Poster design tips

There are several good tools available for designing your poster. Consider Canva, Inkscape, PowerPoint, or Google Slides.

The student workers of the Digital Learning Studio in Ford Hall 101 are here to help you! Visit the DLS help desk from Monday – Friday, 8 am – 5 pm for tips on using these programs and help with graphic design. The DLS also has tutorials available online for you 24/7.

If you are not printing a poster with a class, you can contact Willamette University's print services personally. You must submit your poster file for printing at least 2 business days before you need to pick it up. 

Layout and design tips for your poster:

• Consider the reader of the poster.
• Contrast! Dark backgrounds with black text are hard to read and light backgrounds with light text are hard to read.
• Font size – body text should be at least 30-36 pts. Title font size can be much larger.
• Be consistent with your font styling.
• Less is More! Consider putting the thesis, key points, and list of sources on your poster and creating a Google site for more materials. You can link your poster to the site with a QR code.

Some useful web sites

• Willamette University Digital Learning Studio's online tutorials: see the Graphic Design resources tab for tips and suggested tools
• Advice on designing an academic poster, by Colin Purrington
• Poster-making 101, by Brian Pfohl
• Willamette University Marketing and Communications: WU colors, downloadable logos, and brand guidelines. Log in through MyWillamette to access the resources.
• Academic Poster Resources: Accessibility – how to make your printed poster accessible, from Yale Library

Some helpful PowerPoint templates

• 3' by 3' PowerPoint template with Compass Graphic with caption outline
• 4' by 3' PowerPoint template with Compass Graphic
• 3' by 2' PowerPoint template with Compass Graphic

Here are a few guidelines to ensure that your poster can be printed error free and in a timely basis:

• Use the Symbol Font when creating scientific symbols
• Do not place Text or graphics off the edge of the poster
• Use standard fonts (Times New Roman, Ariel, Helvetica, and Times)
• Scale all graphics to print size before inserting them into a Power Point, such as...
  • Excel Charts
  • ChemDraw graphics
  • JPEGs
  • TIFFs

Printing

Check with your instructor about printing. You may be printing posters as a group. If you are printing personally, check with Print Services about pricing. It may be cheaper for you to print elsewhere.

To print your poster on campus, contact Willamette University Print Services.

• Your file MUST be sent to Print Services as a PDF
• You MUST send your file to Print Services at least 2 business days before you need it.
• Please note: Poster cannot be released until payment terms are met.

Want more help?

Feel free to contact the Digital Learning Studio for tips! <digital-learning-studio@willamette.edu>