Scientific Poster Formatting and Layout
Layout and Flow
Negative or empty space is essential for a poster to be easily readable. Resist cramming every bit of information on to your poster. Summarize paragraphs, use bullet points and convert textual information into charts and graphs where possible. Consider grouping related text and data together with a border, so your reader can more easily digest bits of information.
The natural flow of a poster is in columns (vertically) that flow from left to right. "How many columns?" you ask. The size, width, and number of columns you have depends on the size of your font (and your content overall). Your reader should be able to easily read a line of text and move to the next line without loosing place (too long/ wide) or getting a headache from jumping to the next line every 5 words (too short/ narrow)!
It is also common to shrink the font of the References section if it becomes overbearing and long. If you have an extremely extensive list of references, you may want to break it into 2 columns.
The title should be descriptive, concise and informative. Try to keep the title on one line. If necessary, use a subtitle rather than breaking the title onto 2 lines.
Font Size
Since the size of scientific posters vary, there is no set formula to determine the size of your font. However, we've found a good rule of thumb to go by. View your PowerPoint slide as "Fit" instead of at a certain percentage, and if you can still read your title and headers then your font should be large enough. If you'd like something more accurate, you can use the formula to the right to determine how far to zoom in to view your poster at the size it will be printed.
Font Type
Most prefer to use a non-serif font (e.g., Arial) for titles and headings, and a serif font (e.g., Times) for body text. Serif-style fonts are much easier to read at smaller font sizes. DO NOT USE ALL CAPS IN TITLES, HEADERS, BODY TEXT, OR EVEN IN YOUR GRAPH LABELS. YOUR READERS MAY TAKE IT AS YELLING. Instead try to stick with "Title Case" or "Sentence case."
Next Section: Embedding Fonts (How-To)