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Adelphi University

Creating a Research Poster

Guidance on how to create a research poster for presentation

These guidelines were compiled from the literature on creating effective research posters. Please see the tab "For further reading" for in-depth information. 

Include the most important/interesting findings from your research. Balance text and visuals. 

  • Use bullet points; brief text, avoid long paragraphs
  • Use visuals to tell the story; fewer words - maximum of 800 words

 

For scientific posters, these are common headings to include:

  • Introduction or objectives
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • References 
  • Disclosures
  • Acknowledgements

 

Charts/Figures/Graphs/Photographs:

  • Self-explanatory and not complicated
  • Use color rather than black and white
  • 2 dimensional figures

 

Other information to include in a small section at the end of the poster:

  • May include- 1-3 major references
  • Acknowledgements
  • Sources of funding 
Font type:
  • Serif fonts for headings and where there isn't a lot of text
    • Times New Roman, Garamond, Cambria, and Georgia
  • Sans-serif fonts for where there is a lot of text
    • Examples of sans-serif fonts: Arial, Calibri, and Verdana 

 

Font size:
  • For headings: 36-48
  • For body text: 24-40

 

Viewers should be able to read the poster from a few feet (3' - 5') away

 

  • Use a white background
  • Limit 2 colors of text = main color and accent color

 

Check to see if the conference where the poster will be presented has guidelines. 

Pay attention to the flow of the poster. 

Allow for white space, where there is no text. This gives the viewers' eyes a place to rest.

 

Typically divided into sections:

  • Introduction and aims
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Other (see "Content" tab)

 

Flow (upper to lower):

  • Begin at upper left and end at the bottom right
  • 3 -5 columns to facilitate reading

 

Charts/Figures/Graphs/Photographs::

  • Place close to text it is relevant to
  • Place major figures centrally
  • Avoid overcrowding 

Provide further information for interested viewers.

References:

Haugh, D. (2024). Designing effective posters. [Webinar]. Medical Library Association.