But if you plan to make several posters in your life, it’s worth investing the time to learn a program specifically for layout design: Adobe InDesign or Illustrator for the rich and spoiled, or Scribus or LaTeX for an open-source alternative.ġ2-point Times New Roman won’t cut it on a poster. Still, I can see the appeal: everyone already has PowerPoint so multiple collaborators can work on the file.īottom line: Use PowerPoint if you must. PowerPoint is intended for slideshows (so most of its tools are pointless for poster design) and the color you see on your computer screen will likely look different in print. PowerPoint is the program of choice for most poster-making scientists, and it drives me crazy. Having an established storyboard will help when you move your ideas to the computer. In the early planning stages of your poster, use a pen and paper to sketch things out. Too often I see posters that are larger than their provided boards and spill onto their neighbors’ posters. I’m not sure why I have to say this but: read the instructions to presenters. Here are some tips and tricks to make this perilous labor a little easier:

It should be sleek, yet informative eye-catching, yet professional and most of all it should attract the attention of your future advisors and collaborators who keep making trips to the beer and wine counter. Conference season is upon us! Around the world, thousands of scientists face a daunting task: designing a scientific poster.

Reddit inkscape vs illustrator