
Master the technical basics of creating a scientific research poster—from software and sizes to fonts, colors, templates, charts, whitespace, and printing costs, while embracing style and marketing to grab attention.
PowerPoint is the recommended software for building a scientific research poster, offering ease and printer compatibility; consider Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Corel Draw, LaTeX, or Open Office, plus templates.
Explore free PowerPoint templates for scientific research posters and how to customize colors and layouts. Learn why Make signs dot com offers reliable downloadable templates and printing options.
Explore poster templates and browse example scientific research posters from Flickr and 1000 posters to gain inspiration, assess design quality, and gather feedback for your own poster.
Choose poster sizes based on conference limits and templates, using portrait or landscape layouts with aspect ratios; rely on templates and printer guidance to stay within PowerPoint’s 56 inch max.
Use the template fonts, mainly Arial sans-serif, and avoid external fonts or drop shadows; limit to one or two fonts, left-justify body text, and keep headlines large.
Save your poster as a PowerPoint file and minimize images and charts. Use high-resolution jpeg or png at 300 dpi to ensure crisp printing.
Design clear charts and graphs for scientific posters by using solid colors, avoiding grid lines, gray backgrounds, and pattern fills, and letting viewers eyeball the main results quickly.
Learn how white space defines poster readability by giving each section room to breathe and stand out, and choose templates with ample whitespace to avoid crowding and distractions.
Learn to craft a concise research poster that mirrors an abstract, outlining introduction, objectives, methods, results, and conclusion with minimal text and more visuals.
Learn to design a poster with a clear flow from top to bottom, and left to right, guiding readers from headline through methods and results to conclusions and references.
Learn to craft poster text that is readable in a loud conference hall by reading aloud, iterating with others, and simplifying wording to minimize stumbles.
Learn to craft a concise 20–30 second elevator pitch that accompanies your scientific poster, capturing attention, conveying your research, and guiding future questions at conferences.
Keep the poster simple and uncluttered, with a short, descriptive headline that evokes curiosity and a concise elevator pitch guiding readers through clean charts and ample whitespace.
Compare printing options for scientific posters, favoring professional poster printers for quality proofs, price, and speed, with tips on paper types, wrinkle-resistant fabric, rush service, and online proofs.
Create a killer scientific research poster by mastering technical, marketing, presentation, and printing aspects. Use PowerPoint with a template, keep text simple, craft a strong headline, and practice elevator pitches.
Thank you so much for taking my course! I hope you enjoyed it!
-John Elder
Presenting a Research Poster at an upcoming Conference? Making a Scientific Research Poster doesn’t have to be hard! In this video series I’ll walk you through it step by step.
I’ll show you what software to use, and where to get professional templates for free that let you point and click to make your poster FAST. You'll learn what Has to be on your Research Poster, and how to grab attention and get your poster noticed.
You'll Learn:
No Design Skills or Knowledge are Needed, I'll show you everything you need to make a great poster.