How to design a scientific poster

A scientific poster works when a visitor can grasp your main finding within a few seconds from a few metres away. That means a short, informative title, one clear take-home message, two or three strong figures and very little running text. The details belong in the conversation you have with the people who stop.

Before you design anything, read the conference’s poster instructions. They set the format, orientation and sometimes the session times, and they override any template.

Check the formal requirements first

• Maximum size and orientation (portrait or landscape) of the poster board
• Whether a template, logo rules or a poster number are required
• Date and time of your poster session and when to put the poster up and take it down
• Whether a digital version or a short “flash” presentation is expected
• Mounting material: pins, tape or Velcro provided or not

A0 (841 × 1189 mm) in portrait is common at European conferences, but many meetings specify a different size. Use exactly the format stated.

Layout: how a reader moves across the poster

People read posters in columns, from top left to bottom right. A classic layout looks like this:

Area	Content
Header (full width)	Title, authors, affiliations, logos if allowed
Column 1	Background and research question in a few lines
Column 2	Methods as a diagram or a short numbered sequence
Column 3	Results with the main figure, large and labelled
Bottom or side panel	Conclusion and take-home message, references, contact, QR code

A popular alternative puts the main finding in one large sentence in the centre, with supporting figures and methods around it. It works well at busy sessions where visitors decide in passing whether to stop.

Text: less than you think

• Title: state the finding or the question, not just the topic. “Higher soil moisture slows root growth in young beech” tells the visitor more than “Root growth study”.
• Font size: the title should be readable from several metres, body text from about one metre. Test this by printing a section at full size or viewing the PDF at 100 per cent.
• Sentences: short and active. Prefer bullet points to paragraphs.
• References: only the essential ones, in small type at the bottom, in your usual citation style.

Figures and colour

1. Choose the one figure that best shows your result and make it the largest element.
2. Simplify charts: remove unnecessary grid lines, label axes in readable type and put labels directly on the lines instead of in a legend where possible.
3. Use a limited palette of two or three colours plus grey, and check that the poster still works for people with colour vision deficiencies.
4. Use high-resolution images. Graphics copied from a slide often look blurred at A0.
5. Leave white space. A crowded poster looks like hard work and people walk past.

Software

PowerPoint, LibreOffice Impress, Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator or InDesign, Affinity Publisher, Canva and LaTeX all work. Set the page size to the final format from the start rather than scaling later, embed fonts and export to PDF. Many universities offer poster templates in their corporate design, which can save time; check whether they fit the conference’s format.

Printing

Order printing early, because print shops can be busy before major conferences. Your options:

• Paper, matt or satin: crisp and usually the cheaper option, transported in a poster tube.
• Fabric: foldable, light and robust when travelling by plane.
• University print service: many institutions run an in-house service, sometimes at reduced prices for staff and students.

Always look at a proof or at least the PDF at 100 per cent zoom before ordering. The same file discipline as for printing and binding a thesis applies: embedded fonts, correct size, sharp images.

At the poster session

1. Prepare a summary of about a minute that explains the question, the approach and the main result.
2. Stand next to the poster, not in front of it, and invite people with a short question.
3. Adapt depth to the visitor: a specialist wants methods, a passer-by wants the story.
4. Bring business cards, a handout or a QR code linking to a preprint or your profile.
5. Note questions and contacts afterwards; they often lead to useful collaborations.

If you are also asked to give a short talk, our guide on submitting to a conference and giving the talk helps you build it. Many posters are an early stage of a later paper, described in how to publish a research paper.