adapted from the University of Nevada (Reno) Libraries Poster Resources and Design Tips
A Good Poster Will:
- Summarize your work
- Convey a message visually
- Be readable from about 4 feet away
- Be clearly organized
Poster Design Tips
- Use large font size (your text should be at least 18 to 24 pt.)
- Do not use more than 2 to 3 font styles total
- Use fonts that are easy to read
- Avoid too much text (no more than 800 words max)
- Organize your content with columns, sections, headings, and blocks of text
- Choose a title that illustrates what your poster is about. Your title should be at least twice the size of your regular text.
- Choose colors carefully and pay attention to contrast. If in doubt, dark print on light background is best.
- Selectively incorporate charts, graphs, photographs, and other graphics that support the theme of your poster
- Avoid fuzzy images; make sure all graphics are high-resolution and easily visible
- Include your name and the UMD logo
- Edit your poster carefully before the final print-out
- University of Maryland high-resolution name logo for download
- University of Maryland high-resolution globe logo for download
- Colin Purrington has some simple poster templates on his blog in both PowerPoint and Open Office Draw formats. This is also one of the best of the online research poster blogs.
- Free PowerPoint Poster Templates and More Free Templates
- LaTeX Templates (LaTeX, pronounced "Lay-tech," is a document-preparation software commonly used in STEM disciplines)
- PhD Posters
- Poster Design Templates, The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication, Rice University
- Poster Genius, Sci-Gen Technologies (Can download free trial of software)
- Scientific Posters, Michael Alley, School of Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
- A step-by-step guide to creating an academic poster, Cornell University from the Haas Scholars website, University of California, Berkeley. This page has other downloadable PDFs on various topics related to undergraduate research.
- Check your academic department's website or undergraduate studies office or advisor—they may have some templates with the department/university logo available for students to use
- University of Texas Poster Samples for the sciences, social sciences, and humanities
- Flickr Poster Sessions Group
- PhD Poster Gallery
- Designing a Humanities/Social Sciences Research Poster
- Advice on Designing Scientific Posters, Colin Purrington blog, Swarthmore College
- Creating Anthropology Conference Posters: A Guide for Beginners by Jason E. Miller, MA and John K. Trainor, MS (University of South Florida), American Anthropological Association
- Creating Effective Posters from North Carolina State University
- Build a Research Poster, Office of Undergraduate Research and Artistry, Colorado State University (click on link underneath How Do I Build a CURC Poster?)
- Guidelines for Poster Presentations, Whitman College
- Poster and Presentation Resources, The Graduate School, University of North Carolina
- Poster Design Guide, The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication, Rice University
- Poster Presentations, The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Poster Resources and Design Tips, University of Nevada, Reno
- Poster Sessions, The Writing Studio, Colorado State University
- Preparing a Poster Presentation from Northeastern University via the WebGuru
- Preparing and Delivering Presentations, Academic Support Services, Amherst College
- Video Tutorials of Conference Poster Design, Research Guides of University of Maryland Libraries (Various step-by-step tutorials)
- InDesign CS5.5: Creating Poster Sessions, Mississippi State University Library (Step-by-step webcast on creating a poster in Adobe InDesign. InDesign is a popular design software)
- Extreme Makeover: Poster Edition, Utah State University Graduate Training Series (Workshop on improving poster design using Power Point)
Check your Poster
- After you have created your poster, review it using the checklist created by the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium.
Print your Poster
- The Engineering Copy Center on campus prints posters (cost $80 for 36 x 48 inch poster as of April 2023) and has a 24-hour turnaround time.
- There are two posters printer on the 2nd floor of McKeldin Library in the Learning Commons. One of the printers can print out posters of the 36 x 48 inch dimensions that are required for Undergraduate Research Day ($5 per square foot, approximately $60 for 36 x 48 inch poster as of April 2023).