how to make a phd poster

How to Create a Research Poster

• Poster Basics
• Design Tips
• Logos & Images

What is a Research Poster?

Posters are widely used in the academic community, and most conferences include poster presentations in their program.  Research posters summarize information or research concisely and attractively to help publicize it and generate discussion. 

The poster is usually a mixture of a brief text mixed with tables, graphs, pictures, and other presentation formats. At a conference, the researcher stands by the poster display while other participants can come and view the presentation and interact with the author.

What Makes a Good Poster?

• Important information should be readable from about 10 feet away
• Title is short and draws interest
• Word count of about 300 to 800 words
• Text is clear and to the point
• Use of bullets, numbering, and headlines make it easy to read
• Effective use of graphics, color and fonts
• Consistent and clean layout
• Includes acknowledgments, your name and institutional affiliation

A Sample of a Well Designed Poster

View this poster example in a web browser .  

Image credit: Poster Session Tips by [email protected], via Penn State

Where do I begin?

Answer these three questions:.

• What is the most important/interesting/astounding finding from my research project?
• How can I visually share my research with conference attendees? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, images?
• What kind of information can I convey during my talk that will complement my poster?

What software can I use to make a poster?

A popular, easy-to-use option. It is part of Microsoft Office package and is available on the library computers in rooms LC337 and LC336. ( Advice for creating a poster with PowerPoint ).

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign

Feature-rich professional software that is good for posters including lots of high-resolution images, but they are more complex and expensive.  NYU Faculty, Staff, and Students can access and download the Adobe Creative Suite .

Open Source Alternatives 

• OpenOffice is the free alternative to MS Office (Impress is its PowerPoint alternative).
• Inkscape and Gimp are alternatives to Adobe products.
• For charts and diagrams try Gliffy or Lovely Charts .
• A complete list of free graphics software .

A Sample of a Poorly Designed Poster

View this bad poster example in a browser.

Image Credit: Critique by Better Posters

• Next: Design Tips >>
• Last Updated: Jul 11, 2023 5:09 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/posters

Crafting an Excellent (PhD) Research Poster

“A research poster is a well-structured, attractive, self-explanatory and concise piece of information representing your PhD or research work.” 

A PhD student should have to do a lot of stuff during the entire tenure of their PhD. Their work includes searching the literature, writing thesis & research articles, doing lab work & fieldwork and conducting lectures. 

They also have to present their work too to get academic and research recognition. In fact, in some countries and education systems, 1 to 2 research presentations are mandatory. 

Meaning, prospective students must have to present their work besides completing other criteria. One has to wait a bit more if they fail to do this. So presenting your work has significant importance much like your PhD thesis or research article. 

Students can present their work in scientific gatherings such as seminars, symposiums or conferences. Two common ways to present the research work are either presenting it through presentation or through research posters. 

Most students prefer presenting a poster rather than facing scientists during the presentation. And of course, it’s an easy way too. You may even win prizes ( the majority of students just want to present it! They don’t even bother about prizes and positions. ) 

So the moral of the story is that if you are in a PhD or doctorate, you will probably have to present a research poster in the coming time or in the future. 

Sometimes, a bad research paper may spoil your and your supervisor’s reputation, that’s why it should be nearly perfect. In this blog post, I am gonna tell you how you can make an excellent research poster, why it’s needed and why it is important! 

I will also tell you to use which platforms for making an amazing poster. So I know the topic perhaps isn’t important for you now! But it will save your PhD, trust me. 

Stay tuned, 

What is a research poster? 

A research poster is a part of the academic curriculums in the majority of Education systems in which students can present their work. Schools conduct poster sessions for fun activities and encourage students to be more and more involved in research. 

However, universities conduct research poster presentations to establish someone’s original work. 

Put simply, it’s a platform for prospective candidates to present their research or a minute portion of their work in front of the scientific community. 

Definition: 

A research poster comprises research in summarize, concise, and attractive manner including texts, infographics, images and colors. 

What is the importance of a research poster?

As I said, there are several benefits of presenting a poster. First, you can consider it as a gate to enter the scientific fraternity. It’s not just a poster, it’s a piece of information, a valuable one and useful. 

Online platforms such as “ResearchGate” have options to add posters in your “research portfolio”, meaning, it is essential.

You can get scientific recognition as well as acknowledgment if you have done fantastic research. 

A research poster is mandatory to achieve a doctorate degree. It is one of the measures to award the degree. 

You can interact with other newbie researchers in your field and can make a community. 

You can interact and get in contact with some well-known scientists too. You even can take their help in your PhD. 

Last but not the least, you can win a prize! 

What to include in the research poster? 

Now you may wonder how you can make an outstanding but professional poster. Here are ‘must include’ things.

• Words and attractive titles. 
• Colors and shapes 
• Interactive and infographics 
• Statistics, graphs and images. 

Any research which belongs to you can be included. These technical thighs must be there too, 

• Introduction 
• Material & methods 
• Results and conclusion 
• References. 

Keep in mind that you ain’t writing a research paper , use less text and try to make it attractive. Here are examples, 

In addition, don’t forget to mention your name, your guide’s name, institutional affiliation and University on the poster. If possible include acknowledgments too. 

How to make an excellent research poster? 

• Include words around 300 to 800 (maximum). 
• A reader can read your text from a minimum of 10 feet. 
• Write to the point 
• Propose a short, self-explanatory and interest-driven title 
• Use eye-catchy colors and a professional layout. 

Research poster Template specifications: 

Here I have given two different poster template formats which are common. You can use a wider one or a longer one, that depends on you. However, how you present it matters more than the design. 

Tips for a Research Paper: 

• Use a chart or something like that to present the Material and methods section. 
• Present results in Charts and tables. 
• Include statistical analysis in results to avoid unnecessary data. 
• Use images to show the introduction and background. 

Conclusion: 

A research poster is a unique opportunity for newbie scientists that present their work. When someone gives you positive feedback or appreciates your work, you feel great. And that’s important. 

Timely presenting work will boost your confidence to do more with your PhD work, and I think perhaps it’s the main objective of conducting a presentation session. 

In addition, use Powerpoint Presentation or Keynote for preparing it, or you can make your work easy by choosing ready-to-use templates available online. 

Remember a research poster is as important as your dissertation, research paper or viva. If you have any suggestions or questions do let me know in the comment section. 

Dr. Tushar Chauhan is a Scientist, Blogger and Scientific-writer. He has completed PhD in Genetics. Dr. Chauhan is a PhD coach and tutor.

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Make Scientific Research Posters that Get Attention

Think of your scientific research conference poster as a networking and communication tool, and not a document or summary. If you can do this, you’ve taken a huge first step in making your scientific research poster a magnet for attendees. And you’ll draw envious glares from the presenters on your left and right.

At scientific and research-related conferences, poster presentations are:

• Your visual backdrop and a compelling statement of your research
• A conversation starter
• Your chance to get attention!

If done well, your poster presentation can:

• Help you make valuable professional and personal connections
• Quickly and compellingly communicate why your work is important
• Set you apart from the crowd!

If your poster’s done poorly, it can achieve nothing. You need to them to stop and take notice, connect with you, not… walk on by.

Make your poster presentation pop. Sizes, fonts, style, tone, tools, and examples follow.

What you’ll learn in this post

• Where scientific posters are used, and why.

• The objective and what to keep in mind when planning and making a scientific research poster.

• How researchers can more effectively use poster presentations to both inform and connect.

• What to put on a scientific poster and what software tools will make it pop.

• Common poster mistakes (especially for ESL/EFL English users) and how to avoid them.

• Specific examples of attractive, effective, and modern posters.

What is a poster session and a poster presentation?

Academic conferences have presentation where people stand behind lecterns and talk about their work. And they have networking sessions, which are commonly called poster sessions .

If you’re a researcher, you’ve likely been there: halls and lobbies full of boards arranged in rows onto which researchers pin their posters – graphical, pictorial summaries of their work. These are chances to promote your work to colleagues and even to the prestigious attendees.

There may be food involved, too. So, in a poster session, people may be walking around with a drink in one hand and a stack of pamphlets and papers in the other.

What do you do at a poster session?

You stand by your poster, for one. And you walk around and look at other posters as you network. Guests also walk around among the posters, stopping to talk with attendees along the way.

Apart from your stage presentation, if you had one, this is your chance for your work to capture interest.

As a researcher, you’re probably not used being a salesperson. You may also be scared to death of speaking with strangers, especially VIP scientists.

That’s OK, you have your poster to do some of the work for you. It’s your key that unlocks engagement.

What’s the goal of a poster?

A poster’s goal is to get the attention of passersby at scientific conferences. It’s a big paper board and a networking tool.

Simply put, a presentation poster is a graphical representation of your recent work – an article or a work in progress, or even a proposal. Printed on a big board.

More than that, it’s an engagement tool. To get people to stop, look, and engage, the poster should be treated like a presentation slide, rather than a document.

A good poster is attractive, clear, and when it gets interest, its mission is accomplished.

When people stop, you can approach them, because you’re the researcher. You can start dialog and connect. The poster is what made this happen.

What a poster is NOT

We edit many posters at Edanz. We fix up the English to a high level, of course. But frankly, many of these research posters are rather dull, even when they are presenting interesting science that people will want to discuss. The authors only see them as super-sized abstracts with a figure or two added.

Often they squeeze in too many words and lots of numbers and data. Many of these posters are have problems with formatting, making them hard to read and understand.

A conference poster is not a place to present all your data and give deep analysis. It doesn’t need every single detail of your latest article.

It does, however, need a logical structure and some visual appeal.

A poster is not to communicate every detail of your research, but rather to attract people’s attention and start conversation. Keep that in mind as you prepare it.

So then, what do you put on a research poster and how do you make it?

What goes on a poster for a poster presentation?

The overall structure and flow of a poster presentation is much like a research paper.

Key elements of a poster

As the late Paul Arden, a renowned creative director, said:

“The more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it. And, more importantly, they will remember you.”

It’s true of ads and it’s true of scientific posters. Your poster should contain text and visuals. How you use them will determine its success.

Text in a poster

A poster typically includes the following text:

• Title of your work
• Authors and affiliations
• Introduction/background
• (optional) Questions/knowledge gap
• Materials, Materials and methods, or Patients
• Conclusions
• References for proper attribution
• Acknowledgements

As with a manuscript, and what our professional editors always recommend, much of the same applies for a poster presentation.

The key difference is that you don’t have to strictly adhere to grammatical rules. A few sentence fragments are fine. Bullet points are recommended.

But you still have to keep it academic. No slang or emojis, yo. ?

As for length, 300–800 words as a general rule. Any more than that and your font will probably become too small to read or there will be too much text jammed into your sections.

Despite the consensus being on around 300–800, some argue for even as low as 100–150, on the grounds that very few people actually read posters word for word anyway. If you have one solid main point, you might try this approach, and instead let your images and formatting do the main communicating.

Do your best to:

• Keep your wording as short and “plain” (understandable to a wide audience) as possible.
• Use the active voice (“We found…”) not the passive voice (…was found by…).
• Use language suitable for your audience; meaning you can use specialized terminology if they’ll understand it.
• Use ordered lists when possible – bullets (like this list) and numbers.
• Spell out any uncommon acronyms the first time you use them, unless they’re very common (such as HIV-AIDS or NGO).

We’d be happy to assign a pro editor to help you with this.

Visual elements of a poster

You accompany the text with visuals. Please use visuals. An all-text poster is no better than printing out your abstract in jumbo size.

Would a full-text billboard get your attention? Unlikely. It’s an eyesore. The same is true of a full-text or 95% text poster.

A couple of useful questions as you start

These will help you decide what to put In and in what format:

• What’s the most important finding that I want to communicate? (More than 1 is OK, but try to limit it.)
• How can I visually share my research with the conference attendees (e.g., charts, graphs, photos, diagrams… holograms!)?

Layout and visually effective posters

After you’ve decided what you’ll put in your poster (text and images), you need to plan your layout.

Sketch it out

It’s good to start with a sketch. You can simply do this by hand, in your Apple Notes or Google Keep, or in any number of increasingly available SaaS and local software packages.

If you’re confident, you can also just dive into your main software (see below). Whatever works best for you. If you’re collaborating with colleagues, a cloud-based platform will let you work collectively and from a distance.

Horizontal or vertical

Most poster presentations are horizontal, but it’s not a rule. If your conference doesn’t have specific guidelines, these are the most common sizes.

Make it flow logically

English is read left to right and top to bottom. So the text should follow that flow as well.

Normally, your title and the authors and affiliations will go at the top of your presentation poster. Then use headings (H2, H3, H4, etc. if you’re using Word Styles/HTML) to break it up. Those headings will simply be the abstract-type structure listed above. But you can add specific subheadings to them.

It’s not a journal submission , so you can make the rules, unless the conference has provided a template and/or specific guidelines.

Columns, alignment, spacing

Typically, a scientific conference poster will have 2–4 columns. These should be aligned, though it’s OK if visuals cross over multiple columns. Try to keep the text as aligned as possible though.

Left justification is generally easier to read, while headings may look better if they’re centered.

Leave white space between subsections and around images.

Those examples show quite a lot of text. That may or may not be necessary for you. You can also view these as slides or blocks. Using that approach you can make each section a slide in PowerPoint or Google Slides, and then paste them together to form your poster.

Here’s another take on structure, with a couple of vertical options:

The above two are rather conventional choices, and you can’t go wrong with them. But this is the 21st century and if there are no guidelines, you can be even braver. You can, dare we say, disrupt. Keep reading.

Colors and fonts

Your background should be plain white or a very subtle gradient that’s not distracting. Your text should be clear and easy to read. Any charts or graphics should be understood quickly and not include any unnecessary elements.

The standard fonts for English text are Arial and Times New Roman. Fonts are not something to toy with on your research poster. Other safe options are:

• And if you insist on being a bit unique with your font, Lato, Noto Sans, Poppins, and Merriweather will set you apart but maintain a mature look.

Avoid using Century font, as it seems to be the default on MS Word in Japan and possible other Asian countries. We’re not sure why, but it’s a rather clumsy and “uncool” font. Just use one of the above suggestions.

And finally, resist the urge to be cute and funny. That means absolutely do not use Comic Sans, a script font, or anything decorative. You might get a chuckle from a few viewers, but 90% will not be impressed. Guaranteed.

A special note to Asia-based authors:

Do not write English text in an Asian font.

We see this all too often on papers and manuscripts. Asian fonts are designed with different spacing to accommodate wider characters. This gives English text a blocky, imbalanced, and unnatural feel. This can create discomfort and even lead to bias.

• For Chinese authors, avoid SimSum and others.
• Japanese authors – avoid MS Mincho, MS Gothic, and others.
• And Korean authors – don’t use Malgun.

Use matte paper and attach this to the board. Alternatively, you can even print on canvas or cloth for a classy effect. This also lets you fold it into a suitcase or roll it into a tube for easier transport.

Avoid silk because it can sag and warp. It’s not durable enough.

Above all, avoid glossy surfaces, because they can reflect the light. Then no one can read your poster. This includes lamination. It may protect your paper, but it only hurts the readability.

“Fabric posters are a great idea. Typically I use cotton. Spend a bit extra to get yours printed on fabric. It’s much more convenient than traveling with a poster tube and you’ll save yourself some sanity at the conference.” — Jacqueline Tudball , PhD Edanz Author Guidance Consultant

What should you NOT put on your presentation poster?

A viewer might only spend a minute or two looking at your poster, so they should be able to quickly sense of it and what you’re trying to say.

Big no-nos are:

• Too many images, tables , or graphs – use the main one with a brief explanation
• Text that’s too small to read – check if you can easily read the body from from 1 m away and the headline from at least 3 m away
• Too many references – just cite what’s important regarding the information in your poster
• Competing eye-catching images – one is enough
• A picture that doesn’t say anything; your images have to communicate a core message
• Light text on a dark background; it hurts the eyes
• Glossy covering, or printing on glossy paper

What software should you use to make a research poster?

Use software you’re comfortable with, or use this as an opportunity to lift your design skills. If you’re working with others on your poster, all the major software packages have cloud-based options . But some are clearly better than others.

And if you dream of being a design wizard but your actual skills have other ideas, most of the tools below offer handy poster templates to get you started.

PowerPoint is also a very useful tool for making poster presentations. Set the page size before starting and add in your elements. You can either do this on a single slide or make each section a separate slide, then print and paste them to form your poster.

With the MS 365 suite, you can make your PowerPoint cloud-based so your whole research team can work on it no matter where they are. Just be aware that MS 365 still trails Google Workspace for ease of use. It’s hard to work on things at the same time on MS 365. The whole MS suite is also pay-to-use, unlike Google.

Here’s a terrific compilation of free PowerPoint poster templates.

Google Slides

Like Google Docs and Sheets are to MS Word and Excel, Google Slides is Google’s cloud-based version of PowerPoint. It’s cloud-based, so you your project will be PC- and place-independent, and your team can work on it collectively in real time. You can also import PowerPoint ppt/pptx files and they’ll generally convert with no problems at all.

Perhaps best of all, it’s free. And you’ll be compromising very little vs. PowerPoint. For the more design-talented, Adobe may be your best bet.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a long-standing program for both image manipulation and poster design. It’s now part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, which also includes Photoshop.

In Illustrator can set the page size for your poster beforehand and use templates to create a base.

As this software was design for a wide range of publishing functions, it’s easy to move things around. If you’re used to it and comfortable with it, use it. Just be aware that .ai files may not be compatible with other software. It’s also paid. So your whole team will need it and need to be comfortable with it if they’re going to be working on the poster design.

Adobe InDesign

Adobe InDesign has actually been around for over 20 years. But it’s taken a long time to gain a loyal following. Many professional designers now swear by it for its rich suite of options.

Especially for publications, when working with larger amounts of text, InDesign may be the best large-scale commercial software around.

Publishers and design agencies often use it in combination with Adobe InCopy, which the text-based roles such as copywriters and editors can use more easily and with less instruction.

You can find a handy PDF here on making posters in InDesign.

This a less-conventional choice but even design novices can turn out visually appealing designs on Canva .

While not near the complexity and power of the Adobe programs, Canva’s appeal is how very user-friendly it is, as well as its pre-baked features such as templates, color pallets, fonts, and a drag-and-drop interface.

Canva is free for basic use. A paid membership of about $10/month opens up a huge library of images and other options for you to use.

What not to use

Even if you’ve been using MS Word since you learned to read and write, it’s not the best choice for a poster presentation.

Can you do a poster presentation on Word? Sure.

Will be it easy to move objects to just where you want them, work with multimedia, adjust resolution and colors, and print out a clear and compelling poster? No, it won’t.

Word has a tendency for things to falls apart when the document structure gets too complex and with multiple elements.

It’s also designed foremost for handling text. Stick with tools like Word, MY manuscript , and Google Docs for writing your manuscripts and for increasing your publication rate . Then use one of the other recommendations above for designing your poster.

Whatever you use, print and adjust

Whatever software you use, print out your poster, pin it to the wall, and look at it from 5 or 6 meters away. It will look totally different than it did on your computer screen.

Adjust accordingly.

Examples of good posters

You’ll find different good elements in these examples.

This first one is a straight and clean design, Times New Roman font, plenty of white space, three defined columns and a reasonable amount of text. It also has photos to balance out the simplistic charts.

This next one really ups the game. The text sections are pastel blocks and contain ample text. There’s comfortable white space. But what really grabs you is that fish!

You’ll need to up your design game to match this one. Or simply hire a designer to make it pop.

Insider PhD tips on making winning research posters

Finally, some tips for your poster presentation, in no particular order.

• Before you start, check the conference info or ask the conference secretariat directly if there are guidelines.
• If want to communicate more info than you can put on the poster, print out A4- or letter-sized supplements and hand them out to people who are interested.
• Keep sponsors and names to a minimum. It’s about the science, first and foremost.
• Make sure all visual have a short legend to explain them.
• The background and text should have contrast, but watch out for color clashes. Google “color contrast checker” for ideas on good color combinations. Canva also offers many recommended pairings.
• Always take your own pins, tape, Velcro, etc.

Hope that helps. When you want to be sure your poster’s message is in superb scientific English, contact us for an edit.

To explore the publication process, including post-publication and publicizing your work, take an expert-designed course at the Edanz My Learning Lab .

RECOMMENDED COURSE: How to Give a Poster Presentation ?

RECOMMENDED COURSE: Presenting and Discussing Your Research

How to Make a Science Research Poster: Design

• Example Posters and Critiques

Design: Text

• Text – less is more!
• Use graphics to tell the story when possible
• Use just a few sentences to describe the figures

Design: Fonts

• Large text – should be able to read it from a few feet away (~ 80 pts or larger for title, 36 or larger for headings, 24 or larger for text, 18 or larger for captions)
• a san serif font such as helvetica, arial, or calibri often used for title and headings
• serif fonts such as times new roman, cambria, georgia, or palatino often used for text
• don’t use comic sans.
• Use bolding , not all caps, for emphasis and use sparingly (once or twice on the poster, if at all). Italics should be saved for species names.

Design: Clean Background

• Large background images are usually distracting and not recommended

Design: Spacing

• The poster should have white space around all text and figures – it shouldn’t look crammed 

Image credit: https://colinpurrington.com/tips/poster-design

Design: Colors

• About 8% of men and 0.5% of women are color-blind. It's therefore critical to choose colors that will readable to your entire audience.
• Use color-blind friendly colors. Avoid certain combos such as green & red or blue & purple (see the chart below)
• The blue boxes illustrate that color combos can look very different in color-blinded and non-color-blinded vision. For non-color-blinded vision, green and bluish green is almost indistinguishable but for a color-blinded person, red and green are similarly difficult to tell apart.

Image credit: http://jfly.iam.u-tokyo.ac.jp/color/#see

Design: Alignment

• Make sure everything is properly aligned and evenly spaced. PowerPoint and other graphics software packages such as Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape have alignment functions.
• Below is an example of a poster that has poor alignment. Aligning boxes, figures, and text boxes helps keep the reader focused on the science rather than distracting design.

Poor alignment

Good alignment

How to align in PowerPoint: 

• Select two or more objects
• Find the alignment tool under the Arrange Objects icon of the Home tab 
• Choose which edges you want to align (i.e. top, bottom, left, right)

• << Previous: Content
• Next: Example Posters and Critiques >>
• Last Updated: Aug 16, 2022 9:44 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.cmu.edu/scienceposters

104: How to Give a Perfect Poster Presentation

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It’s a tragic fact: many jaw-dropping, eye-opening, and heart-pounding research results never makes an impact on the scientific community.

And it’s partly your fault.

By “your,” of course,  I mean all of us.  Because when we waste the opportunity to share our results in their best light at a scientific conference or poster session, our viewers may overlook this valuable insight.

But we can do better!  With a little planning, collaboration, and hard work, we can make even a humble poster presentation a vehicle for inspiring the next discovery and building our scientific network.

Let’s get started!

Poster Perfect

A poster session is a unique opportunity for a young scientist.

As a viewer, you get the chance to engage in a casual conversation with other scientists, often one-on-one, about a topic that interests you.  It’s an opportunity to ask for clarity, pose a question, or offer ideas without an audience of 200 staring at the back of your head.

As a presenter, you get all of those benefits, as well as an opportunity to build your network and identify collaborators.  You also get many chances to practice your ‘pitch’ as new visitors step up every few minutes.  It will sharpen both your skill as a communicator and your research plan.

And while there are probably some guidelines for being a good poster-viewer, in this episode, we focused our discussion on the best ways to prepare and present a poster.

Before You Begin

As with any presentation, answering a few questions before you get started will save you hours in front of the computer.

Know Your Audience

If you are presenting to the Microbiology Conference, you may want to include more detailed background information than if you’re presenting to other experts in your sub-field at a Malaria Symposium.  Space is limited, and thinking ahead about what your audience may, or may not, know will help you prepare for the proper range of visitor experience.

Start Early

You may be a wizard of poster creation and can put off your design until the night before you fly to the conference, but that’s a bad idea.  Instead, leave extra time before printing share your file with collaborators for review.  They need time to look over your work and offer feedback before it’s committed to (gigantic) paper.

Practice, Practice, Practice

You’ll also need time to practice presenting the poster.  More on this later, but sometimes the act of presentation lets us see where we have gaps or mistakes in the logic or design.  It’s a good idea to practice with people from outside your lab because if they are already familiar with your work, they won’t notice when you skip steps or fail to explain a concept clearly.

Find Your Story

It may sound odd, but poster presentation is a form of story-telling.  The best posters make that story clear and concise.

Even if you have multiple projects in the lab, choose ONE to present in your poster.  Start by jotting down a central question you’re trying to answer, or a hypothesis your lab is testing.  Keeping this key idea in mind as you prepare the presentation will give you a firm structure on which to hang the other elements.

Making a Poster

There are a couple of broad guidelines to keep in mind as you create your poster.

First, remember that the poster is a visual form, and space is limited.  That means you should avoid printing long paragraphs of text.  Instead, use the space to display graphs, images, and figures, with a few bullet points or figure legends to help the viewer track the story.

Second, stick with a ‘standard’ layout.  Your viewers have been trained for years to look for titles at the top and conclusions on the bottom right.  You make viewing your poster harder by moving these elements around.

Third, maintain consistency within your poster.  Stick with one or two fonts, and be sure that headings, bullets, and figures are matched in style, weight, and size.

Finally, give your work some breathing room.  White-space is important, and will make the poster more readable.

Poster Pieces

Manuscript titles are often formulaic and a bit dull as they describe the basic findings of the research paper, but your poster title can be more creative.  The goal is to catch a viewer’s attention while also letting them know what they’ll see when they visit.

Again, remembering your audience, include enough information to help them understand your main question or hypothesis.  Avoid paragraphs, and include a figure or diagram if you can.

Hypothesis / Main Question

This section is an absolute must, so don’t forget it!  It lets the viewer instantly understand what the poster is about and what they can expect to learn if they follow you through to the conclusion.

Again, a diagram or figure works great here.  Use this section to help the viewer understand your experimental approach to the question.  You don’t need to detail every last step – save that for the paper you publish!

This is where the action is.  Remember – you don’t need to include every experiment you’ve ever done.  Just describe the results that help address the main question/hypothesis.

Use descriptive figure titles that help the viewer understand your conclusion.  “Gel of Protein X” doesn’t help anyone, but “Protein X is Up-Regulated After Drug Treatment” tells them what they should expect to see in the scan. 

Cut out extraneous information or parts of the image, and use arrows or boxes to help direct attention to the relevant parts.

Double check this section for readability – axes and labels can often be too small to read from a four-foot distance.

Conclusions

Another chance to draw a diagram!  Or use 2-3 bullet points to help summarize what you’ve found.

Other Sections

Some posters include acknowledgements or future directions.  These are optional and might make sense on a case-by-case basis.

Every poster should include the author’s contact info, though!  This allows people to reach out even if you’ve stepped away from the poster, and helps collaborators keep in touch after the meeting.

Presenting a Poster

Crafting the perfect poster is only half the battle, now it’s time to describe that work from start to finish.

Timing is Everything

Walking a viewer through your presentation should take roughly five to seven minutes.  That doesn’t seem like a long time, but it’s an important target.  Many presenters take too long to share the poster, leaving the audience bored, uncomfortable, and searching for a way out.

By telling your story in five minutes, you let the audience guide the conversation.  If they’re satisfied with your description, or bored out of their minds, they can move on to another poster.

If they’re excited and want to learn more, they can ask questions or probe the results more deeply.

Act Like an Actor

As you present, remember that you mustn’t turn your back on your audience!  You’ll be tempted to turn to look at the poster yourself, closing off the conversation.  Instead, keep an open stance and point out relevant sections off to your side.

Also, check your enthusiasm.  Too many poster presenters seem bored, tired, or listless.  If they don’t think their work is exciting, why should their audience?! 

Stop a moment to notice your energy level, and try to step it up as you present.  Make eye contact, welcome new viewers as the approach, and modulate your voice. 

Your enthusiasm for your work can be contagious.

Tailor Made

Because most poster presentations occur one-on-one, it’s imperative that you actively tailor your pitch to the person standing in front of you.

When they step up, you can briefly ask about their background or interest in the subject.  If they’re a neophyte, you’ll want to avoid jargon and check that they’ve understood each section before moving on. If they’re an expert, they may want to skip straight to the results!

Be aware of their cues and body language, and let them help steer the conversation.

That’s it! Now you’re a poster-presenting-pro!  Go make a splash at your next poster session, and be sure to share YOUR tips and ideas for poster presentation in the comments below.

For more information on attending conferences, check out Episode  097: Conference Like the Pros – How to Plan, Network, and Win

I’m Getting Seasick

This week, we sample a very special ethanol that has probably traveled farther than we have. 

Jefferson’s Ocean Bourbon  spends its time in a barrel bobbing around on a research ship as it sails around the world!  Supposedly, all of that rocking, equatorial heat, and sea spray mimics the way bourbon tasted when it was shipped back from the New World.  

Best part: you get to read the Captain’s Log of each batch’s journey!

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The Art and Science of Designing a Poster

Presenter: Cheryl Vaughan, PhD

This 50-minute session, from the Effectively Communicating Research course, focuses on using visual strategies to better communicate your science. The lecture features two parts: overall poster design and data visualization.

Three key elements from Cheryl Vaughan's presentation:

Design a poster that will capture an audience’s attention and make it easy for viewers to process the information without guidance from a presenter.

SCAFFOLDING

Incorporate information that builds on what your audience already knows and connects to your science.

COLOR AND CONTENT

Illustrate points with images, charts, and thoughtful text. Display only the most relevant information and use color intentionally to highlight important elements.

Qualities of a Strong Scientific Poster (PDF)

This handout summarizes the key qualities of strong scientific posters. The document includes information on font choice, text size, poster layout and more.

Rubric for Evaluating Scientific Posters (PDF)

Use this rubric to evaluate the organization, data visualization, layout, and content of your scientific poster. Distribute the rubric to your mentors and colleagues to collect feedback on your draft poster before you present it.

Additional Resources

Creating Posters with IMPACT (HarvardKey Required)

Presenters: Beth Beighlie and Graham, McMahon, MD, MMSc, MRCPI

This 55-minute session, from Harvard Catalyst’s Effectively Communicating Research course, shows how to design scientific posters with a focus on layout and effectively using images.

Step-by-Step Guides

Harvard Medical School (HMS) Research Imaging Solutions

HMS Research Imaging Solutions offers seminars and comprehensive resources to support researchers with the creation of figures, images, posters and presentations. Their library of slides and handouts provide detailed, step-by-step instructions on a number of topics.

Making Posters with PowerPoint and Photoshop

This in-depth guide was created by Beth Beighlie at Harvard Medical School Research Imaging Solutions. The document details poster-building strategy including workflow, poster layout, text, figures, and printing.

• Data Visualization
• Visual Design Tools

PowerPoint template files

These basic template files make it easy to get your PowerPoint poster just the right size. They're also packed with helpful tips on how to make a great poster. We currently offer two simple themes, with white backgrounds and either crimson red or royal blue accents. The classic colors and layouts can be used as-is, or easily customized and dressed up. Just choose the file that's the right dimensions for your poster session.

Note that these are PPTX files, not PPT -- you'll need Office 2007 or newer (Windows), or Office 2008 or newer (Mac), to open and use these files.

Red accents

Blue accents.

How to create a research poster

• Getting Started
• Planning your Poster
• Designing a Poster
• Poster Templates & Examples
• Printing your Poster
• Additional Guides

Poster Templates

• PHD Posters - Templates These basic template files make it easy to get your PowerPoint poster just the right size.
• Free research poster templates - Slidesgo
• Free Research Posters on Canva Browse high quality Research Poster templates for your next design. Requires a Canva account (free).

Poster Examples

• PHD Posters - Examples Some examples of PhD posters (also useful templates for research posters)
• ePosters - The Online Library of Scientific Posters ePosters is an open-access library (ISSN 1754-1417) that allows you to view the latest scientific and medical posters. Presenters are welcome to upload their posters and reach a new global audience. Conference organizers and scientific companies can partner with us to showcase their posters in dedicated galleries
• Faculty of 1000 Poster Repository A few example of posters for health sciences research.
• << Previous: Designing a Poster
• Next: Printing your Poster >>
• Last Updated: Apr 12, 2023 2:45 PM
• URL: https://yukonu.libguides.com/research_poster

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Poster Samples & Sharing

Search these sites to get ideas on how posters are presented within your discipline.

Also, if you upload your poster to one of these sites you can provide handouts or bookmarks with links to the electronic version of your poster at the conference, and keep your work accessible long after the conference.

• Faculty of 1000 Research Posters Open access repository for posters and slide presentations across biology and medicine.
• eposters Open-access journal that provides free access to over 1,800 scientific and medical posters presented at conferences from around the world.
• FigShare This link opens in a new window figshare allows users to upload any file format so that scholarly information can be disseminated electronically.

Designing a Research Poster

The following resources provide guidance on the poster creation process .

• ACP American College of Physicians - Preparing a Poster Presentation This article addresses poster planning, production, and presentation.

• Makesigns Scientific Poster Tutorial Step-by-step guide to poster design and creation.

These resources can be used to obtain copyright compliant images .  Image resolution will vary.

• USC Academic Unit Logotypes University approved logos.
• Open-i - Open Access Biomedical Image Search Engine This link opens in a new window Open-i searches for images in all Open Access articles indexed in PubMed Central. Search over 600,000 copyright compliant images by keyword, topic, or image to find relevant or visually similar images.
• Pixabay This link opens in a new window Repository of free, high quality, copyright compliant images. Begin typing "medical" into the search box. Click dropdown menu to filter by image type. Sign up for free account to download images.
• Wikimedia Commons This link opens in a new window A database of freely usable, high resolution image files.
• Google Images This link opens in a new window For copyright compliant images: type in keywords, click "Search tools", click on "Usage rights" dropdown menu, select from the "Labeled for reuse" options.
• Multimedia Resources (in the Health Sciences) Guide Find videos, audio clips, images, and cases to use in education.

Working with images

• Tips for working with images in Publisher Vendor tips for working with images in Publisher. Includes content about image size, resolution, file formats, and refining.
• Photoshop isn’t the only solution: 5 best programs for resizing images This article provides step-by-step instructions on how to upsample images using Photoshop, GIMP, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Preview, and Pixlr.

Image Manipulation Guidelines

Low resolution images may be manipulated to improve print quality, however you want to proceed with caution when it comes to images that represent research data.

• Rossner, M., & Yamada, K. (2004). What's in a picture? The temptation of image manipulation. The Journal of Cell Biology, 11-15. PMID: 15240566 This article provides specific guidelines on the do's and dont's of image manipulation in scientific publishing in order to ensure the integrity of your data.

Poster Sample / Tips

Diagram image citation:  Blausen.com staff. " Blausen gallery 2014". Wikiversity Journal of Medicine. DOI:10.15347/ wjm /2014.010. ISSN 20018762. (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

• Scientific Conference Posters - Webinar This video provides an overview of some tools, resources and key elements to creating a conference poster. Content covers software, general content, design tips, provides image resources, and tips for improved print quality. ~35 min.
• Conference Poster Click here to download a pdf copy of the poster above.
• Scientific Posters PPT slides Click here to download video PPT slides.

Click on chart to access online.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/new-pastpresentfuture/3800240305 /

• Psychology of Color This site provides information on the meaning of color and how it is perceived.
• The Art of Color Coordination How to combine colors in order to have a positive effect on your audience.

Upsampling images in Photoshop

Through a process called upsampling , you can add pixels to low resolution images , and thereby improve the print quality . The short video below demonstrates how to upsample images in Photoshop .

Final Checklist

https://www.acponline.org/system/files/documents/education_recertification/education/program_directors/abstracts/prepare/poster_checklist.pdf

Universal Design

Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size or disability. 

• Equal Access: Universal Design of Conference Exhibits and Presentations A checklist for making conference exhibits and presentations welcoming and accessible to everyone.

Microsoft Publisher Tutorials

The following resources provide guidance on how to use Microsoft Publisher . Resources at the top provide step-by-step guidance about poster creation. Links at the bottom provide general guidance on using Publisher.

• Microsoft Publisher: Conference Poster Sessions University of Liverpool's Microsoft Publisher software video tutorial. Step-by-step demonstration of the key features used to create a poster. Applicable to Publisher 2010, 2013, and 2016. Run time ~12 min.
• Publisher 2016 Essential Training Training videos via Lynda.com that offer in-depth instruction to Publisher 2016.
• Text wrapping in Publisher Guide on how to wrap text around images in Publisher.

PowerPoint Templates & Tutorials

Links to freely available PowerPoint conference poster templates , and guidance for specific software features relevant to poster creation . 

• PhD Posters - Power Point Template Files PPT templates in a variety of sizes. Packed with helpful tips and easy to customize.
• Mega Print Inc - Free Powerpoint Scientific Research Poster Templates PowerPoint® 2007-2013 templates in a variety of sizes.
• Colin Purrington's PPT Poster Templates Free PPT templates and poster making tips.
• Using grids in PowerPoint Guide on how to set up grids in PPT for better content alignment.
• Creating a Poster in PowerPoint 2010 Eastern Michigan University's detailed guide to creating a poster in PowerPoint.

Other Software

Graphics , such as charts and tables can easily be created in Excel .

• Creating Excel charts with the Recommended Charts feature Lynda.com video tutorial that demonstrates how to create charts in Excel 2013. Requires login.

Print Vendors

The following list is provided as a convenience , and is not meant to endorse or promote any particular vendor.

• PhD Posters Fabric or paper options. Also offers free PPT templates and many poster creation tips.
• PosterSmith Fabric posters.

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iPosters and Betterposter: How to create a conference poster that people want to read

Download free templates, or make the switch to digital-only.

Marc J. Kuchner

Researchers meet and share their research in the poster hall at the AGU Fall Meeting. Credit: Gary Wagner Photos (garywagnerphotos.com)

6 February 2020

Gary Wagner Photos (garywagnerphotos.com)

Researchers meet and share their research in the poster hall at the AGU Fall Meeting.

A few years ago, presenting a poster at a scientific conference inevitably meant battling with thumbtacks, rubber bands, and an unwieldly sail of paper with little power to inspire. Now researchers are increasingly opting for digital posters and templated designs that highlight – rather than obscure – their key findings.

I recently attended the 2019 annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco, where 17,909 scientific posters were displayed over the course of a week. Many of these posters were visually arresting and cleverly constructed. And some were entirely online.

Since 2017, the AGU has been inviting presenters to submit digital poster ideas. Known as iPosters, they can support videos and animations, and are displayed on giant, interactive touch-screens.

That year, 117 iPoster submissions were approved for display at the conference. In 2018, that number had jumped to 775 iPosters, and last year, there were 995.

“The audience is jazzed about them,” says AGU executive program manager, Erik Hankin. “There’s an excitement around the technology and how it can overcome the limitations of a paper poster.”

The digital poster’s advantages go far beyond not having to lug around a 40-inch cardboard tube. Presenters can easily make last-minute changes to the content, and they can be instantly converted to other digital formats so they can be shared or uploaded to a website.

“I like not having to deal with the university printing office or worry about leaving it on the train,” says Leah Wood, a PhD student from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “And I think it’s more engaging.”

PhD student Leah Wood, explaining her digital poster at this winter’s meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Credit: Marc Kuchner

The AGU asked iPoster presenters to give brief talks about their research (called eLightning talks), and those were a hit as well.

“I think it’s the best of both worlds between giving an oral presentation and a poster presentation,” says Wood. “These three-minute talks are just right to give an elevator pitch and encourage people to come and play with the poster.”

Paper posters aren’t done yet

The downside of running a digital poster session is that it costs more than a conventional poster session, and someone has to foot the bill.

Conference organizers pay aMuze Interactive, a US- and Sweden-based company, for the use of proprietary iPoster software, and often a second company to truck in the special monitors and display hardware.

Some conferences can charge as much as $1,000 extra to participants who present digital posters to cover these expenses.

If that cost precludes you from going digital, progress has touched the paper side of the poster hall, too.

We’ve also seen improvements in the design of scientific posters. In 2019, Mike Morrison, a PhD student in psychology at Michigan State University, created a viral video calling out the inadequacy of conventional posters and introducing his own free downloadable poster templates called betterposters .

Morrison’s betterposter design includes small portraits of each author so conference-goers can recognize their faces in a crowd. They also include QR codes that can be scanned to bring up the relevant paper and other supplementary material on a user’s smartphone.

But the hallmark of the betterposter is a big dark square, smack in the middle of the poster, containing a single sentence that states the primary result of the research. It’s written so large that it’s impossible for conference-goers not to read it as they walk by.

my first attempt at a #betterposter come find out what happens! #ELSO2019 pic.twitter.com/NxfgQBMhEE — Brendan Riordan (@concernecus) September 14, 2019

@drdavidliew presents his poster #2685 #ACRbest #ACR19 @RheumNow come check out the Australian Experience of TA bx. pic.twitter.com/quQrEhv8x3 — Dr. Rachel Tate (@uptoTate) November 12, 2019

My colleague, Petr Pokorny, a planetary science postdoc from the Catholic University of America in Washington and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, tried using a betterposter template for the first time at the 2019 AGU meeting.

“It was a huge success. I got about 100 people stopping to read the poster and take pictures of it,” says Pokorny. “And it was a pretty dead part of the room.”

Petr Pokorny’s betterposter conference poster. (Kuchner is a co-author on the paper.) Credit: Marc Kuchner

Learn from the best

My hope for the future of conference posters is to see the aMuze iPoster templates incorporate some of the clever elements of the betterposter concept.

Although the digital posters I saw last year were easy enough to interact with, I often found myself struggling to understand the main point of the research being presented.

The betterposter templates are designed to put the “so what?” factor at the front and centre of the presentation – quite literally – which often solves this problem.

Here are some of my favourites that have been posted to Twitter:

@ghs_org Health Sciences Center Research Showcase today - lots of great feedback on our #betterposter design! @Laura_MPH pic.twitter.com/ngHq8PAc6t — Jacqueline Forrester (@jacforrester) April 12, 2019

Presenting research at @metals_in in Paris this week! Got creative with this one following some inspiration from @mikemorrison . *Note the skull decorated with orbitals to represent cytotoxicity! #CHEMISTRY #betterposter #Paris pic.twitter.com/HhgmfSIJL6 — Miles S Capper (@CapperMiles) November 15, 2019

Giving the #betterposter template a go at #NAPCRG2019 and have caught some eyeballs. Success 🤷🏻‍♀️ Come learn about primary care patient volume and quality of care for complex patients with me 😊 pic.twitter.com/ZIyVnbHdCI — Natasha Lane (@NatashaErinLane) November 19, 2019

Thank you #IPOS2019 for the opportunity to present my research on #symptom perception in #AYAcancer survivors today. My first #betterposter design was seemingly a success :) pic.twitter.com/9qgFcojP7W — Lauren Heathcote, PhD (@LCHeathcote) September 24, 2019

Search the #betterposter hashtag on Twitter to see more examples.

And to avoid that crushing feeling that results from unfurling a crinkled poster, you can also order a cloth fabric poster at makesigns.com or postersmith.com .

Marc J. Kuchner is an astrophysicist and the author of Marketing for Scientists: How to Shine in Tough Times. Photo by Gary Wagner Photos .

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How to make an academic poster

Buket gundogan.

a University College London Medical School, London, UK

Kiron Koshy

Langhit kurar.

b Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, UK

Katharine Whitehurst

Academic posters are an excellent way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. They can be used in poster presentations and serve as a summary of your project. In this how to article, we demonstrate how trainees can make and deliver a successful academic poster.

• • Academic posters are an excellent way for trainees to showcase their work at conferences and meetings.
• • When done effectively they provide a succinct and attractive summary of your project.
• • This guide aims to provide trainees with a practical and concise method to prepare their academic poster.

Academic posters, when done effectively, are a succinct and attractive way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. Unlike oral presentations, your audience may not be static so clear design and distilled content are all the more important. Similarly to oral presentations, successful posters can generate discussion amongst the audience members therefore its important to have a clear plan of what to say when stood alongside your poster. In this article, we highlight the important aspects to creating an effective academic poster.

1. Why make an academic poster?

A poster presentation allows you to summarise your project into a concise and aesthetically pleasing format. It is one of the main ways you will present your work when at conferences [1] , [2] . For this reason, you need to make sure your poster is of good quality. This guide will serve to help you with this.

2. How to prepare a poster

There are many computer programs you can use to create your poster. Many use Microsoft Publisher or PowerPoint. It is important that you are comfortable using these programs as you will likely be doing a lot of editing. If you are not familiar with these programs, librarians that are present in most universities will be able and usually willing to help you out.

2.2. Design

It is useful to attend a variety of scientific meetings to collate ideas on how to create an informative and aesthetically pleasing poster. The most important concept for the overall design is not to overly embellish the poster with formatting and pictures, as this may distract from the content. The information should be minimal, as in a slide presentation, stating only key points rather than complete sentences.

The colour system should have effective contrasting backgrounds (e.g. blue and yellow, black and white) to ensure the text is easy to read. The flow of the poster should also be logical and ideally follow a longitudinal algorithm. This should begin with aims and objectives and flow downwards in columns to methods, results, conclusions and finally references. The same format is also adopted when writing scientific abstracts. Once the poster is drafted, it is important to adhere to the instructions provided by the congress you are attempting to submit to. Failure to comply to guidelines may result in your poster not being considered for a poster award, or perhaps even result in expulsion from the meeting altogether.

Prior to submission it is also important ask as many senior colleagues for feedback on your poster as possible. They will be able to provide feedback on the overall readability of the poster, including formatting. Start preparing your poster early – one month is sufficient time to allow for revisions to be made [3] .

3. Information to include in the format – our top tips

3.1. headings.

This should be clear in bold and grab the reader's attention. It is recommended you use a short, sharp heading relevant to your study. Long scientific titles can often bore the reader and distract from the main body of text. The heading should also include the centre at which the study was conducted and the main contributory authors (as per the authorship critera of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)). Logos for the trust you are working at, as well as the conference/congress you are attending can be placed on either side of the title.

• • Title: this needs to have the largest font size of your entire poster to be eye catching. Keep the title as short as possible – it doesn't need to be a paragraph long [1] , [3] .
• • Type of manuscript: whether systematic review, research article or another manuscript type.
• • Authors: include everyone who has contributed [4] .
• • Affiliations: should come directly under authors. This should show which organisations are represented by the authors and/or where the research took place and also contact details.

3.2. Main body

This should follow a logical structure guiding the reader through the poster. The more concise your poster, the better – approximately 100 words per section is ideal [5] , [6] . It is very important that your poster is not wordy. Too much text can be off-putting for the audience. The structure should follow a simple abstract outline.

These are the following sections we recommend as a rough guide, but do check the requirements at your specific conference:

• • Introduction

This should include a short background of the topic to set the context and state the main aims and objectives of your piece of work. What differentiates your work from your competition? Why is your work novel in the field?

• • Methods

The methods section (poster space permitting) should include basic parameters including target sample, setting, duration of study, inclusion/exclusion criteria, statistical techniques, key interventions assessed and primary outcome measures.

• • Results

The results section should include data analysis and stratification and should only include the results which answer the stated hypothesis. Moreover, essential to the results section is the inclusion of pertinent and key graphs, graphics, images and tables. These need to be large enough for the audience members to see and be as attractive and clutter-free as possible.

• • Conclusion

The conclusions must derive directly from the results section and answer solely what has been proposed at the start of the paper. Obvious confounders and limitations should also be acknowledged. Key improvements as well as potential for project expansion should also be considered.

• • References

Only cite key references integral to your study, as references are wordy and space consuming. Use a smaller font to the main body text to reduce this.

3.3. Templates

Your host institution or the conference may require you to use a specific template for the poster. This may include a logo, colour scheme or a certain layout. You should check this before you start designing your poster.

Numerous templates for designing poster exist online and within your local trust library. Computer software may also have inbuilt templates to assist with the design process.

3.4. Tables and figures

It is a good idea to include graphs/images/tables as this will make your poster look more aesthetically pleasing [1] , [6] , [7] . They can also provide more information without crowding the poster with text. Make them colourful, though avoid colours that clash with the text colour [8] . Tables and figures can add new information or graphically present what has already been said in the poster. The arrangement of figures and tables varies and there is no universal rule, however figures interspersed within text is popular and looks attractive. Furthermore, ensure that the figures and images chosen are of a good resolution to avoid blurring when printed and presented.

3.5. Font size

The conference may specify this, however, generally for the main body, size 24 is used for text and size 32 for titles. The introduction section at the top of the poster should have a larger font than this [2] .

3.6. Colour

It is a good idea to stick to one or two colours for main text; anymore and your poster may look too busy. It is also important to check colours in advance at the place you wish to print your poster, as certain colours may come out in a different way to that expected [9] .

3.7. Printing

Make sure to factor in the time (and cost) of printing the poster if this is required. Some companies will print the same day, while others may take longer. Check with your host institution/conference if they use a specific company, as they may be able to provide a discount.

3.8. Electronic posters

A growing number of conferences are using electronic posters (e-posters), which are screens that display an electronic copy of your poster, rather than a paper version. These can either be static images which are laid out similarly to a paper poster, or they can be slide shows of your work, which are displayed like a PowerPoint presentation which then go on rotation at the conference. They may also include videos and animations, so bear this in mind when you are selecting content for your poster [7] , [8] .

4. On the day

Poster presentations are generally more relaxed than oral presentations. You will need to arrive on time to put your poster up – bring extra pins or Velcro tabs as these aren't always in supply. Many presenters also place a plastic pocket to the bottom or side of their poster on the day which provides a small version of their poster for readers to take away – this can be useful.

Delegates of the conference will usually be able to look at the posters throughout the day or during tea/lunch breaks. However, there will usually be a set time when judges will inspect the posters. During this time, you will need to stay with your poster, perhaps present it and answer the questions which the judges or audience members will have.

4.1. Presentation

While presenting, the intention is to guide the reader through your poster which if organised in a logical order, should not be read off but simply used to illustrate your point. What you say can then be substantiated by pictures which you can refer to for emphasis. Do keep your presentation succinct and highlight the salient points of your study. Moreover, its good practice to provide some background to your work at the start – it may sound obvious, but the audience may not necessarily know why this work is important and it is up to you to set the scene on the relevance of the project.

It's a good idea to refresh your memory on your project and be familiar with it before the presentation as the audience will likely have questions and there are often prizes for the best posters. Examples of common questions to prepare for include: how your work may be relevant to current clinical practice, how can it be developed further and what the limitations of your study were.

Attire is also often overlooked. You must maintain a professional appearance throughout and this can often add hidden points to your poster score under presentation. Be friendly and approachable and if there are any questions left unanswered, acknowledge this and offer to develop your study further.

• • Academic posters are a good way to showcase your work.
• • Preparing posters in advance is vital.
• • Stick to a clear format which is easy to read from 1 m away.
• • Practice your presentation in advance and think about questions you may be asked after your presentation.

Sources of funding

No funding received.

Author contribution

BG, KK, LK, KW contributed to writing the paper.

Conflicts of interest

Buket Gundogan.

• Locations and Hours
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Poster Presentations

• Size, Layout, and Text

Elements of a Poster

Change size in powerpoint, using the ruler, grid, and guides in powerpoint, more powerpoint training, template resources, font choice, text alignment.

• Colors and Images

Your poster should include these elements:

• Author(s), with affiliations and emails

If your poster is a representation of a research study, you will want to include the following sections:

• Introduction or objective
• Conclusions and/or discussion
• Acknowledgements

If your poster is a representation of an event or other kind of project, you may want to forego formal abstract sections in favor of the 5 Ws:

• Who (introduce the author, organization, or community)
• What (what did you do? how did you do it?)
• Where (where did you do it?)
• When (when did it take place?)
• Why (what are the outcomes, implications, or future possibilities?)

To change the size in Powerpoint:

• Go to the Design tab and choose "Slide Size" (it's on the right size of the ribbon)
• Choose "Custom Slide Size"
• Change "Slides sized for:" to "Custom"
• Fill in your desired width and height. 

Click the View tab to see checkboxes that will allow you to turn on the Ruler, Grid, and Guides (click the image below to see a screenshot).

Ruler : Allows you to see the dimensions of your slide. You'll see a vertical and horizontal ruler.

Grid : By default, the gridlines are 1 inch apart. Right click in white space of your poster to get more options for spacing. This enables precise alignment.

Guides : By default, you'll get one horizontal and one vertical guide placed in the center of your poster. Right click on a guide to add more guidelines, or to delete one. You can use Guides to invisibly define columns of your poster, margins, and more. This gives you manual control, alternatively, you can use Smart Guides (see below).

Smart Guides : Powerpoint has a built-in system for showing you alignment as you move objects around. The video below demonstrates what Smart Guides look like.

Once you've got your slide layout set, you'll want to start creating Shapes and Text Boxes. Here are some tips and tricks for working with objects:

• Use Ctrl+D to duplicate any object.
• Then you can format them all at once, identically!
• You can also group them, for easier movement and alignment (right click to see the Group option).

Most posters are landscape (horizontal) orientation. The title/author(s) will be across the top, with 3–4 columns below that contain the rest of the poster elements. Make sure you leave plenty of white space in your design—a poster crammed full of text and images is very difficult to read.

Here is an example of a 2 column poster layout using the 5 Ws for headings (who, what, where, when, and why):

Use the links below to download this template and other similar templates in two sizes: 24x36 and 36x48. These templates include a variety of placeholder elements for photos and figures.

• 2 column Powerpoint template, size 24x36
• 3 column Powerpoint template, size 24x36
• 3 column Powerpoint template, size 36x48
• 4 column Powerpoint template, size 36x48

Below are some additional web resources where you can search for templates. Keep in mind that you may need adjust the size of a template for your own poster. Alternatively, you can use the resources on this page to design your own layout in Powerpoint.

• David Geffen School of Medicine poster templates Although this is labeled for the sciences, the information can be used in many disciplines.
• Penn State poster template
• PhD Posters
• MakeSigns.com poster templates
• The body of your poster should have a minimum 24 point font . Viewers should be able to read your smallest text from a few feet away.
• The title of your poster should have a 50+ font size, depending on the size of your poster and the length of the title.
• Do not use all uppercase letters for the title or body of the poster.
• Avoid using more than 2 or 3 different fonts in one poster.
• Stick with basic fonts like Times New Roman or Georgia for serif, or Arial or Helvetica for sans-serif. Avoid elaborate, difficult-to-read, or cartoon-like fonts.

• In general, left-align your text boxes (with the possible exception of your title and any image captions). Avoid centering the text on your whole poster.
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• Next: Colors and Images >>
• Last Updated: Nov 9, 2023 2:31 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucla.edu/posters

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Getting Published: Posters

• Where to Publish
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• Related Resources

Best Practices

• Have a focused, succinct message
• Determine size requirements (how big should the poster be), what layout (square, landscape rectangle, etc)
• Use text sparingly with no large blocks of text
• 85+ pt for Title
• 56+ pt for Authors
• 36+ pt for Subheadings
• 24+ pt for Body text
• 18+ pt for Captions
• Group author names and affiliations
• Use images/tables/graphs to tell the story and engage reader
• Use images at least 150 dpi
• Include your contact information
• Have peers give you feedback prior to printing
• Use dark or heavy backgrounds
• Use more than 2-3 colors
• Forget to leave white (blank) space to keep your poster readable and uncluttered
• Use someone's else image without seeking permission or crediting your source
• Mix and match content boxes...most people start reading from the top left
• Have images that seem too small or blurry (will look worse once enlarged)
• Order too late!
• Rely only on the poster to tell your story, make sure you have 3-5 min verbal explanation ready
• Presentation - Developing a Poster: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly One hour presentation by Duke Medical Librarian, Beverly Murphy.

• PowerPoint ( free download for Duke affiliates )
• Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign ( discounted download for Duke affiliates )
• Inkscape ( free public download )
• Gimp ( free public download )

Poster Design Tutorial   outlines a 5-step approach:  Plan - Design - Review - Print - Present

• Duke IT: QR Code Security Guide
• Generating QR Codes (Adobe Express)

Content adapted from:

• NYU Poster Basics
• Cornell's Scientific Poster Design
• Hess, G.R., K. Tosney, and L. Liegel. 2014. Creating Effective Poster Presentations. http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters .

Image credit:

create your narrative icon by Vicons Design from the Noun Project

• Video: How to create a better research poster in less time (Posters 2.0)

• PhD Poster Templates
• Free PowerPoint Poster templates
• Spoonflower [Fabric] $ Very Affordable! Create custom-printed fabric posters in a lightweight, wrinkle-free fabric. The posters look good with crisp images and vibrant colors. Need ~10 days to receive final product via mail.
• MedMedia Solutions $$ Offers short turn around, free delivery to Duke locations, & weekend printing and pick up (if arranged ahead of time).
• PhD Posters [Paper or Fabric] $$ Very affordable paper, moderate pricing on fabric option. Pick up on campus near the Medical Library.
• Kinkos/FedEx [Paper] $$$ Most expensive option. Offers Duke discount. Same day options. Much less restrictive on size options. Order online or stop by 9th Street location.
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• Next: Visual & Video Abstracts >>
• Last Updated: Mar 20, 2024 2:31 PM
• URL: https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/gettingpublished
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Academic Presentations and Posters

Reccomendations and resources.

Last updated: August 2023

General Presentation Advice: (presenting academic research, communicating to a lay audience)

• Presenting with PowerPoint

Designing Posters for Specific Disciplines

• Poster Design Information from UNC Sources
• Using PowerPoint to design posters
• Using InDesign or Illustrator to design posters
• UNC Computer Labs with Design Software
• Poster Templates
• Poster Examples
• Printing Resources at UNC-Chapel Hill
• Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science (Stony Brook University)
• 12 Tips for Scientists Writing for the General Public (American Scientist)
• Presenting in the Sciences : A Guide (Tulane University Library)
• Houston, We Have a Narrative- Why Science Needs Story (book) - Randy Olson,The University of Chicago Press
• Poster Presentations: Tips and Tricks (Inside Higher Ed: Gradhacker)
• There's a movement for better posters at science conferences (Inside Higher Ed)
• On Research Presentations at Conferences (Inside Higher Ed)
• Communicating Research to a General Audience (Inside Higher Ed: Gradhacker)
• Making Data Talk: A Workbook (Communicating Public Health Data to the Public, Policy Makers, and the Press) - National Cancer Institute
• How to write for a non-academic audience: Communicating about research is more important than ever - American Psychological Association

• How to Prep for a Presentation (Lifehacker)
• Art of the Conference Paper- advice from a graduate student (Inside Higher Ed)
• Giving a Good Scientific Presentation (American Society of Primatologists)
• Effective Presentations for Chemists and Other Scientists (Lab Manager Magazine)
• Preparing Effective Oral Presentations (University of Kansas)
• Informative Speaking (Colorado State)
• Dos & don'ts of giving a good 15 minute talk (Australian National University)
• The Art of Communicating Effectively
• Impromptu Talks: Addressing a nonscientific audience (NC State)
• Ten Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Talk
• Designing Effective Oral Presentations (Rice University)
• Dazzle 'em with Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation (Book)
• How to Give a Bad Talk- Oral Presentation Advice (UC Berkeley)
• How NOT To Give a Scientific Talk (York University)
• Presentation Zen (Garr Reynolds)
• Presentation Skills (Decker Communications)
• Presentation Tips (Garr Reynolds)

Presenting with PowerPoint:

• Effective Virtual Presentations
• Effective Hybrid Presentations
• How to build a slide deck in PowerPoint that isn’t god awful
• PowerPoint Accessibility Tips - Penn State Accessibility Group
• 48 Effective PowerPoint Presentation Tips
• Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations
• 5 Ways to Make PowerPoint Sing! (And Dance!)
• Simpler is Better in Presentation Slides
• PowerPoint Does Rocket Science--and Better Techniques for Technical Reports (Edward Tufte)

• Oral Presentations and Writing for PowerPoint (George Mason University)
• Some Tips for Preparing a Research Presentation (Swarthmore)
• Learning from Bill Gates & Steve Jobs (Presentation Zen)
• Life After Death by PowerPoint (Funny video clip: How NOT to do PowerPoint )
• 14 Tips for Better Presentation Slides (Viget Labs)
• PowerPoint Is Evil (Edward Tufte in Wired Magazine)

Visual Communication & Design

• Effective Communication with Visual Design (Association of American Universities)
• 11 Design Tips for Beautiful Presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED's in-house expert
• Selecting the correct font size for slides

Academic Poster Design

• #betterposter: There's a movement for better posters at science conferences. But are they really better? - Inside Higher Ed
• Better Posters - A resource for improving poster presentations
• Create a More Impactful Scientific Poster with UX Design Tips - Mike Morrison, YouTube
• How to Create a Better Research Poster in Less Time - Mike Morrison, YouTube
• Visual and UX design principles can improve the effectiveness of poster sessions - Derek Crowe
• How to Choose the Best Layout for Your Scientific Poster (Animate Your Science)
• A Graphic Design Revolution For Scientific Conference Posters (Forbes)
• How to make an academic poster (Annals of Medicine and Surgery)
• How to design an award-winning conference poster (Animate Your Science)
• Poster Perfect- How to drive home your science with a visually pleasing poster (The Scientist)
• How to design an effective scientific poster - The Planetary Society
• Designing conference posters - excellent tips and examples (Colin Purrington)
• Better Posters: A resource for improving poster presentations (Blog from DoctorZen)
• Conference Posters (Organizing Creativity)
• So, Your Poster Got Accepted--Now What? (recorded webcast from the Natonal Library of Medicine)
• The Scientist's Guide to Poster Design (Katie Everson, University of Alaska Fairbanks)
• Creating Effective Poster Presentations: An Effective Poster- excellent overall (NC State)
• The Basics of Poster Design- useful for all disciplines
• Designing Effective Posters- online tutorial (Kansas University)
• Intro to Designing Conference Posters (University of Minnesota)
• Neuroscience Poster Design
• Presenting Conference Papers and Posters in the Humanities (Texas Tech University)
• Developing Poster Presentations in the Social Sciences (George Mason University)
• Poster Presentations in the Natural Sciences (George Mason University)

Poster Design Information from UNC Sources:

• Research Poster Creation (Carolina Population Center)
• Designing Effective Posters (Health Sciences Library)
• Poster Design and Printing Resources (UNC School of Pharmacy)

Poster Design Software

• Advice on Designing Scientific Posters (Microsoft PowerPoint)
• How to create beautiful and effective academic posters in PowerPoint (BrightCarbon)
• Creating a research poster in PowerPoint (Indiana University)
• Designing Effective Posters Using Powerpoint (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
• Designing Effective Posters Using Powerpoint 2016/2011 for Macintosh (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
• Creating a Poster in PowerPoint (University of Washington)
• Creating Posters with PowerPoint (Northwestern University)
• Designing Effective Posters Using InDesign (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
• Designing a Poster with Adobe Illustrator (Whitman College)

UNC Computer Labs with Design Software:

• List of all ITS campus computer labs
• ITS Virtual Computing Lab (VCL)
• UNC Library Data Services
• Health Sciences Library Media Design Services
• Medical Campus/Health Sciences Library Computer Labs
• SILS Lab Facilities and Equipment
• House Undergraduate Library Design Lab
• University Libraries Media Resources Center Media Lab
• School of Journalism Park Multimedia Lab
• School of Education Technology Services

Poster Templates:

• Poster Templates (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
• Google template search
• Poster Example Files (UC Davis)
• PowerPoint Poster Templates (Wake Forest University)
• PowerPoint Poster Templates (Penn State)
• PowerPoint Poster Templates (Rice University)

Poster Examples:

• Poster Sessions Flickr Group (Colin Purrington)
• Academic Poster Examples (UC Davis)
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/89596909@N05/sets/72157631922038937/
• Pimp My Poster Flickr Group
• Poster Examples (NC State)
• Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium

Printing Resources:

• PhD Posters (UNC on-campus pick up)
• Lab Poster Service (located in Chapel Hill, NC)
• FedEx Office Print & Ship Center
• MegaPrint- PosterSession.com
• UNC Print Stop and Copy Center
• Health Sciences Library Media Design Studios: Poster Printing
• UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy- Poster Printing
• UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Digital Imaging Facility
• UNC Computer Science - large format color printer (plotter and 11×17 printer)

Research Poster Guide for CCJS418U: Community Corrections

• Getting Started
• Elements of Style
• Tools and Resources
• Review and Revise

U.S. Government Information, Criminal Law, Criminology, and Law Librarian

This guide exists to teach you how to create an effective research poster! We have step-by-step guidelines, research tips, and many resources. If you need further assistance, please contact Celina McDonald (see sidebar for contact info). 

• Next: Getting Started >>
• Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024 1:20 PM
• URL: https://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=1380213

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Solar eclipse 2024: Follow the path of totality

Want to see how a solar eclipse alters colors wear red and green on monday.

Bill Chappell

Pinhole shadows show crescent shapes in 2019 as the moon moves in front of the sun — one of several unique phenomena we can see during a solar eclipse. Louis Kwok /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Pinhole shadows show crescent shapes in 2019 as the moon moves in front of the sun — one of several unique phenomena we can see during a solar eclipse.

If you live along the path of totality for Monday's solar eclipse and you have any Christmas or Hanukkah gear, you might want to break it out. The celestial event will bring odd phenomena to our planet — including changes in how people see colors such as red, green and blue.

Here's a look at some of the unusual visual effects a solar eclipse brings to humans on Earth:

Red and green colors will look strange

That's partly due to the change in light when the moon blocks the sun, but also the way our eyes and brain adjust to and interpret that change.

How to keep pets safe during the solar eclipse, whether at home or on the road

As light dims, our eyes transition from photopic vision, associated with the retina's cone cells that deliver full colors and fine detail, toward scotopic night vision that relies on rod cells to detect objects in low light. In the middle is mesopic vision, the transitional phase where both rods and cones are active.

When the light's intensity dims in the eclipse, colors with longer wavelengths, like red, will look darker as cones become less active. But because rods are sensitive to the shorter blue-green wavelengths , those colors will have a chance to shine.

"This is pretty much a totality thing," Erika Grundstrom, director of astronomy labs at Vanderbilt University , told NPR, with only people in the eclipse's central path guaranteed to witness the phenomenon.

Also, she said, you shouldn't rely on just one red or green T-shirt to trigger the effect.

"You have to have lots of people (or colorful things) around to see it," Grundstrom said via email, adding, "the effect is the result of sudden dimness and your rods and cones trying to make sense of that dimness."

It's called the Purkinje effect.

The Purkinje effect, aka the Purkinje phenomenon or shift , was documented some 200 years ago by Johannes Evangelista Purkinje, a Bohemian scientist who noticed that when light passed through a prism in dimming conditions, the brightest spot moved — shifting away from red and toward blue, on the shorter end of the wavelength spectrum.

Simple tips to safely photograph the eclipse with your cellphone

The effect has been studied in the years since — including during the famous 1919 total solar eclipse that gave scientists important observations affirming Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity .

The dimness should become more noticeable about 15 minutes before the eclipse reaches totality. To many people, the light takes on a metallic or silvery quality.

Some shadows will sharpen; others will alter

For one thing, your own shadow will be different.

"The change in lighting makes shadows look sharper on the ground, so it's possible to see individual hairs on your head in your shadow," according to the European Space Agency .

And if you see the sun's light coming through tight gaps in trees, you might notice lots of little crescents. As the ESA says, "The tiny gaps in the leaves will act like multiple pinhole cameras, projecting the Sun's image to the ground."

What you need to know to watch Monday's total solar eclipse

People in the eclipse's path can also see an odd shimmering called shadow bands.

"A minute or two before totality, ripples of light may flow across the ground and walls as Earth's turbulent atmosphere refracts the last rays of sunlight," as the EarthSky website said in 2017.

Other changes to expect include a drop in temperature — and the appearance of colors in the sky that will make it seem as if you're seeing a sunset (or sunrise) across the full 360 degrees of the horizon.

Bull markets embolden retail traders to make risky bets

• Medium Text

Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here.

Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Markets Chevron

Euro, bonds lick wounds as ECB sticks to rate cut path

Reassurances that the European Central Bank still expects to cut its interest rates soon helped settle market nerves on Thursday, after a U.S. inflation scare had triggered the biggest global bond and stocks selloff in months and left Japan's yen at a 34-year low.

No glasses? No problem. Three cool ways to safely view the eclipse.

‘pinhole projectors’ will do the trick. so will plants in your backyard..

The April 8 total solar eclipse is finally here — and it’s sure to amaze and delight the millions who see it.

Everyone in the Lower 48 states will be able to view at least a partial solar eclipse, assuming cloud-free skies .

To savor the eclipse, you don’t need special equipment. Even if you can’t get your hands on eclipse glasses , there are old school, low-tech ways to see it. If you’re crafty and canny, the eclipse can still be a memorable experience.

2024 total solar eclipse

Safety first

The first rule of enjoying the eclipse is to avoid looking directly at the sun without eye protection. Even brief glances can cause permanent damage.

The only exception to this rule is for lucky spectators in the path of totality during the few minutes of the total eclipse, when the sun is fully blocked by the moon.

For those witnessing the partial solar eclipse, even when most of the sun’s surface is blocked, the remaining, visible crescent is still intensely bright and cannot be safely viewed without eye protection.

But, if you don’t have eye protection, here are some safe ways to experience the partial eclipse through indirect means:

Make a pinhole projector

A way around looking directly the sun is to make your own eclipse projector using a cereal box. It’s a safe and terrific way to capture the eclipse action.

Clear the kitchen table and find the craft scissors. In addition to the cereal box, you’ll need a piece of aluminum foil, tape and a small nail or pushpin.

First, eat your Froot Loops — or whatever toasted grain you prefer — and keep the box. On a white piece of paper or white cardboard, trace the bottom of the box. Then, clip out the traced rectangle from the paper and put it in the bottom of the opened box. That’s your screen that images of the eclipse will project onto.

Cut out two squares (1.5 inches should suffice) on the lid of the box and then tape the lid back together. For one square, cover the hole in foil and tape it down. Gently put a pushpin or small nail hole through it, as that is the lens that the sun’s light will pass through. The smaller the hole, the sharper the projected image.

When using your personal box theater, turn away from the sun — and let the sun’s rays shine through the tiny pin hole. Look through the other hole in the lid to see the eclipse action — during the eclipse you’ll see the moon biting a chunk from the sun.

Other kinds of small boxes — such as shoe boxes or small package boxes — work well, too. And your kids can decorate them for fun.

Looking to the trees

If you’re not inclined to make a projector box, you can also view the partial phases of the eclipse in the shadows of trees and plants.

The small gaps in between leaves, branches and pine needles act as miniature projectors. When light passes through, a small image of the sun is cast onto the ground. As the partial eclipse progresses, you’ll see the small circles evolve into sickle-shaped crescents, eventually waning to a sliver.

You may consider holding a white piece of paper or poster board beneath a tree or plant to make it easier to spot the shadows.

Gadgets and fingers

Leaves aren’t special — they just happen to be good at producing tiny projections. But realistically, any hole that’s about a quarter inch wide, give or take, will do the trick. That means you could even parade around outside with your pasta colander, cheese grater or serving spoon with holes in it and look at its shadow. Place white paper or poster board on the ground to see the projection more clearly.

You could also just hold your fingers out and crisscross them to make for half a dozen or so small openings between. Just extend your fingers on both hands as if you’re trying to make a W , and then overlap them.

Simple, yet elegant.

A total solar eclipse passed across the United States on Monday, April 8. See photos and videos from the path of totality and read our reporters’ coverage from scenes across the nation .

Looking ahead: Missed this one? The next eclipse visible in the United States won’t be until 2044 — and then we’ll see another shortly after in 2045. If you did watch this eclipse but without proper eyewear, here’s what to do if your eyes hurt .

The science: This eclipse appeared especially dramatic because the sun was at its most active period in two decades. In the past, solar eclipses have helped scientists learn more about the universe . Here’s everything else to know about the solar eclipse.

• Your ultimate guide to the total solar eclipse, its path and how to watch April 8, 2024 Your ultimate guide to the total solar eclipse, its path and how to watch April 8, 2024
• Here’s what not to do to safely watch the total solar eclipse April 5, 2024 Here’s what not to do to safely watch the total solar eclipse April 5, 2024
• Eclipse tourists should plan for overloaded cell networks April 2, 2024 Eclipse tourists should plan for overloaded cell networks April 2, 2024

TV & Movies

Fans Are Convinced Lucy Hale Teased A Pretty Little Liars Cameo

The actor played Aria Montgomery in the original series.

Pretty Little Liars’ Lucy Hale might have a secret, and if fan sleuthing proves correct, she won’t be able to keep it.

On April 9, the official poster for Max’s reboot series , Pretty Little Liars: Summer School , was released on Instagram with the caption, “It’s gonna be A killer summer.” Hale , who played Aria Montgomery in the original series, joined in on the fan excitement, commenting under the post, “Kinda making me want to go back to school?”

The actor’s “cryptic” comment, as one user dubbed it, led to a wave of theories within the PLL fandom that Aria could appear in the Max reboot’s second season, which will arrive on the streaming platform on May 9.

“Not you hinting at a cameo Ms. Hale!” one fan commented on Instagram. “Now wait a minute!” another wrote. “I’ll expect to see you miss ma’am.”

Meanwhile, others called for Hale to make her Pretty Little Liars return alongside her former onscreen love interest, Ezra Fitz (pIayed by Ian Harding). “We need you and @ianmharding to make an appearance,” one fan added.

Hale appeared in the original Pretty Little Liars for seven seasons between 2010 and 2017, starring opposite Troian Bellisario (Spencer Hastings), Ashley Benson (Hanna Marin), and Holly Marie Combs (Ella Montgomery), among others.

Based on Sara Shepard’s same-named book series, the drama follows a group of teens who are harassed by the mysterious “A” following the unexplained disappearance of their friend, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse). The series spawned multiple spinoffs, and the currently airing Max reboot, the first season of which (titled Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin ) debuted in 2022.

Hale Hasn’t Ruled Out A Cameo

Set in the fictional town of Millwood, Pennsylvania, the PLL reboot centers on five teen girls (Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Faran Bryant, Malia Pyles, and Maia Reficco) who are tormented by an unknown figure who holds their mothers responsible for a death that occurred on New Year's Eve 1999.

While Hale didn’t appear in Original Sin , her character was referenced in the series. Speaking to MovieWeb in January, the actor said making a cameo in the reboot’s second season ( Summer School ) isn’t off the table.

“I forget how my character Aria is involved, but I know she’s been mentioned in some way. I mean, I never say ‘never.’ That show was the biggest gift in my life,” she told the outlet. “I hold so much gratitude for that experience. I don’t know if I’d ever do a reboot, but who knows? I’m happy they’re letting it live on. I think it’s amazing.”