What makes a good poster?

Important information should be readable from about 5 to 10 feet away
Title is short and draws interest
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

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 my audience? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, images?
What kind of information can I convey during my talk that will complement my poster?

What size should my poster be?

Poster size is determined by the purpose. The ATC prints on paper that comes in 3 widths; 24”. 36”, and 42”. One of the dimensions of your poster must fit on one of those sizes. The other dimension can be whatever you need.

Academic Related Purposes

If you are printing a poster for a class, the size will be determined by your instructor.
Posters printed for Great Problem Seminar classes must be 36" x 48".
Posters printed for GRIE day are a maximum of 36” x 48”.
Posters printed for Project Presentation Day will be determined by the department for which you are presenting.
Check with the specific instructions for posters sessions at conferences. Some conferences require that all of the posters by a specific size. Other conferences will tell you what the maximum display area is for your research.

Clubs and Events

Consider where you will be displaying the poster.
If your poster is going to be 13”x19” or smaller, you should have it printed at Printing Services via the website. Any poster over those dimensions can be printed at the ATC. Click here for a link to Printing Services.

What can I use to make a poster?

The ATC recommends the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. If you use other software, there are many printing limitations. See our chart below for software that is commonly used to create posters. All posters produced in something other than PowerPoint, must be submitted as a PDF and must be error free. With special advanced arrangements, the ATC may accept a Photoshop file.

**What software can I use to make my poster?**

Best Software Choices	Workable Software	Do Not Use
PowerPoint - Save as: ppt/pptx Best file format for review, last-minute adjustments, and printing. Text quality is reserved even when changing size and/or aspect ratio. ATC can provide extensive assistance when submitting large format print.	Canva - You need a license to produce Canva images that have sufficient pixels (Faculty and Staff should contact the IT Services Desk). Students will have access, please see articles on the Hub. You must create the image at the final dimensions you plan on having printed. Placing an image that you made in Canva onto a PowerPoint slide, does not make it a PowerPoint file. Images made in Canva must be submitted as a pdf. Please note: there are banding issue with gradient backgrounds and flattening of transparencies when using Canva.	Google Docs Both PowerPoint and PDF export options produce files which need additional preparation steps to print correctly. If you design in Google Slides, please build a final version natively in PowerPoint. At this time, please do not begin a poster in Google Docs with the intention of exporting to PowerPoint or PDF; the conversion frequently will not print correctly.
Adobe Photoshop - Save as: pdf or psd/psb Photoshop Document Be sure to set you canvas size properly from the beginning. The ATC would prefer a PDF, but can work with the original Adobe Photoshop file with advanced permission from ATC full-time staff. Maximum for one dimension would be ATC papersize 42". Please email atc@wpi.edu before submitting an PSD file for additional details.	Adobe InDesign - Save as: pdf Be sure to set you poster size properly. One dimension will have to fit ATC poster paper dimensions (maximum of 42"). Be sure to export to PDF.	Keynote Many visual features do not print correctly - please do not use this software for posters.
Adobe Illustrator - Save as: ai and pdf (submit both, preferably) Be sure to set you canvas size properly from the beginning. Please export your work to a PDF to submit, but also bring the original Adobe Illustrator file in case there are any errors with the PDF. Maximum for one dimension would be ATC papersize 42". Please email atc@wpi.edu before submitting an AI file for additional details.	AutoCAD/Solidworks - Save as: pdf Be sure to set you poster size properly. One dimension will have to fit ATC poster paper dimensions (maximum of 42"). There is little that the ATC can do to assist you with poster made with this program. Poster must be submitted without errors and as a PDF file.	Pages PDF export does not follow document standards. May not print - please use a different application to build the poster.
Publisher - Save as: pdf The most important thing to do is set your page size correctly from the beginning. Publisher will not scale text and images correctly after-the-fact.	LaTex - Save as: pdf Be sure to set you poster size properly. One dimension will have to fit ATC poster paper dimensions (maximum of 42"). There is little that the ATC can do to assist you with poster made with this program. Poster must be submitted without errors and as a PDF file.
	Microsoft Word - Save as: pdf Maximum page size, 22x22 inches, is generally too small for large format printing.
	Excel - Save as: pdf Large format prints may not always look like original. For most purposes it is better to insert a table into a PowerPoint slide.
	Visio - Save as: tif (Tagged Image Format) Printing is very problematic when there are images embedded within the document. Preferably for flow-chart printing only.