Modified from MAKESIGNS Scientific Poster http://www.makesigns.com/tutorials/poster-design-layout.aspx#fontsizes.
Poster Design Principles & Tips:
From Font Sizes to Color Contrast
Undergraduate Research Center
UC Davis
Getting Started
Before you get started,
1. Start with your story and plan to have a beginning, middle, and end. Organize your ideas and create an
outline or sketch of where you plan to place the various details of your poster, which should include the
title, body of text, pictures, key points, etc. Decide where each section will go.
2. Focus on visuals and what you need to show the viewer your story. The pictures, facts, graphs and
diagrams are the most important part of the poster. Choose images and diagrams wisely and make sure
they clearly support your point. Always include a large picture to grab passersby’s attention. High quality
photos will translate better in large print.
3. Write a short title that is a positive statement describing the main result/takeaway. Use sentence case for
the title. Make it as large as possible, creating space by eliminating logos and reducing the font size of
authors and affiliations.
4. Do not include an abstract on the poster. It is redundant since it is a short summary of your work and so
is the rest of the poster.
5. Poster dimensions vary, but 48” x 36” (landscape or portrait) is a common poster size. Always size your
poster according to the requirements of the conference or assignment. Setting dimensions before editing
or adding components to the poster will reduce the amount of time needed to readjust the poster later.
Poster Posture & Flow
Your poster presentation should follow a path that leads anyone reading from section
to section. A reader should start in the upper left corner of the poster presentation and
work their way to the bottom of the poster then left to right adding new columns as
they need them. Your information should be clear and concise.
Ideally, an individual should be able to read it in 3-5 minutes.
Fonts & Formatting
There are many acceptable fonts and font styles to choose from, but less is often best. Here are some basic font
guidelines to consider:
Consider using short passages or “bullet” format.
Use sans serif fonts, which typically read better and are viewable from a distance.
Keep heading sizes consistent. Text having the same level of importance should be the same font size.
Avoid excessive text. (Poster should have roughly 20% text, 40% figures, 40% space)
Text and figures should be legible from around 5-7 feet away (or roughly 1.5m to 2m) (see our text size
suggestions below)
Leave breathing space around your text and sections.
Do not use a different font type to highlight important points - otherwise the fluency and flow of your
sentence can appear disrupted.
Do not use all UPPER CASE type in your posters. It can make the material difficult to read.
Use the bold face or italics or combinations to emphasize words and phrases.
Left-align text. Using fully justified text will create large gaps between some words and make it difficult
to read.