online poster presentation conference

Poster Production: Creating Online Poster Presentations

• Guidelines for Submission
• Poster Basics
• Poster Sizes
• Using Powerpoint
• Layout,Text and Color
• Graphics and Photos
• Editing, Mounting and Presenting

Creating Online Poster Presentations

As a result of the pandemic, a number of conferences and academic events are now be ing held online, requiring those presenting posters at these events to adapt their presentations to a virtual format. This page aims to to provide some resources to help you create presentations that can be delivered remotely. This includes some videos on how to create a brief recorded presentation of your work using both Zoom and PowerPoint, as well as some additional resources for learning how best to present your work in an online setting.

Recorded Poster Presentations

The following video explains how to create a recorded poster presentation using the Zoom desktop app.

This video explains how to create a recorded poster presentation in PowerPoint. (Note: This demonstration was done with the 2019 version of PowerPoint and earlier versions will not have the same functionality.)

Creating a Poster Slide Show with Close-up Images

The following video explains how to create a slide show in PowerPoint you can use to present your poster online, with both the complete poster image and close-ups of specific sections.

Additional Resources

The following links provide some excellent tips and best practices for creating effective online poster presentations:

UC Davis's Undergraduate Research Center maintains a webpage with a number of useful tips for students creating recorded video poster presentations.

https://urc.ucdavis.edu/video-presentations

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) posted the following tips for presenting at virtual events.

https://www.embl.org/about/info/course-and-conference-office/2020/06/10-tips-for-presenting-at-virtual-events/

• << Previous: Examples
• Last Updated: Feb 14, 2024 11:24 AM
• URL: https://mcphs.libguides.com/poster_production

Virtual Poster Session

Organize an online poster session so that folks can discuss their research. We make it simple and easy to manage presenters, and allow you to host an event using your existing video chat software.

Starting at just $50 , try it today - no credit card required!

Not sure yet? Browse our live demo session .

Painlessly manage your online presentations

We handle the painful aspects of organizing a virtual poster session, from inviting presenters, collecting abstracts and uploads, and publishing the results for visitors.

Video walkthroughs

For session organizers

From initial setup to a published session, you can be up and running in no time at all. This walkthrough goes through setup and options, adding and inviting presenters, controlling access and publishing the page. Most features can be changed at any time using the web interface, and are reflected immediately.

For poster presenters

Presenters complete the registration form to list the poster details, and provide a copy of the PDF so that visitors can zoom in and read the poster clearly while chatting. Video chat meetings can be set up by presenters using their favorite chat software. We like Zoom the best, although we have also seen pre-recorded presentations on YouTube and text-based chat.

For session visitors

When the time comes, attendees can easily browse the page and search for the topics that interest them. Presenters have a chance to talk with the visitors about their research, learn something new, and stay connected — even when we have to stay apart.

We do the hard stuff. You're in control

Handle the behind-the-scenes work necessary to pull off a successful virtual poster session, completely online.

Manage data collection

Invite presenters, collect and format abstracts, accept and process PDF poster uploads, manage descriptive information, and enable presenters to connect with their audience.

Self-service

No time-consuming back-and-forth with organizations or presenters. Send secure invitations, track responses, and manage access control and sharing details directly from a streamlined administrative interface.

Bring-your-own communications

We don't force a single chat platform. You and your presenters can use Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Teams, or any other provider that can provide a one-click access link. Don't want video chat? We're flexible - simply swap in pre-recorded video links, a chat room, or calendar signup for attendees to get more information.

Get started in 15 minutes!

As a self-service platform, there is nothing standing in the way of your next virtual poster session.

1. Basic Session details

Enter your basic session details, including a short description and optional links to the rest of your conference program.

2. Collect presenter info

Enter the name and email address of your presenters, and we'll send them an invitation to enter in their content and upload a PDF of their poster. You can sit back and track responses from our online dashboard.

3. Publish securely

Once the posters have been collected, we provide you with the tools to publish the session online. Sessions can be password-protected or publicly posted, and custom web addresses are available to share in your messaging.

• Read our Frequently Asked Questions

Up to 10 posters for $50 /package. 1 year of standard hosting service with email support.

Up to 10 posters for $80 /package. Optional password-protected poster listing page, and a custom DNS subdomain (e.g. conf2020.virtualpostersession.org). CSV import and export tools, simple voting and discussion features. 1 year hosting service with email support.

Up to 100 posters for $2500 /package. Optional password-protected poster listing page, and a custom DNS domain name (e.g. posters.yourconference.com). Pro features included, 1 year of hosting service, a global Content Delivery Network (CDN). Email support requests handled within 2 hours, phone support available.

Host unlimited posters on your own servers, secured within your own internal company network. Contact sales with your requirements. Starting at $10,000 for small non-profits.

How it works

Organize presenters.

Organizers only need to provide Name and Email address for each presenter. Presenters can bring their own video chat service to meet with visitors during the session. We like Zoom the best, although we have also seen pre-recorded presentations on YouTube and text-based chat with Discord and Slack .

Post the details

Presenters fill in their poster details and provide a poster PDF so that visitors can zoom in and read the poster clearly while chatting. On the day of the Session, visitors can browse the posters and see thumbnails easily before contacting authors. See a live example session.

Simple and Secure Sharing

We don't have fancy graphics or gimmicks to steal attention from the research being presented. Visitors do not need to register to attend any Virtual Poster Session, although password-protected listings are available! We take privacy, security, and simplicity very seriously.

Leading a research team? We can help!

We're also building Delv , the first Project Management tool designed for academia. Easily track students, papers, proposals, projects, and report progress from one place. Sign up to be notified when we launch!

We won't share your address. Read our Privacy Policy.

Interactive, multimedia presentations for scientific & educational events: in-person, virtual & hybrid

Intuitive interface

iPosterSessions WYSIWYG templates make it easy to create interactive poster presentations that attract, engage & inform.

Unlimited content

Authors can present as much content as they need. Visitors can explore the content as deeply as they wish.

Multimedia tools

Display high-resolution images and videos & GIFs. Record a narration or add audio clips.

Digital & Dynamic

Online creation & display. No paper, Powerpoints or PDFs.  Update content at any time, right through the conference.

Extended contact

Explore each poster presentation with full interactivity after the conference – on computers, tablets and smartphones.

Added value

iPosterSessions provides an innovative platform for sponsors & partners to present themselves to your constituency.

How iPosters work for you

If you are an event organizer…

• Use our secure system to deliver interactive and multimedia-rich online poster sessions.
• We handle everything from start to finish, including importing author and metadata lists from your abstract management system.
• We send invitation and reminder emails to your authors with links to ‘how to’ guides, video tutorials and FAQs.
• We set up a customized gallery screen for display at your conference (onsite or virtual).
• We provide dedicated onsite or online support throughout the conference.
• You can log in at any point to view your conference’s progress.
• We provide continuous status reports and rich statistics.

If you are an author…

• Once you receive your event welcome email, you can login and start creating.
• Choose from a variety of multimedia templates.
• Invite co-authors and collaborate with them in real-time.
• Design your presentation with easy-to-use editing tools that allow you to select colors, backgrounds, typefaces, and more.
• Add high-resolution images and videos, sound files, iframes, slideshows, links to external websites, surveys, and more.
• Set up text and video chats
• Unlike static e-posters and PDFs, there is no limit to the content that can be added to an iPoster.

If you are an attendee…

• Explore the poster presentations on-site on high-definition touch screens or online from any internet-connected device.
• Make use of our ADA508 & WCAG compliant accessibility tools
• Search, filter, sort and scroll through the iPoster Gallery to find the research that interests you.
• Tap or click to expand content boxes to read more.
• Click to expand images, tables and diagrams to study them in full-size detail
• Play videos, slide shows, and audio files.
• Connect to dynamic datasets and background content on external websites.
• Contact authors, add comments, bookmark favorites.
• Continue to explore your interests online after the event is finished.

If you are an exhibitor or sponsor…

• The iPosterSessions system provides a powerful communications platform for you to reach out to and interact with participants.
• Our online multimedia system enables you to be visible and reachable both during and after the event – on any Internet-connected device.
• And you’ll get comprehensive statistics on visitor engagement. Whether in-person, virtual or hybrid, iPosterSessions increases the value of your participation.

Image Use Agreement

Important image use information.

By copying or making any use of the image below, you acknowledge that you have read and understand, and agree to, the Image Usage Agreement below that governs your use of the Image. If you do not agree to the Agreement’s terms, do not copy or use the Image in any way, unless you have written permission signed by "Company".

Usage Agreement

Subject to the terms of this Agreement, you may use the Image solely in whole for editorial use by press and/or industry analysts. This right to use is personal to you and is not transferable by you to another party. The Image cannot be used to promote or sell any product or technology (such as on advertising, brochures, book-covers, stock photos, t-shirts, or other promotional merchandise). You may not alter, or modify the Image, in whole or in part, for any reason.

As between you and "Company", "Company" is and shall remain the sole and exclusive owner of the Image. You will not delete, alter, or obfuscate any proprietary legends relating to the Image, and each use will be accompanied by the applicable proprietary attribution shown next to the Image.

I have read, understood, and agree to the Image Usage Agreement

Cookie Settings

Privacy overview.

#RSCPoster is a free global online poster conference held on LinkedIn over the course of 24 hours

The event brings together the global chemistry community to  network  with colleagues across the world and at every career stage,  share  their research and  engage  in scientific debate.

We want #RSCPoster to be an inclusive event, connecting researchers from around the world to share and discuss their work. While #RSCPoster takes place on LinkedIn, we are happy for participants to cross-post their posters to engage in discussion with members of the community that use other social media platforms. Prizes will only be awarded based on participation on LinkedIn, so you must share your poster on the platform to be eligible.

About #RSCPoster

#RSCPoster has moved to LinkedIn! Follow our main RSC account and our subject category pages for updates on how to get involved and to keep up to date with our journal activities.

Subject categories

You can also find additional journals on linkedin:, explore the 2024 winners.

Competition was high with the successful launch of #RSCPoster on LinkedIn.

How it works and FAQs

Organisers, subject chairs and general committee, related events and webinars, rsc poster journal collection now available.

The RSC Poster Journal Collection showcasing research presented at the #RSCPoster conference in 2023 is now available.

Sponsors and support

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting #RSCPoster 2024.

Why not enter #RSCposter 2025?

• no registration fees
• participate from anywhere with LinkedIn access
• meet researchers from all over the world, at every career stage
• spend as little or as much time attending as you like
• cash and community prizes for the best posters as judged by our excellent Committees
• community prize for the best #RSCPosterPitch as selected by our General Committee

Browse all events

Contact the organisers.

Home Blog Design How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How are research posters like High School science fair projects? Quite similar, in fact.

Both are visual representations of a research project shared with peers, colleagues and academic faculty. But there’s a big difference: it’s all in professionalism and attention to detail. You can be sure that the students that thrived in science fairs are now creating fantastic research posters, but what is that extra element most people miss when designing a poster presentation?

This guide will teach tips and tricks for creating poster presentations for conferences, symposia, and more. Learn in-depth poster structure and design techniques to help create academic posters that have a lasting impact.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• What is a Research Poster?

Why are Poster Presentations important?

Overall dimensions and orientation, separation into columns and sections, scientific, academic, or something else, a handout with supplemental and contact information, cohesiveness, design and readability, storytelling.

• Font Characteristics
• Color Pairing
• Data Visualization Dimensions
• Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Scientific/Academic Conference Poster Presentation

Digital research poster presentations, slidemodel poster presentation templates, how to make a research poster presentation step-by-step, considerations for printing poster presentations, how to present a research poster presentation, final words, what is a research poster .

Research posters are visual overviews of the most relevant information extracted from a research paper or analysis.   They are essential communication formats for sharing findings with peers and interested people in the field. Research posters can also effectively present material for other areas besides the sciences and STEM—for example, business and law.

You’ll be creating research posters regularly as an academic researcher, scientist, or grad student. You’ll have to present them at numerous functions and events. For example:

• Conference presentations
• Informational events
• Community centers

The research poster presentation is a comprehensive way to share data, information, and research results. Before the pandemic, the majority of research events were in person. During lockdown and beyond, virtual conferences and summits became the norm. Many researchers now create poster presentations that work in printed and digital formats.

Let’s look at why it’s crucial to spend time creating poster presentations for your research projects, research, analysis, and study papers.

Research posters represent you and your sponsor’s research 

Research papers and accompanying poster presentations are potent tools for representation and communication in your field of study. Well-performing poster presentations help scientists, researchers, and analysts grow their careers through grants and sponsorships.

When presenting a poster presentation for a sponsored research project, you’re representing the company that sponsored you. Your professionalism, demeanor, and capacity for creating impactful poster presentations call attention to other interested sponsors, spreading your impact in the field.

Research posters demonstrate expertise and growth

Presenting research posters at conferences, summits, and graduate grading events shows your expertise and knowledge in your field of study. The way your poster presentation looks and delivers, plus your performance while presenting the work, is judged by your viewers regardless of whether it’s an officially judged panel.

Recurring visitors to research conferences and symposia will see you and your poster presentations evolve. Improve your impact by creating a great poster presentation every time by paying attention to detail in the poster design and in your oral presentation. Practice your public speaking skills alongside the design techniques for even more impact.

Poster presentations create and maintain collaborations

Every time you participate in a research poster conference, you create meaningful connections with people in your field, industry or community. Not only do research posters showcase information about current data in different areas, but they also bring people together with similar interests. Countless collaboration projects between different research teams started after discussing poster details during coffee breaks.

An effective research poster template deepens your peer’s understanding of a topic by highlighting research, data, and conclusions. This information can help other researchers and analysts with their work. As a research poster presenter, you’re given the opportunity for both teaching and learning while sharing ideas with peers and colleagues.

Anatomy of a Winning Poster Presentation

Do you want your research poster to perform well?  Following the standard layout and adding a few personal touches will help attendees know how to read your poster and get the most out of your information. 

The overall size of your research poster ultimately depends on the dimensions of the provided space at the conference or research poster gallery. The poster orientation can be horizontal or vertical, with horizontal being the most common.  In general, research posters measure 48 x 36 inches or are an A0 paper size.

A virtual poster can be the same proportions as the printed research poster, but you have more leeway regarding the dimensions. Virtual research posters should fit on a screen with no need to scroll, with 1080p resolution as a standard these days. A horizontal presentation size is ideal for that.

A research poster presentation has a standard layout of 2–5 columns with 2–3 sections each. Typical structures say to separate the content into four sections; 1. A horizontal header 2. Introduction column, 3. Research/Work/Data column, and 4. Conclusion column. Each unit includes topics that relate to your poster’s objective.  Here’s a generalized outline for a poster presentation:

• Condensed Abstract 
• Objectives/Purpose
• Methodology
• Recommendations
• Implications
• Acknowledgments
• Contact Information 

The overview content you include in the units depends on your poster presentations’ theme, topic, industry, or field of research. A scientific or academic poster will include sections like hypothesis, methodology, and materials. A marketing analysis poster will include performance metrics and competitor analysis results.

There’s no way a poster can hold all the information included in your research paper or analysis report. The poster is an overview that invites the audience to want to find out more. That’s where supplement material comes in. Create a printed PDF handout or card with a QR code (created using a QR code generator ). Send the audience to the best online location for reading or downloading the complete paper.

What Makes a Poster Presentation Good and Effective? 

For your poster presentation to be effective and well-received, it needs to cover all the bases and be inviting to find out more. Stick to the standard layout suggestions and give it a unique look and feel. We’ve put together some of the most critical research poster-creation tips in the list below. Your poster presentation will perform as long as you check all the boxes.

The information you choose to include in the sections of your poster presentation needs to be cohesive. Train your editing eye and do a few revisions before presenting. The best way to look at it is to think of The Big Picture. Don’t get stuck on the details; your attendees won’t always know the background behind your research topic or why it’s important.

Be cohesive in how you word the titles, the length of the sections, the highlighting of the most important data, and how your oral presentation complements the printed—or virtual—poster.

The most important characteristic of your poster presentation is its readability and clarity. You need a poster presentation with a balanced design that’s easy to read at a distance of 1.5 meters or 4 feet. The font size and spacing must be clear and neat. All the content must suggest a visual flow for the viewer to follow.

That said, you don’t need to be a designer to add something special to your poster presentation. Once you have the standard—and recognized—columns and sections, add your special touch. These can be anything from colorful boxes for the section titles to an interesting but subtle background, images that catch the eye, and charts that inspire a more extended look. 

Storytelling is a presenting technique involving writing techniques to make information flow. Firstly, storytelling helps give your poster presentation a great introduction and an impactful conclusion. 

Think of storytelling as the invitation to listen or read more, as the glue that connects sections, making them flow from one to another. Storytelling is using stories in the oral presentation, for example, what your lab partner said when you discovered something interesting. If it makes your audience smile and nod, you’ve hit the mark. Storytelling is like giving a research presentation a dose of your personality, and it can help turning your data into opening stories .

Design Tips For Creating an Effective Research Poster Presentation

The section above briefly mentioned how important design is to your poster presentation’s effectiveness. We’ll look deeper into what you need to know when designing a poster presentation.

1. Font Characteristics

The typeface and size you choose are of great importance. Not only does the text need to be readable from two meters away, but it also needs to look and sit well on the poster. Stay away from calligraphic script typefaces, novelty typefaces, or typefaces with uniquely shaped letters.

Stick to the classics like a sans serif Helvetica, Lato, Open Sans, or Verdana. Avoid serif typefaces as they can be difficult to read from far away. Here are some standard text sizes to have on hand.

• Title: 85 pt
• Authors: 65 pt
• Headings: 36 pt
• Body Text: 24 pt
• Captions: 18 pt

If you feel too prone to use serif typefaces, work with a font pairing tool that helps you find a suitable solution – and intend those serif fonts for heading sections only. As a rule, never use more than 3 different typefaces in your design. To make it more dynamic, you can work with the same font using light, bold, and italic weights to put emphasis on the required areas.

2. Color Pairing

Using colors in your poster presentation design is a great way to grab the viewer’s attention. A color’s purpose is to help the viewer follow the data flow in your presentation, not distract. Don’t let the color take more importance than the information on your poster.

Choose one main color for the title and headlines and a similar color for the data visualizations. If you want to use more than one color, don’t create too much contrast between them. Try different tonalities of the same color and keep things balanced visually. Your color palette should have at most one main color and two accent colors.

Black text over a white background is standard practice for printed poster presentations, but for virtual presentations, try a very light gray instead of white and a very dark gray instead of black. Additionally, use variations of light color backgrounds and dark color text. Make sure it’s easy to read from two meters away or on a screen, depending on the context. We recommend ditching full white or full black tone usage as it hurts eyesight in the long term due to its intense contrast difference with the light ambiance.

3. Data Visualization Dimensions

Just like the text, your charts, graphs, and data visualizations must be easy to read and understand. Generally, if a person is interested in your research and has already read some of the text from two meters away, they’ll come closer to look at the charts and graphs. 

Fit data visualizations inside columns or let them span over two columns. Remove any unnecessary borders, lines, or labels to make them easier to read at a glance. Use a flat design without shadows or 3D characteristics. The text in legends and captions should stay within the chart size and not overflow into the margins. Use a unified text size of 18px for all your data visualizations.

4. Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Finally, the last design tip for creating an impressive and memorable poster presentation is to be mindful of the layout’s alignment, margins, and white space. Create text boxes to help keep everything aligned. They allow you to resize, adapt, and align the content along a margin or grid.

Take advantage of the white space created by borders and margins between sections. Don’t crowd them with a busy background or unattractive color.

Calculate margins considering a print format. It is a good practice in case the poster presentation ends up becoming in physical format, as you won’t need to downscale your entire design (affecting text readability in the process) to preserve information.

There are different tools that you can use to make a poster presentation. Presenters who are familiar with Microsoft Office prefer to use PowerPoint. You can learn how to make a poster in PowerPoint here.

Poster Presentation Examples

Before you start creating a poster presentation, look at some examples of real research posters. Get inspired and get creative.

Research poster presentations printed and mounted on a board look like the one in the image below. The presenter stands to the side, ready to share the information with visitors as they walk up to the panels.

With more and more conferences staying virtual or hybrid, the digital poster presentation is here to stay. Take a look at examples from a poster session at the OHSU School of Medicine .

Use SlideModel templates to help you create a winning poster presentation with PowerPoint and Google Slides. These poster PPT templates will get you off on the right foot. Mix and match tables and data visualizations from other poster slide templates to create your ideal layout according to the standard guidelines.

If you need a quick method to create a presentation deck to talk about your research poster at conferences, check out our Slides AI presentation maker. A tool in which you add the topic, curate the outline, select a design, and let AI do the work for you.

1. One-pager Scientific Poster Template for PowerPoint

A PowerPoint template tailored to make your poster presentations an easy-to-craft process. Meet our One-Pager Scientific Poster Slide Template, entirely editable to your preferences and with ample room to accommodate graphs, data charts, and much more.

Use This Template

2. Eisenhower Matrix Slides Template for PowerPoint

An Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool to represent priorities, classifying work according to urgency and importance. Presenters can use this 2×2 matrix in poster presentations to expose the effort required for the research process, as it also helps to communicate strategy planning.

3. OSMG Framework PowerPoint Template

Finally, we recommend presenters check our OSMG Framework PowerPoint template, as it is an ideal tool for representing a business plan: its goals, strategies, and measures for success. Expose complex processes in a simplified manner by adding this template to your poster presentation.

Remember these three words when making your research poster presentation: develop, design, and present. These are the three main actions toward a successful poster presentation. 

The section below will take you on a step-by-step journey to create your next poster presentation.

Step 1: Define the purpose and audience of your poster presentation

Before making a poster presentation design, you’ll need to plan first. Here are some questions to answer at this point:

• Are they in your field? 
• Do they know about your research topic? 
• What can they get from your research?
• Will you print it?
• Is it for a virtual conference?

Step 2: Make an outline

With a clear purpose and strategy, it’s time to collect the most important information from your research paper, analysis, or documentation. Make a content dump and then select the most interesting information. Use the content to draft an outline.

Outlines help formulate the overall structure better than going straight into designing the poster. Mimic the standard poster structure in your outline using section headlines as separators. Go further and separate the content into the columns they’ll be placed in.

Step 3: Write the content

Write or rewrite the content for the sections in your poster presentation. Use the text in your research paper as a base, but summarize it to be more succinct in what you share. 

Don’t forget to write a catchy title that presents the problem and your findings in a clear way. Likewise, craft the headlines for the sections in a similar tone as the title, creating consistency in the message. Include subtle transitions between sections to help follow the flow of information in order.

Avoid copying/pasting entire sections of the research paper on which the poster is based. Opt for the storytelling approach, so the delivered message results are interesting for your audience. 

Step 4: Put it all together visually

This entire guide on how to design a research poster presentation is the perfect resource to help you with this step. Follow all the tips and guidelines and have an unforgettable poster presentation.

Moving on, here’s how to design a research poster presentation with PowerPoint Templates . Open a new project and size it to the standard 48 x 36 inches. Using the outline, map out the sections on the empty canvas. Add a text box for each title, headline, and body text. Piece by piece, add the content into their corresponding text box.

Transform the text information visually, make bullet points, and place the content in tables and timelines. Make your text visual to avoid chunky text blocks that no one will have time to read. Make sure all text sizes are coherent for all headings, body texts, image captions, etc. Double-check for spacing and text box formatting.

Next, add or create data visualizations, images, or diagrams. Align everything into columns and sections, making sure there’s no overflow. Add captions and legends to the visualizations, and check the color contrast with colleagues and friends. Ask for feedback and progress to the last step.

Step 5: Last touches

Time to check the final touches on your poster presentation design. Here’s a checklist to help finalize your research poster before sending it to printers or the virtual summit rep.

• Check the resolution of all visual elements in your poster design. Zoom to 100 or 200% to see if the images pixelate. Avoid this problem by using vector design elements and high-resolution images.
• Ensure that charts and graphs are easy to read and don’t look crowded.
• Analyze the visual hierarchy. Is there a visual flow through the title, introduction, data, and conclusion?
• Take a step back and check if it’s legible from a distance. Is there enough white space for the content to breathe?
• Does the design look inviting and interesting?

An often neglected topic arises when we need to print our designs for any exhibition purpose. Since A0 is a hard-to-manage format for most printers, these poster presentations result in heftier charges for the user. Instead, you can opt to work your design in two A1 sheets, which also becomes more manageable for transportation. Create seamless borders for the section on which the poster sheets should meet, or work with a white background.

Paper weight options should be over 200 gsm to avoid unwanted damage during the printing process due to heavy ink usage. If possible, laminate your print or stick it to photographic paper – this shall protect your work from spills.

Finally, always run a test print. Gray tints may not be printed as clearly as you see them on screen (this is due to the RGB to CMYK conversion process). Other differences can be appreciated when working with ink jet plotters vs. laser printers. Give yourself enough room to maneuver last-minute design changes.

Presenting a research poster is a big step in the poster presentation cycle. Your poster presentation might or might not be judged by faculty or peers. But knowing what judges look for will help you prepare for the design and oral presentation, regardless of whether you receive a grade for your work or if it’s business related. Likewise, the same principles apply when presenting at an in-person or virtual summit.

The opening statement

Part of presenting a research poster is welcoming the viewer to your small personal area in the sea of poster presentations. You’ll need an opening statement to pitch your research poster and get the viewers’ attention.

Draft a 2 to 3-sentence pitch that covers the most important points:

• What the research is
• Why was it conducted
• What the results say

From that opening statement, you’re ready to continue with the oral presentation for the benefit of your attendees.

The oral presentation

During the oral presentation, share the information on the poster while conversing with the interested public. Practice many times before the event. Structure the oral presentation as conversation points, and use the poster’s visual flow as support. Make eye contact with your audience as you speak, but don’t make them uncomfortable.

Pro Tip: In a conference or summit, if people show up to your poster area after you’ve started presenting it to another group, finish and then address the new visitors.

QA Sessions 

When you’ve finished the oral presentation, offer the audience a chance to ask questions. You can tell them before starting the presentation that you’ll be holding a QA session at the end. Doing so will prevent interruptions as you’re speaking.

If presenting to one or two people, be flexible and answer questions as you review all the sections on your poster.

Supplemental Material

If your audience is interested in learning more, you can offer another content type, further imprinting the information in their minds. Some ideas include; printed copies of your research paper, links to a website, a digital experience of your poster, a thesis PDF, or data spreadsheets.

Your audience will want to contact you for further conversations; include contact details in your supplemental material. If you don’t offer anything else, at least have business cards.

Even though conferences have changed, the research poster’s importance hasn’t diminished. Now, instead of simply creating a printed poster presentation, you can also make it for digital platforms. The final output will depend on the conference and its requirements.

This guide covered all the essential information you need to know for creating impactful poster presentations, from design, structure and layout tips to oral presentation techniques to engage your audience better . 

Before your next poster session, bookmark and review this guide to help you design a winning poster presentation every time. 

Like this article? Please share

Cool Presentation Ideas, Design, Design Inspiration Filed under Design

Related Articles

Filed under Business • May 31st, 2024

How to Create an Appealing Report Presentation (Guide + Templates)

Discover the elements that make any kind of report presentation stand out. Recommendations for slide deck content and PPT templates.

Filed under Design • May 29th, 2024

How to Create Effective Call to Action Slides for Presentations

When concluding a presentation, it’s essential to prompt attendees to take action. This is where a specific slide type, the call-to-action slide or CTA slide, comes into play. Depending on your context, this slide can incorporate various graphical elements, such as compelling images, charts, or diagrams, to evoke emotions or simply be attractive with information […]

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • May 28th, 2024

How to Curve Text in PowerPoint

Do you want to know how to curve text in PowerPoint? If so, stay tuned to these two methods for professional-quality results.

Leave a Reply

• Electrophysiology Rigs
• Multiphoton Imaging
• Optogenetics and Uncaging
• Manipulators
• Microscopes
• Stages and Platforms
• By technique
• Electrophysiology
• Three-Photon Imaging
• Two-Photon Imaging
• Optogenetics
• Fluorescence Imaging
• Microinjection
• Network Studies
• Learning Zone
• Case Studies
• Events News
• Careers at Scientifica
• Research Jobs
• Company News
• Our Service & Support
• Distributors

10 tips for presenting your poster online at a virtual conference

Presenting a poster online during a virtual conference has its pros and cons compared to in-person poster presentations. Whilst it can be difficult to achieve the same level of interactions during a virtual poster session, there can be opportunities to share your research with a wider audience, and you may feel more relaxed being in a familiar environment.

Whether you are presenting your poster live or pre-recording a presentation, these tips and considerations will help you make the most of your online poster presentation.

1. Utilise templates and tutorials

Often, the company providing the software for the virtual poster sessions will have templates available to download. Using an official template will reduce the risk of any technical issues occurring on the day, so you can focus on your presentation. It will ensure your poster looks as good as possible, as it will be the correct size, format, and resolution.

Take a look at software-specific tutorials too. These will likely contain some handy tips and tricks for using the software, helping you feel more confident on the day, and allowing you to focus on your presentation.

2. It’s all in the design

Your poster needs to stand out from the crowd and capture the audience’s attention, but also include the most important information in a compact space. The best posters present data clearly and don’t have too much text; your poster doesn’t need to explain every detail of your research.

Take a look at our guides for making your scientific poster stand out and keeping your poster concise to help you with your poster design.

3. Include sounds and videos

A benefit of having an electronic poster is that you can include sound and videos, neither of which can be incorporated when you are presenting your poster in-person .

Remember to not get carried away, and only include videos and sounds that will help to tell your story, ensuring you test they work on the platform ahead of your poster session to avoid any last-minute problems.

4. Include links on your poster

Links are another aspect that can be fully utilised in digital posters. Be sure to include external links to further reading in your poster to help your audience better understand your research. For example, you could link to your published research paper, to articles explaining a concept in more detail, your lab’s website, and other relevant websites that could be of interest to your audience.

5. Choose your location wisely

Ensure that you are presenting your research in a location that has a neutral background, to avoid drawing the audience’s attention away from your talk.

Check the lighting to make sure it isn’t too dark, you can be clearly seen, and there is no glare from lighting.

Finally, choose a place that is quiet and free from disturbances or distractions; minimise background noise by taking measures such as putting a sign on the door if you are in a meeting room, or closing the window if you are next to a busy road.

6. Practice your presentation

As you would for an in-person presentation, ensure you practice your presentation before the virtual conference, so you know what you are going to say, and have plenty of time to make modifications if there are any parts you are tripping over.

To get comfortable presenting online, practice presenting to friends or colleagues using a platform such as Zoom , Skype or Google Hangouts . This will help you know where to sit (in terms of background noise and lighting), where to look throughout the presentation, as well as check your sound and camera are working sufficiently.

7. Check your connection

Ensure your internet is reliable and fast enough to handle the data transfer that will be involved when you are presenting your poster online. Video conferencing has speed requirements; your connection will need meet these so your video and sound don’t lag and you can be seen and heard clearly. You can learn more about this here , and most virtual meeting organisers will be able to provide some guidelines.

If you are using video conferencing software that has an app, download this rather than presenting through your browser, as this will be more reliable.

8. Close everything down

To maximise the processing power of your computer, help prevent glitches and avoid sharing anything other than your presentation, close all programmes down apart from your presentation. Better to be safe than sorry!

9. Dress professionally

Even though the audience will see a small part of your outfit, dressing smartly, as you would for an in-person presentation, will help to you to be in the right frame of mind. It will also show that you care and are there to make the most of the opportunity, as explained here .

Although you want to look smart, you also need to be comfortable, so be sure to wear an outfit that is comfortable to sit in for a few hours!

10. Some tips for pre-recorded presentations

The tips above also apply to pre-recorded presentations, but here are a couple of additional pointers for a pre-recorded poster presentation:

• Look at the guidelines for the file type and size, as well as suggested length of the recording
• Record in a quiet place, where you will be undisturbed, and check the lighting and background before you begin
• Again, practice before you record
• Take a look here for more advice for pre-recorded presentations.

Take a look at our other useful comtent:

• Some of our tips for presenting a poster at an in-person conference are still applicable to virtual scientific conferences.

Banner image credit: Getty images

Contact Form

* denotes required field

• Sign me up for the Scientifica newsletter to receive news based on the above interests
• I agree to my data being held and processed in accordance with the privacy policy *

0" x-text="errorMessage" class="tw-text-red-500">

Receive the latest guides

Straight to your inbox

How to Design an Effective Poster for Virtual Conferences

Posters presentations have many benefits for the authors and the audience. The author is free from the constraints of time slots and public speaking while still being able to share their research with the audience they want. The audience can take their time reading and reviewing posters that catch their eye and can connect with the author in person or via email if their contact information is listed.

With virtual conferences becoming a regular feature in the research landscape, posters still play an important role in the sharing of scientific innovations. Many elements of an effective in-person poster presentation hold true for online poster presentations, however there are some new things to consider before submitting a poster to a virtual poster hall.

When designing your poster for a virtual audience consider these tips:

• To avoid the dreaded ‘wall-of-text’ problem, it’s best to keep each section as succinct as possible. About 100 words per section works as a good guideline, with no more than 800 words maximum on your poster.
• Don’t forget your references. While can be smaller than the rest of your text, and often are condensed into one small area of the poster for review at a later time, they are still necessary.
• Following this format reduces reader confusion and can improve the efficacy of your poster. 
• Many companies and academic institutions have pre-prepared poster templates that you should be able to freely use as an affiliate of that institution. If not, there are free poster templates available from many reputable sources online including Microsoft and Adobe. You can also opt to design your own poster by using free or paid software programs that support larger file formats.
• Having distinct sections that can be easily followed in a linear direction makes it easier for a reader to follow your process from start to finish.
• Avoid overly noisy backgrounds. While it may be tempting to add some flourish to your poster with an interesting background image, this can make it hard to read your poster.
• If zoom is possible, you have a bit more leeway with your text font size, however the ideal remains a size 24 for text and 32 for titles .
• If zoom isn’t possible, it’s more important to stick to the above font sizes. The last thing you want is for your poster to be unreadable unless it’s downloaded for later. While many users will download posters for later viewing, it may detract from your ability to network with viewers in real-time or live sessions.
• Images, graphs, figures, and tables are key poster elements. You can say more with one figure than with 100 words on your poster. Don’t be afraid of color here, images on posters are often what catches the eye of the potential reader.
• Balance between text and image is integral with posters. Try not to have too much of one or the other or the poster can look crowded.
• Make sure the size of your image is optimized for online viewing. The last thing you want if for your figure to be blurry or pixelated when viewing online.
• First, make sure your contact information is somewhere easily visible on your poster.
• Then, see what networking features the online event supports. Is there a networking lounge? A live chat? Can users comment on your poster? If so, be prepared to enter these environments to engage with others and promote your poster. The easier you make it for people to interact with you, the more engagement you will get.
• Does the platform have options for an audio/visual element? If so, consider uploading a brief audio introduction about yourself and your research. When done right this can make a poster stand out in the mind of a reader and can help them get to know you and your project faster than reading through the entire poster in that moment.
• Don’t be afraid to promote yourself on your poster. Consider adding links to your lab, your publications, a project website, or a virtual business card. QR codes can be effective in person and in virtual environments to give readers more information. Sites like Link Tree and Campsite also make it easy to link all your project publications & information in one place.

Figure 1: The Labroots Campsite page . Sites like this can be freely used to create online business cards and lists of relevant project links to provide your readers with extra resources.

Virtual poster halls are a great way to get your research out there. Like in-person poster sessions there are many factors -as noted above- that can help your poster succeed. As the landscape perpetually shifts to include more hybrid and virtual events it is important to adapt to new methods of presenting your data. While many aspects of poster presentations remain the same as in person (organization, format, elements), other aspects have intrinsically changed (engagement & networking).

Figure 2: Labroots Virtual Poster Hall for our Neuroscience 2022 Virtual Event.  

To see examples of effective poster designs, check out our Poster Competition Winners or register for a free Labroots account and 'walk' our virtual poster halls in any of our upcoming or on-demand virtual events. 

Labroots virtual poster halls have built in networking features as well as the option to add a video link, providing a visual for attendees, showcasing you presenting your research poster. Read more about our free poster submission process and see a list of our poster competition winners for previous events here .

Watch this space for more tips and keep an eye on Labroots upcoming call for posters for our 2022 & 2023 virtual events .

RECENT POSTS

• Event Website Publish a modern and mobile friendly event website.
• Registration & Payments Collect registrations & online payments for your event.
• Abstract Management Collect and manage all your abstract submissions.
• Peer Reviews Easily distribute and manage your peer reviews.
• Conference Program Effortlessly build & publish your event program.
• Virtual Poster Sessions Host engaging virtual poster sessions.
• Customer Success Stories
• Wall of Love ❤️

Online platform for virtual poster sessions: How it works

Published on 02 Sep 2022

Many event platforms have developed new virtual tools in the wake of the pandemic. Most of these tools are essentially the same: they allow the broadcasting of speakers, a chat, asking questions, and conducting live polls.

Not much has been developed to organize virtual poster sessions . Why?

First, event platforms are not specialized in scientific events and therefore are not familiar with the concept of poster sessions.

Second, poster sessions takes 5-10% of the time at an in-person event, while oral presentations often take the rest. So it doesn't seem very important at first.

Third, developing tools for an interactive, engaging and easy-to-use poster session is not a simple task and requires some technological prowess.

The outcome is very few online softwares exist to help organize and deliver engaging virtual poster sessions.

Our approach is different

First, Fourwaves is specialized in scientific events. We organized and attended numerous events as former PhD students and know how poster sessions are fun and important moments. They allow to:

• Get constructive feedback from other participants and judges;
• Practice communicating your research;
• Network, find new ideas to advance your project
• Forge new collaborations between labs;

Second, conversations between participants are super important to make your event more engaging and poster sessions allows that! People want to talk to each other, not spend the whole day listening to speakers. In our view, poster sessions are one of the most important moments of your virtual or hybrid event!

Finally, we saw this technological challenge as an opportunity to innovate and build something new that scientific and academic events could leverage to make events more interactive.

How it works

Online posters submission and management

Our powerful integrated abstract management solution allows you to collect all poster data.

A submission can be published with:

• A title, a list of authors and their affiliations;
• An abstract;
• Figures (each with a title and description);
• A Powerpoint (with audio);
• Full-screen poster (image or PDF format)
• A video (hosted on Fourwaves - no need for Youtube)
• Any other information.

Open access to posters

Participants can search and view posters before and indefinitely after the event. You can add custom filters easily.

Integrated video solution

The platform supports live video conversations integrated in Fourwaves for each poster (you don't need Zoom or any other external streaming tool).

Fast set up

It is super easy to set up and you don't need to create individual rooms for each poster.

A productive user experience

Presenters don't need to wait at their poster all day, they can browse other posters. When someone calls them, they're notified and can join the conversation. This way they make the most of their poster session!

Also, participants see in front of which posters there are ongoing conversations and can join or call a presenter.

Unlimited posters and participants

There is no limit in terms of submissions or the number of participants who can join the live event. There can be up to 12 participants in a video conversation and up to 250 listeners in front of a poster. They can interact via the live chat.

Laser pointer

Presenters can use the laser pointer feature allowing to present their poster without needing to share their screen.

Easy screen sharing

Presenters can share their screen during the video conversation to point at specific sections of the poster or go through a more formal presentation with a PowerPoint. They can also share a local application on their computer.

Video presentation

Introducing organizations on fourwaves.

This year we're introducing Organizations on Fourwaves. This blog post aims to explain what Organiza...

Product Update: Redesigned User Dashboard, Peer-Review Updates and Email Communication Enhancements

Maybe you’ve seen it already in your account, but we’ve just released some major improvements in Fou...

You need to be logged in to access this feature. Click “Confirm” to log in to your existing account or create a new account.

Become Membership Confirmation

You must purchase an AGU membership to complete this session. Click on confirm to purchase.

Leaving AGU

You are redirecting to an external site. Are you sure you want to continue?

We are experiencing difficulty processing your payment. Please do not refresh the page or submit again.

Contact our Member Service Center for help at [email protected] , or 800.966. 2481 (toll-free in North America), or +1 202.462.6900.

Present & Convene

Poster session guidelines.

This is your one stop for all of the information you need to participate in a poster session. Instructions differ based on your role and the way you are attending. Please select accordingly:

• I am Presenting In-Person .
• I am Presenting Online .
• I am Chairing In-Person .
• I am Chairing Online .

eLightning, Online Poster, and In-Person Poster Presenting Authors: log in to create your dynamic online poster today.

Poster Presenter Guide

• In-person poster sessions will take place on 11-15 December from 8:30 AM - 12:50 PM PST and 2:10 PM - 6:30 PM PST.
• You are invited and encouraged to attend the online poster sessions held on 22-25 January 2024.
• For poster presentations, changes cannot be made from in-person to online presentations or vice versa. Registered poster presenters who cannot attend their scheduled session can choose to publish an iPoster in the online gallery, and the abstract will remain in the program. Choose this option via the Participant’s Corner .
• If you are presenting multiple abstracts, the program committee cannot guarantee that you will be free of scheduling conflicts.

SESSION SCHEDULE

9 steps for presenting a poster in-person.

1. REGISTER

• Please allow one hour from time of registration before publishing iPoster.
• Please register at least 36 hours in advance of your session.  Register by the early bird deadline of 2 November to take advantage of the early bird rate.

2. ATTEND A TRAINING SESSION

• High-resolution image
• Detailed charts and diagrams
• Slide shows
• High definition videos
• Audio files
• Voice-over narrations
• Links to external data sets
• How to improve poster layout for clarity and engagement
• Strategies and resources for creating more visual posters
• How to deliver a 60 second summary of the poster

3. CREATE & PRINT YOUR POSTER

• Copy Central is the official poster printer for AGU23. Posters ordered via Copy Central can be picked up at their booth located in Moscone South. Ready to order?
• Refer to the requirements and best practices below.
• To participate, upload and publish your poster by  1 December when the online poster gallery goes live or at least 24 hours prior to your session.
• Instructions to create your digital poster will be provided in late October.
• Authors may log in to create a digital poster, but they must be registered to publish the poster to the online gallery.
• Please note, authors will have until 31 January to make edits to published posters.
• If you encounter technical problems when working in the iPoster Editor Site, please contact our Support Desk here . When you communicate with Support, please use the Conference Code: AGU23

LEARN MORE ABOUT IPOSTER  

4. REHEARSE

• Organize your ideas so that you can quickly review your work with poster hall visitors.
• Create an elevator pitch.
• Focus on the material as submitted and accepted in your abstract.
• Rehearse speaking slowly and clearly. If your rehearsal runs long, reduce the material and rehearse again.
• Use simple, active words and short sentences. (Some online attendees might be using translation services.)

TIPS FOR CREATING AN ELEVATOR PITCH

5. REQUEST ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT (OPTIONAL)

• Additional equipment such as monitors, laptops, tables, and upgraded internet can be ordered by 8 December. Ordering instructions are now available here . 
• You must order a table if you plan to use a laptop.
• You may use your own laptop and/or monitor.
• Equipment is limited, and AGU cannot guarantee that requested items will be available.
• Equipment cannot be requested on site. 

6. PROMOTE YOUR SESSION

• Use AGU’s customizable Canva templates to promote your #AGU23 session on social media.

Canva Template

Learn more about promoting your session.

7. SET UP YOUR POSTER

• Set up between 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM PST on the day of your presentation ( no earlier ).
• Pick up push pins and an availability sign at the Poster Assistance Desk.
• Find your assigned poster board.
• Boards will be numbered sequentially (0001–3400) from the beginning to the end of the hall. TIP: The number after the hyphen in your final paper number is your poster board number (e.g. The board for paper “ A11A-1346” is “1346 .”)

8. ATTEND THE SESSION

• You must be available in the poster hall for at least one hour during your assigned session.
• Leave a note on your poster indicating where you can be reached in case someone wishes to discuss your research.
• If you have created a digital poster in the online poster gallery, you can also include "I'll be at my poster" times in the gallery. 

9. COLLECT YOUR POSTER

• For maximum attendee viewing, do not remove your poster before 6:30 PM PST.
• The poster hall will close at 6:30 PM PST each day.
• If you wish to keep your poster, you must remove it by this time .
• Any remaining posters will be removed and recycled at the end of each day. 

Online Poster Session Presenter Guide

• Online poster sessions will take place on  22-25 January 2024 .
• There will be no online or hybrid poster sessions taking place in San Francisco.

8 Steps For Presenting a Poster Online

• Register by the early bird deadline of 2 November to take advantage of the early bird rate.
• Platform Exploration : Familiarize yourself with the Vimeo Venue Platform by visiting the AGU23 sandbox space before your session. This will allow you to test connections and get a feel for the controls and options available prior to the date of scheduled online session. If you haven't already, please create a FREE Vimeo account or log in using your existing account at Vimeo Join Page .  *Please note, you do not need to join or subscribe to Vimeo after creating a FREE account.
• Training Dates : To further enhance your familiarity with the platform, we STRONGLY encourage presenters and chairs to participate in a training session. Training will be held for presenters and chairs between 4:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST on 20 January and 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST on 21 January . Log in to the AGU23 sandbox space at any time to ask questions or explore the platform with technical support. We strongly encourage presenters and chairs to attend a training session as there will not be technical support within each session.

3. CREATE & UPLOAD YOUR POSTER

• All online poster presenters must create an iPoster to present during the scheduled presentation time in the online poster sessions.
• The deadline to upload and publish an iPoster to appear in the online gallery is 1 December  when the online poster gallery goes live for maximum viewing by AGU23 attendees. 
• Please note, presenting authors may log in to create a digital poster, but they  must be registered by on or before 15 December in order to publish a poster to the online gallery.
• Authors are encouraged to use the available iPoster templates, but can also upload a PDF into iPoster or paste text and images from a PDF into an iPoster template.

POSTER BEST PRACTICES

• Prepare in advance to organize your ideas and make a plan for staying within your allotted time.
• Leave adequate time for Q&A and transitions.
• Create an opening statement.
• Discuss the material as submitted and accepted in your abstract.

5. PROMOTE YOUR SESSION

6. CHECK YOUR TECH

• Online poster sessions will use the Vimeo online platform. If you haven't already, please create a FREE Vimeo account or log in using your existing account at Vimeo Join Page .  *Please note, you do not need to join or subscribe to Vimeo after creating a FREE account.
• By Sunday, 21 January, you must also register for access to your assigned venue in order to be recognized as a presenter . All presenters were sent an email on 12 January that provided their Vimeo venue assignment and links to register as a presenter within their venue. You will also use this venue registration link to join on the day of your session.
• Test your camera and microphone settings within the Vimeo platform to ensure seamless functionality during your presentation.
• Access your iPoster via the poster gallery in the AGU23 online meeting platform and test how to share your screen (present to stage) within Vimeo. You will share your screen to present your iPoster during your live session. Slides are not required or accepted.
• Technical support will be available in the Vimeo venue lobby during live sessions, but a technician will not be placed within each Vimeo space/breakout room where individual sessions will occur. 
• Please note, attendees or presenters accessing Vimeo in China, will need to establish a VPN connection. 

7. ATTEND YOUR SESSION

• All AGU23 Continuing the Journey events will be hosted in Pacific Standard Time (PST), which is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time (New York). Please note, the Vimeo agenda will default to the attendees local time zone. 
• You can find your session's venue assignment and venue registration/join link within the instructional email sent to presenters on 12 January. You will be automatically be recognized as a presenter if you have registered with your venue in advance.
• Meeting attendees who are not presenting can access the session via the AGU23 online meeting platform .
• Within the Vimeo venue, use the hamburger icon in the bottom left corner to navigate to your session.
• Sessions will begin with quick online poster overviews from each presenter followed by group discussion with the online audience.
• Presenters will share their screen during their presentation.
• Session chairs will introduce presenters and moderate the Q&A.
• Published online poster presentations will be viewable and searchable in the online gallery during the conference and through March 2024. 
• Poster presenters can schedule individual text or video chats through the iPoster system at any time during AGU23 or continued through the January 2024 sessions.
• Once scheduled, these text and video chat times will appear with your abstract in the online program. These chats are conducted at your discretion and will take place within the iPoster platform.

Poster Session Chair Guide

• In-person poster sessions will take place daily on 11-15 December from 8:30 AM - 12:50 PM PST and 2:10 PM - 6:30 PM PST.
• Poster presentations cannot be added or moved to different poster sessions.
• If you are chairing multiple sessions and/or submitted abstracts to the scientific program, the program committee cannot guarantee that you will be free of scheduling conflicts.
• Please ensure session co-conveners are available to step in and chair if needed.

6 Steps For Chairing an In-Person Poster Session

• You must register in order to chair a session at AGU23.

2. GET READY TO MODERATE

• Session chairs play an important role in making sure that session attendees feel safe, welcomed, and included.
• Help ensure that sessions reflect diversity, inclusion, and excellence in science.
• Reach out to the presenting authors in your session prior to the meeting. Session chairs will be provided with an updated report of presenters via the User Portal.

3. CHAIR TRAINING

Whether this is your first time chairing an AGU session or you are an experienced session chair, you are encouraged to view the recorded training or to view the detailed session chair tips prior to the start of the meeting.

• Fantastic Facilitation: How to be a Successful Session Chair Thursday, 16 November: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST View the training recording in the "Online Program and Resources" section of the User Portal. This training is led by the go-to communications expert  Melissa Marshall , who has traveled the world to work with Fortune 100 corporations, global institutions, and the nation’s best research universities when leaders need to boost their skills in communicating their world-changing research. Participants will learn the following: a. How to introduce a session and set expectations b. How to create connection between topics and tell a story across a session c. How to keep a session running smoothly and on topic (strategies for dealing with difficult questioners) 
• Please download and view the detailed  session chair tips  for facilitating the best session. 

4. PROMOTE YOUR SESSION

5. ARRIVE EARLY FOR PRE-CHECK

• Arrive 20 minutes before your poster session is scheduled to begin.
• Presenters should set up their posters between 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM PST on the day of their session.
• Help authors having trouble with layout, set-up, or equipment.
• Make sure authors’ poster boards are numbered correctly and that presenters' availability signs are visible.
• AGU staff will be available to provide assistance at the Poster Assistance Desk, where you will also find push pins and availability signs.
• Note any empty poster boards. (Your evaluation survey will ask for any “no-show” presentations.)

6. CHAIR YOUR SESSION

• Encourage participation and respect all presenters and attendees.
• Introduce attendees to authors and facilitate discussion.
• Perform “crowd control” in the aisles if needed. 
• Be aware of aggressive questioning that borders on bullying or harassment, especially if directed towards students or early career scientists. Please speak up and intervene.
• Reach out to an AGU staff person at the Poster Assistance Desk for assistance or please report Code of Conduct concerns to [email protected] . 
• Remind authors to  remove their posters by 6:30 PM PST.   Any posters remaining at that time will be recycled .

Online Poster Session Chair Guide

• Online poster sessions will take place from 22-25 January 2024.

7 Steps For Chairing AN online poster session

• You must register by 15 December 2023 in order to chair an online poster session at AGU23 in January 2024.
• Reach out to the presenting authors in your session. Session chairs will be provided with an updated report of presenters via the User Portal.
• Review how the session will run and identify a general discussion topic based on the session.
• The online poster session format provides an opportunity to highlight larger science questions or explore future needs and challenges.

 Whether this is your first time chairing an AGU session or you are an experienced session chair, you are encouraged to view the recorded chair training or view the detailed session chair tips prior to the start of the meeting.

Vimeo Training

• Platform Exploration : Familiarize yourself with the Vimeo Venue Platform by visiting the AGU23 sandbox space before your session. This will allow you to test connections and get a feel for the controls and options available prior to the date of scheduled online session. If you haven't already, please create a FREE Vimeo account or log in using your existing account at Vimeo Join Page .  *Please note, you do not need to join or subscribe to Vimeo after creating a FREE account.
• Training Dates: To further enhance your familiarity with the platform, we STRONGLY encourage presenters and chairs to participate in a training session. Training will be held for presenters and chairs between 4:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST on 20 January and 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST on 21 January. Log in to the AGU23 sandbox space at any time to ask questions or explore the platform with technical support. We strongly encourage presenters and chairs to attend a training session as there will not be technical support within each session.

5. CHECK YOUR TECH

• Online poster sessions will use the Vimeo online platform. If you haven't already, please create a FREE Vimeo account or log in using your existing account at Vimeo Join Page. *Please note, you do not need to join or subscribe to Vimeo after creating a FREE account.
• By Sunday, 21 January, you must also register for access to your assigned venue . All chairs were sent an email on 16 January that provided their Vimeo venue assignment and links to register as a chair within their venue. You will also use this venue registration link to join on the day of your session.
• Presenters will need to access their iPoster via the poster gallery in the AGU23 online meeting platform and test how to share their screen (present to stage) within Vimeo. Presenters will share their screen to present their iPoster during the live session. Slides are not required or accepted.
• Technical support will be available in the Vimeo venue lobby during live sessions, but a technician will not be placed within each Vimeo space/breakout room where individual sessions will occur.
• Please note, attendees or presenters accessing Vimeo in China, will need to establish a VPN connection.

LEARN MORE ABOUT IPOSTER

6. LOG IN TO YOUR SESSION EARLY

• You can find your session's venue assignment and venue registration/join link within the instructional email sent to chairs on 16 January.

7. CHAIR YOUR SESSION

• Sessions will begin with quick online poster overviews from each presenter followed by group discussion with the online audience. Presenters will share their screen during their presentation.
• Encourage participation and treat all presenters and attendees with respect.
• Introduce authors and facilitate discussion.
• Reach out to an AGU staff person for assistance or please report Code of Conduct concerns to [email protected] .  

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

+31 (0)6 5465 1346 | [email protected]

CAUSE AN EFFECT

Blog on science communication

How to design a poster presentation so your research stands out

Giving a poster presentation is not the dream of every scientist, but we help you to make a beautiful and effective poster presentation to take advantage of the networking opportunity!

Your research is important, so why waste everyone’s time with a poster with the main message hidden in bullet points and a design that makes it challenging to decipher text and tables?

Also check out our Poster Design Guidelines

The ultimate guide for good poster presentation design. Use it to create a well-designed poster that stands out and effectively communicates your research. We’ve created this together with conference organizers, scientists and universities. It’s based over a decade of experience with (visual) science communication.

What is the goal of your poster presentation?

A quick reminder: The main goal of a poster presentation is not to share your research results. If that were the case, you could just publish it, email it to colleagues in your field or hand out copies of your paper during conferences. Instead, the goal of standing next to your poster is to have interaction with other researchers in your field , learn from their critical questions, feedback, and suggestions, and make connections for future collaborations.

Your new goal is to present your work clearly and make sure that people stop to talk to you about your work. To achieve this goal, you and your poster need to STAND OUT. If you do it well, presenting your poster is an incredible learning opportunity. In our e-book about designing presentations , we talk a bit more about how to define your goal and message. Think about what your main message is, WHY your message is so important (typically the ‘background’ section) and only then WHAT the evidence is supporting your message (the ‘results’ section).

Write down your research as a story

We do this exercise in our science communication workshops a lot:

Write down your entire research in a single sentence (commas are allowed). Don’t worry if you don’t get it on the first try. In our workshops, we often start out by writing it down in a single paragraph or a one-minute speech and then shorten it until you have a single sentence. Answering the following questions help you get started:

Why are you doing your research? What is your ultimate goal?

e.g. We want to slow down Alzheimer’s disease, find a cure for small-cell carcinoma, find out which cells are responsible for skin cancer. We want to improve patient care in hospitals. We want to understand the environmental causes of obesity. We aim to study the best way to lose weight. We want to develop a new standard for research outcomes. (Just a few examples from our clients)

What is the underlying problem? Sometimes your research goal is more obscure than curing cancer or solving obesity. People will know these are major problems, and you do NOT need to point this out to them. However, you might be solving a problem people don’t know about yet. If that’s the case, you have to explain the problem AND the goal or solution to the problem. e.g. We think there is a better way to diagnose disease X than is currently done because current practice is very costly.

What exactly are you looking at in your research? How are you executing your research?

e.g. you are studying human behavior, performing cell microscopy, literature research in the national archives, interviews in local communities.

e.g. you are using epidemiology, meta-analysis, RCT, In-vitro study, computer modeling, AI, fieldwork, (online) questionnaires.

What makes your research, approach, or team unique?

e.g. We’re doing the first multi-disciplinary research into obesity prevention / We have an international team with over 20 participating countries / We developed a unique new technique or methodology / We combine all available data to date / We have a specific breed of mice that might answer the question better / This is the first time anyone has ever looked at X or used method Y.

This would result in a sentence like this:

To find out how to slow down Alzheimer’s disease, we are using new metabolomic profiling techniques to find pathways to prevent beta-amyloid proteins from forming harmful plaques in the brain.

This can be the new subtitle or large quote of your poster! It’s the main summary of what you’re trying to achieve.

Have a question as your main title

For the main title, you might want to use something even shorter. You can choose to have a question as a main title. This might lure more people to your poster than a statement. What about “Mental health in hospitals: what can health professionals do to ease the pain?”. It’s the perfect start to a conversation. Imagine what the first question would be that you can ask a person approaching you. It does not tell the whole story but makes people curious enough to walk up to your poster to read the answer or have a discussion with you.

Another example:

QUESTION: Will assessing differentiated dysplasia improve risk assessment of leukoplakia better than current WHO standards?

STATEMENT: Adding differentiated dysplasia to classic dysplasia assessment is a stronger prognostic indicator (HR:7.2) for malignant transformation than current WHO standards.

The 5-second science communication rule

In general, you only have a few seconds to grab attention with your poster. People will only stop at your poster if they are drawn in by an interesting title or a stunning design. When they decided to slow down and start reading more, it takes them about 30 seconds to read your poster. This is not reading in a traditional sense, but more skimming the titles. This means that if your titles are words such as Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion they will still have no idea what your research is about!

Reading your poster should not be a chore. Test it with some friends or colleagues. Show them your poster for 30 seconds, and ask them what they think is your main message, and what result/word/graph/design piqued their interest.

Poster prep-time!

• Think about what you want to get out of this poster presentation. Do you want to connect with at least 3 senior researchers? Do you want to get feedback on a specific result? Do you want to discuss your methods and ask others how they would do this?
• Prepare what you want to say when someone approaches your poster. Or better yet, what you want to ask them.
• Think about what critical questions people may have about your poster and prepare a short answer. Is your research about dairy and it is funded by the dairy industry? Expect some critical questions. Be grateful you get these questions, it’s what proper scientific discussion is all about!

Do not conform to “standards” imposed by the conference

We know that you often have to adhere to guidelines for your poster presentation. Maybe you have to abide by a standard template from your institution, or have huge logos from every single collaborator (and even pictures of their locations!) on it. We advise that you do NOT give in to these demands without a fight. Remember: these guidelines are not made by science communication experts, but often by the press officer with a desire for a uniform look or by more senior scientists who think design is something achieved by rainbow-colored text effects in Word. You get our frustration…

Of course, it’s good to adhere to the physical format of the poster mount and have large and legible text, but we’ll try to push you out of your comfort zone here a bit. You will not get punished by anyone for using different colors than your institution, use a different font, and use design in a way that makes your research pop. Remember: you can not stand out if your poster looks like all the other boring posters in the room!

TEXT: How to make sure your main message stands out

Don’t structure your presentation like a paper.

Ditch the abstract/introduction/results/conclusion/acknowledgments structure and create your own interesting titles. Instead: write conclusive titles that people can skim. This means that you should make sure that your titles (the largest texts on your poster) tell your story.

Turn headings into conclusions & quotes.

Instead of the vague descriptive title “Costs of diabetes” you can turn it into the main conclusive message: “Total costs of diabetes have increased to $245 billion.” Which one do you prefer?

This means that you do NOT highlight the least interesting words on your paper, but let the MESSAGE stand out. We cringe when we see the words “Background” highlighted in huge bright blue text, and the main message obscured in smaller text.

An example: How to structure your research (based on https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32023777 ).

Which behavioral and nutritional factors are targets for stomach cancer prevention programmes?

A meta-analysis and systematic review of 14 behavioral and nutritional factors in 52,916 studies.

Helicobacter pylori infection, smoking, alcohol, high salt intake were identified as the main factors contributing to stomach cancer.

These results may be utilized for ranking and prioritizing preventable risk factors to implement effective prevention programs.

As you can see, with the new structure, it’s already a short explanation of your entire research! Way to go!

TIP: Does your research show negative results? Shout it from the rooftops! Don’t be disappointed, your research is just as important as anyone else’s. Do not hide it, show it, so other people can learn from it.

DESIGN: Keep it clean and simple

How do you think you will come across if you use different backgrounds, colors and fonts for every slide? Does that really make you look creative and professional? We know it’s tempting, but don’t use every tool PowerPoint has given you to design with. Don’t use gradients, drop-shadows, text effects if you don’t know how to use them.

The design of your poster should support your story, provide structure, and make your presentation more effective. Design can also help distinguish between the main message and supporting information. By using different designs for your main thread and quotes, anecdotes, or examples you make sure people don’t lose sight of your most important messages.

We love to show bad examples, so check out this poster presentation dissection:

Only use bullet points for actual lists

If there is one piece of advice we would love for you to remember from this post: do NOT use bullet points for sentences! It transforms them into weird short sentences and doesn’t make your messages any clearer. Please, only use bullet points for actual lists. Like countries or disease outcomes you are measuring. Disregard your instinct to put bullets before sentences and just write a nice readable paragraph instead. People will love you for it! If you’re feeling creative you can always ask yourself the question of whether there are better ways to visualize your bullet points. Showing the countries you’ve gathered data from in an actual map is MUCH more informative than a list (anybody knows where Kyrgyzstan is located exactly?). We often use https://mapchart.net/world.html for creating maps.

COLOR: When in doubt, start with white and grey, and add a single pop of color.

We’re not going to explain color theory here. And don’t be afraid to use ANY color you want. Just make sure to check whether it has enough contrast with the background to be legible (with the WebAIM contrast checker ). Don’t waste your time on this. When in doubt, choose 1 single color (or shades of the same color) and combine it with black for text and white and light grey for backgrounds, boxes, and borders. Add a single pop of color to create focus where you want the audience to look, e.g. important keywords, arrows, and your main message. We have added some color scheme examples in our Poster Presentation Template (see below).

IMAGES: Only use images that contribute to your message

Text alone can be a bit uninspiring sometimes. We encourage the use of images but make sure they contribute to your message. Either use them to show which topic you are researching (e.g. plane aerodynamics, body fat distribution, or the history of women’s rights), or when they have intrinsic value and show something that you cannot point out in words (e.g. the location of an aorta stent, or the flow of information between low-orbit satellites). Don’t add cute images of people, landscapes, university buildings or flower patterns to spice up your poster. Check out our favorite resources for good free copyright-free images and design tools.

So please don’t use random useless stock photo’s like these in your presentation! #facepalm

GRAPHS: Make sure people can read a graph without having to consult a legend or description.

A graph is better than a table. It’s much easier to understand relationships in your data when presented visually in a graph than as numbers in a table. However, a conclusion drawn from the data, presented as a main conclusion with a single number (e.g. alcohol consumption is 23% higher in France than in Sweden) is better than your run-of-the-mill graph with a vague description of the two axes.

Write graph titles as a conclusion of your result.

Which title do you think is better?

Projected disease prevalence and mortality reduction over 20 years for the population aged 18 to 95 years in nine European countries with lower salt intake.

Lower salt intake reduced the prevalence of stroke in Poland by 13.5%

Don’t use separate legends in your graph (e.g. those boxes on the side of the graph). If possible, put the text/label explaining what a line represents next to the line. This prevents people from having to go back and forth between the graph and legend to understand its message.

• Do not copy your complex research paper title as the title on a poster. Create a short and snappy poster title that draws people in.
• Don’t include any text, graph, or image that does not contribute to your main points. If people can understand your main message without them, leave them out.
• Never apply chart junk in your graphs, remove all unnecessary lines/gradients/grids.
• Don’t use high-contrast boxes with rounded corners: this creates weird arrows between boxes that draw your eye to the area in between text.
• Avoid unclear QR codes, people will have no idea what happens after they scan it and it’s often being used for fraudulent purposes.
• Rewrite the title into an intriguing question or statement, so people know what to talk to you about.
• Your main purpose/unique proposition/interesting result should be the largest text on the poster. You should be able to read it from five meters away.
• Ensure that everything on the poster is self-explanatory. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms.
• Make sure it’s clear from the poster who you are. Highlight one of the authors, or add a (recent, professional) portrait, so people can also find you later if they visited the poster when you were away.
• White. Space. Scientists seem to think that white space is wasted space that needs more text crammed in. The opposite is true. More white space makes your poster seem less daunting, and easier to approach.
• Have a call to action on your poster. Who do you want people to contact, and what would you want to talk about in future communications? Include your Twitter, LinkedIn, email if possible.
• When in doubt about the colors: choose white and light grey and add a single pop of color. It’s the safest bet!
• Avoid jargon. You can get into jargon and details AFTER people have approached you and your poster.
• Use enough contrast between the background and letters so people can actually read it. You can check your contrast at: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/

Creative ideas for those who are ready to conquer the world with their research:

• Laminate your poster and give people a whiteboard marker to write things on it or highlight sections they think are important. This is not only a nice gimmick that people will remember, but can be good for you as a reminder of the feedback you were given. As an added bonus it gives visitors a chance to interact with each other.
• Bring a prop related to your research to the stand. Do you research fat cells? Bring a pound of lard with you. Do you research tooth health? Bring a plastic jaw with you that people can look at.

Tip: Print on textiles instead of paper. Easier to take with you on a plane without tearing or creasing. However, do this only when you are going to use the poster multiple times, it’s a waste of material otherwise.

To hand out or not to hand out?

A hand-out is a great way to get into depth without cramming every single detail into your poster. But you might just have printed 20 copies and nobody to hand it out to. Also, who reads all the things they collect when they get home? In other words: we do not advise you to bring hand-outs.

As useful as it may seem, we think that making the connection is more important than sharing the details of your research right then and there. So instead, give out your LinkedIn or ResearchGate details or your personal website URL, so you are instantly connected and they will see any new updates you post in their timeline. If they are still interested in the details, you have their contact information to send them your paper when it’s published!

POSTER PRESENTATION – A CASE STUDY

Have you read all our tips but still don’t know how to implement them in your poster? Don’t worry, we will go over a case study of an existing poster presentation.

For this case study, we worked together with Joseph Diab , a PhD candidate in bioanalytical chemistry at The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) doing research into Ulcerative Colitis. He wanted to update his poster for his next poster presentation and volunteered with us to make it better.

The BEFORE poster

The poster he made was a typical poster, not bad at all actually, we’ve seen much, much worse… But there was plenty to improve. Let’s go over the poster to find out what could be improved.

The good thing about the poster was that the main title was written in big text, and he even emphasized the most important words. This is a great way to have it stand out more. He did not fall into the trap of having his paper title as the main title, and put it in smaller text below. He was right to make the conclusion bigger as well.

However, there is room for improvement. When you look at the poster while squinting your eyes, only the main title jumps out at you. There is not much larger text to scan to get a feel for what he’s trying to tell us. We’re also missing the reason he is doing this research. Why is it important to reveal the metabolomic signature? If the urgency is missing, people might walk past your poster.

So, to make his poster better we’ve given Joseph some homework questions about his research. These are his answers:

What do you want to get out of this poster presentation?  Joseph: I want to get feedback on how to proceed and validate these finding, and how to unravel the role of microbiota in IBD (Inflammatory bowel disease).

Can you tell me in your own words what the main purpose of your research is? Joseph: IBD is an untreatable nasty disease. The only available treatment just makes the patients go from active inflammation into remission. Most of these patients will develop inflammation again. Moreover, 20-30% of the patients develop very severe outcomes and need surgery, and they might die from complications or from cancer (caused by the treatment failure). In my research, we aim to find a biomarker to predict the outcome from the moments the patient gets the diagnosis.

Why is your research unique? Joseph: This is the first study to determine the full proteomic and transcriptomic profile in treatment-naïve and deep-remission UC patients.

What is the relevance of your results in the real world? Joseph: We are using metabolomics to improve the patient’s stratification in IBD.

We love it when researchers explain something in their own words, it’s so much clearer than when written as a paper! Here are the steps we took to improve his poster:

Step 1: Create an engaging main message.

We’ve rewritten the main message of his poster to include the main goal of his research (to improve IBD treatment) and made it a bit more interesting by adding part of his research results stating that he has found the “first clue”. This is a great way of showing that each research project is just one small step towards final answers, and this can make your audience a bit more curious. Who doesn’t like to figure out clues? This way the title also gives away a part of the results, which makes it easier for people to understand what you’ve accomplished.

Before: Ulcerative Colitis is characterized by altered tryptophan and fatty acid metabolism.

After: Finding biomarkers to improve the personalized treatment of Ulcerative Colitis. Altered tryptophan and fatty acid metabolism provide the first clue.

Step 2: Put the most important messages first.

In Joseph’s poster, like in so many, the conclusion is hidden away at the end of the poster. We’ve moved it up next to the title. In addition, we’ve moved the author affiliations to the bottom of the poster. They were taking up too much prime real estate, and it’s not very relevant for your audience.

Step 3: Create an effective design

We were lucky that Joseph was doing research in a field that is easy to visualize. Ulcerative Colitis is a disease of the large intestines, so we used an illustration of one to enhance the design. This was not just to “make it pretty”, but also to visually show the topic and draw your eye towards the most important message: the conclusion. People recognize an intestine much faster than reading the text.

We stayed away from the boring academic blue. Everybody is using it, which is a good reason to not use it yourself (the easiest way to stand out!). In this case the best choice was to just use the colors from the image. With this bright pink as an accent color, and whites and greys as main colors, you generate a nice cohesive color scheme in a snap!

TIP : If you can find a relevant image for your poster, always use that color in your color scheme! PowerPoint now has an eyedropper tool that enables you to pick any color from an image and use it in texts or boxes.

We wanted to separate the different paragraphs, but not draw too much attention to it by using dark backgrounds, thick borders or lots of contrast, so we used subtle shadow which divides the main sections but does not distract.

Step 4: Emphasize your most important messages

Our advice is to de-emphasize words such as methods and background . However, this might be a bit scary, since it deviates so much from what posters have looked like for years. So we decided to keep it, but use a smaller font size. We used the pink color to emphasize the most important sentences and draw your eyes towards them. If you squint and just read the larger pink text, you should be able to understand the research. We wanted to make it stand out more and make it bigger, but there was not enough space on the poster to increase the font size. An important lesson in working with limitations!

Step 5: Make it engaging and easy to understand for your audience

To make sure the answers to Joseph’s homework were included in the poster, we came up with the “What’s new” section. Just reading this section gives you a very good grasp of the main goal and why the research is unique.

The “How can you help?” section prompts the visitor to have a conversation and invites them to share their ideas about this topic. This is the conversation starter you need for a successful poster presentation.

Step 6: Kill your darlings

There is never enough space on a poster, so we needed to scrap some of the texts and graphs. For each graph, we asked whether it was really necessary to include. Did this graph really contribute to the main message, or could anyone at the conference understand the research perfectly fine without it?

As you can see, we ditched one of the two almost similar multivariate analysis graphs. They showed almost the same thing. We also removed the Venn diagram. It contained some very detailed information that was not essential for the main message and therefore took up too much valuable space.

We also wrote new titles for the graphs in the results section. Instead of a descriptive title (Pathway analysis), we wrote a concluding title (Integrated pathway analysis provides a unique and detailed snapshot of the metabolic changes in the onset of UC.). You want to give away your conclusion from the graph, not have people spend 5 minutes trying to figure it out themselves from looking at the dots.

In the graphs we made the outlying pathways more prominent with the dark blue background, so you can immediately find these pathways without having to read all of them.

Step 7: Background information & call to action

There is always some boring information you have to include, or your supervisors won’t be happy. Logos of your institutions, affiliations, the title of your paper. We put them where they belong: on the bottom of the page in smaller font. Very few people will be interested in this at first glance.

We do want to show who the person is behind the poster, so we kept the headshot of Joseph and added a call to action: Connect with Joseph Diab for more details and a discussion of this paper.

This lowers the threshold for people to connect with Joseph later. After all: he invited them to email him already! Since Joseph is active on Twitter we included his Twitter handle as well as his email address. This is very important. If you want to keep in touch with people who pass by, you have to give them your contact information.

A QR code might sound very hip, but we advise against using it. For starters, it’s not really telling anyone where you will end up. Are you linking to the paper, to Joseph’s personal website, his Twitter account, or his University’s website? People might not even have a smartphone or QR reader. The best thing is to ask people on the spot to connect with you on LinkedIn, Twitter, or send you an email, so you’re sure they will keep in touch.

The result:

Check out Joseph attracting attention with his new poster at the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) 2020 annual congress:

Let us know what you think!

Do you have a question that wasn’t answered in this article? Write to me at [email protected] , or check out our workshop on Poster presentation & Infographic design .

A poster presentation template to not take too seriously

Want to get a head-start on designing your poster? We’ve developed a simple template for your poster to get you ahead of the curve. But don’t take this template too seriously! In fact, we usually advise against using templates, if everybody starts using them, nobody will stand out. It’s your job to make it interesting and fit your needs and limitations.

About the Author: Liesbeth Smit

Search for more scicomm tips:, read more about science communication:.

Tool to create your own data visualisation with icons

Increase the visibility of your research project website and reach your target audience

Find inspiration for your design & create a unique style for your research website

Define the goal & pitch for your poster presentation

Our favorite (free) tools to create better designs for science communication

Designing for impact: the lessons I learned from my science communication internship

Become a pro science communicator with our workshops.

IMPACT with science communication

Do you want to have a positive effect on the world? We'll make you think about your goal, audience, and message and ensure you know what it takes to create impact! Also available as a keynote lecture.

Pitch your science to any audience

By understanding your audience and aligning your message to their needs, you can really get your point across. In this workshop you’ll create a short pitch or article to practice just that.

Poster design & graphical abstracts

Create beautiful and effective infographics, posters and graphical abstracts. You will learn the best practices in design to make sure your work gets noticed and is easier to understand.

Science and the media

Do you want to be more confident around journalists or the media? Or do you want to take advantage of the opportunities that social media offer for scientists? We'll get you started!

Contact us to find out what we can do for you!

In English or Dutch

[email protected]

Call Liesbeth: +31 (0)6 5465 1346

Call Stephan: +31 (0)6 245 92 770

Working around the world from the Netherlands Pricing General Terms and Conditions Algemene Voorwaarden Privacy & Cookies

Scientific Conference Posters: Conference Posters

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.

Help from Norris Medical Library

During business hours (M-F)

• Chat with USC Libraries
• Email: [email protected]
• Request a consultation
• Ask a Norris Librarian form
• View Health Sciences Libraries tutorials or all USC Libraries tutorials
• Last Updated: Nov 1, 2023 3:17 PM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/healthsciences/posters

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Published: 18 March 2020

How to organize an online conference

• Orad Reshef   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9818-8491 1 ,
• Igor Aharonovich   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4304-3935 2 ,
• Andrea M. Armani 3 ,
• Sylvain Gigan 4 ,
• Rachel Grange 5 ,
• Mikhail A. Kats   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4897-4720 6 &
• Riccardo Sapienza   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4208-0374 7  

Nature Reviews Materials volume  5 ,  pages 253–256 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

41k Accesses

51 Citations

200 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Conferences and meetings
• Optics and photonics

The first online-only meeting in photonics, held on 13 January 2020, was a resounding success, with 1100 researchers participating remotely to discuss the latest advances in photonics. Here, the organizers share their tips and advice on how to organize an online conference.

The format of scientific conferences has not meaningfully changed in centuries. In fact, the essence of conferences today — with speakers presenting their results to an audience sitting before them — closely resembles that of the meetings of the Royal Society in 1660. Therefore, it is not surprising that many in the academic community are hesitant to deviate from this model, despite the emergence of many web-based alternatives.

However, with the rising impact of academic travel on the environment and on work–life balance, and the increasing availability of fast and reliable internet connections, there is now room for a paradigm shift enabled by modern teleconference solutions. To this end, several of us assembled to organise the first online-only conference focused on innovations in optics, the Photonics Online Meetup (POM). Our vision was to provide a free, globally accessible meeting in which neither the speakers nor the participants needed to travel.

The meeting was completely delocalized, with the speakers, organizers, and attendees scattered across six continents and hundreds of locations, connected via a video-conferencing tool and social media. Despite this delocalisation, the meeting retained many characteristics of a traditional conference: invited and contributed talks with follow-up questions and discussion, and a poster session. However, unlike in traditional conferences, all attendees avoided air travel, registration costs, CO 2 emissions and visa issues. The impact on families was minimized as well, although participants in inconvenient time zones had to wake up early or stay up late. While we were writing this piece, the APS March Meeting 2020 was cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We believe that online meetings can be particularly beneficial during public health emergencies.

Comments on the event from the point of view of participants 1 , 2 and of some of the organisers 3 , 4 are available online. Here we summarize our tips and advice for researchers thinking of organizing an online conference in their field.

The format of POM was deliberately chosen to be very similar to that of conventional conferences. We wanted the event to be accessible in many time zones, therefore we chose a relatively short format of 3 sessions, 1.5 hours each, for a duration of 5 hours in total. We selected 13 January 2020 to avoid the winter holidays and to align with the academic calendar at most universities to ensure student participation. Complementary to the live event, we also planned a poster session, held on Twitter starting on January 9. The talks were recorded, but were made available online for two weeks only, to keep the immediacy and spirit of conventional conferences, and to provide speakers with the opportunity to present unpublished results without fear of permanent public disclosure.

Key to every event — especially for a large-scale meeting — is a motivated and organized team. Our team assembled quickly following a discussion on Twitter and comprised seven academics working in diverse areas of photonics and located on different continents. Before this event, none of us had worked together: we assembled around a common shared vision.

As it was the first event of its kind, the overall topic of the conference, photonics, emerged naturally. Orad Reshef and Andrea Armani took the reins as chairs, and we collectively worked on planning the conference, assembling the program, inviting the speakers and running the event. Due to the different time zones, a quick turnaround and enthusiastic engagement have been crucial: choose your organising team judiciously!

The infrastructure

Communication.

Because our team was scattered around three continents and multiple time zones, we depended on asynchronous messaging and work tools to organize the event. In particular, we chose Slack as our primary communication platform, as many of us already used it for research and other purposes. As challenging as it was to be located in such disparate time zones, it had some benefits, such as the ability to work around the clock — for example, our Australian co-organizer would pick up when the North Americans would end their day, and vice versa.

Video platform

We enlisted the help of IT support at the University of Southern California (USC) to accommodate multiple speakers from many locations and to facilitate the connection between a large number of participants while minimizing technical risks. Based on their guidance, WebEx Events was chosen as the platform to host the conference, as it can simultaneously connect hundreds of participants globally and offers additional controls, such as audience muting and delocalized presenters. We believe that Zoom, Jitsi and other similar software can be used as well. USC also provided technical support ahead of and throughout the event. In this manner, USC acted as a centralized control hub, with all speakers and participants connecting to the primary site. We believe that real-time professional technical support at a central control hub is essential to a successful online meeting.

The last piece of basic infrastructure was a website for researchers to submit abstracts and register for the event. The website acted as a central repository for all information. It was built by Armani using WordPress, and was hosted by USC. Abstract submissions and event registrations were handled using simple survey software (Qualtrics and Google Forms). Because the event was free, secure information such as credit card numbers did not need to be transmitted. This aspect greatly simplified the registration process.

Advertisement

POM was organised in less than 3 months, and most of the advertisement was done through Twitter, which is the most common platform for academic interaction. Because of the new conference format and the lack of a sponsoring professional society, engaging the scientific community was critical to the event’s success. The call for abstracts for oral presentations or online posters was promoted via various social media, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, as well as emails to colleagues. Social media acted as a seed, and word-of-mouth then helped us reach a large audience. Eventually the event had more than 1100 attendees, in 66 locations, as shown in Fig. 1 , and a peak of 600 simultaneous connections.

The organizing committee of the Photonics Online Meetup (POM) and a map showing the location of the POM hubs (data courtesy of POM).

The program

The first step in building the program was selecting the three topics for POM. As a new event, we had a lot of flexibility, so the initial list of proposed topics ranged from fundamental optics to various applied technologies. The committee voted, and the top-ranking themes were nanoscale quantum optics, optical materials, and integrated optics.

For each of the three sessions, we formed smaller topic committees that identified potential invited speakers. Unlike conventional conferences, which often suffer from moderate invited-speaker acceptance rates, every speaker we invited accepted enthusiastically (perhaps excited by the opportunity to speak without boarding an airplane!)

By the deadline, we had received about 100 abstracts from PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty members. From these applications, our subcommittees selected nine for oral presentations (three per track), and accepted the others as poster presentations.

We were initially concerned that the online format would result in fewer opportunities for networking, brainstorming, and other interactions. Thus, we encouraged the creation and registration of local viewing groups at various institutions, which we called ‘POM-Hubs’. We anticipated that a POM-Hub would be hosted in a conference room or auditorium at an institute or university, where POM participants could gather into a sociable, in-person event.

We promoted the hubs on our website and encouraged the organizers to actively promote their hub and the conference locally. Ultimately, 66 hubs located at universities as well as other scientific institutions, such as the Optical Society (OSA), SPIE and Springer Nature, emerged on all continents (except Antarctica). In many places, the hubs were organized and supported by local OSA and SPIE student chapters. The hubs were very much like mini in-person conferences: groups of students, postdocs, and senior researchers watched the talks together, many of the hubs organized snacks and poster sessions, and there were plenty of opportunities for informal interaction. Despite the short (five hour) duration of POM, some conference culture began to emerge: a hub at UC-Davis arranged a POM bingo game , which then made its way to other participants via social media.

We were amazed that even in India, China, and Australia, where the meeting started in the middle of the night and at 6 am, respectively, the hubs ran at full steam, and we were able to follow their progress via live-tweeted photos from participants.

The poster session

Given the limited number of speaking slots and the high number and quality of the abstract submissions, we wanted to increase the opportunities for researchers to disseminate their findings. This demand motivated the idea of a Twitter poster session.

We provided a four-slide poster template that was optimized for display on Twitter. We asked the presenters to create a personal or group Twitter account (if they didn’t already have one), post their poster, and add a short description. We also encouraged the use of the conference hashtag (#POM20) to allow researchers to easily join the poster session. For those without an account, such as researchers in locations where access to Twitter is restricted, the organizers posted the posters via the POM Twitter account and relayed the questions to the presenters. Comments and answers were publicly viewable as a thread below each poster.

Compared to conventional conferences, the posters on Twitter had a much wider reach, with some reaching 4000 views. While this was not a typical ‘wine and cheese’ poster viewing, the posters were viewable for days, and can still be found by looking up the hashtag. This virtual poster session also allowed researchers to create threads, directly linking relevant papers to their posters, further improving research dissemination. Finally, being situated entirely on social media, the poster session organically turned into publicity for the oral presentations the following week as participants liked and re-shared posters they were interested in to their peers.

Before the conference

An important aspect of the preparation was to guarantee that the conference would not be derailed by technical problems. It was therefore very important to brief the presenters on the software, to check the quality of the video and sound, and to generally minimize IT issues. Each speaker performed a test run with the IT support team at USC. We also used the POM website to post test links for the software for individuals and hubs in advance and a ‘helpful hints’ document with detailed instructions.

The video conference was accessible by all hubs and registered participants a few minutes before the conference started. Two staff members from USC were ready to step in for technical issues (which occurred with one speaker). The POM organizers, mostly at their own local hubs, kept in touch via Slack.

Armani had a control over the Webex software to mute or intervene, if necessary. While chairing a session, the organizers broadcasted their videos from a private office to reduce the noise from their hubs. The speakers were asked to be online and ready to present on the video-conferencing software at the start of the conference. This way, in the event of a technical glitch, we could immediately proceed to the following speaker, which we did for a speaker who was unable to share their screen.

Questions from the audience were typed into the Webex chat, asked by the session chairs, and answered by the speakers. As will be discussed, this aspect proved to be a challenge, though we can now propose some basic solutions based on our experience.

We asked hub participants to Tweet photos from their hubs, with the conference hashtag. This activity triggered a tremendous amount of interaction online between the hubs throughout the whole conference. Depending on the time of the day, hubs had organized themselves differently (with coffee in the morning, pizza in the evening and so on), with hub attendance varying from a handful to more than 50 people. We projected the pictures of the hubs on the screen during the break, which created a feeling of community.

Despite the success of this initial event, which elicited an overwhelming positive response from the community 1 , the post-event surveys from participants revealed several challenges.

The most interesting is probably related to the different emotional engagement due to the lack of in-person interaction. It is still an open question how to provide a fuller experience with online networking. For example, the lack of applause after each talk was distinctly felt as something missing. In the future, chat rooms could be used to stimulate small-group discussions, and even virtual-reality technologies could be explored, though this would require additional equipment and expertise.

As with most online events, audio and video quality was the primary issue raised by participants. Although every speaker tested the software in advance, we learnt during the conference that several hubs had audio issues, often due to connectivity issues at the hub site or poor audio quality from the speakers’ microphones. Notably, not all of the hubs reported audio issues for the same talks, indicating a variability in conference room speaker quality as well. These types of challenges can be resolved at least partially by testing the connection at all of the hubs in advance and using external microphones, which can improve the audio clarity. As suggested by Prof. Miles Padgett from the University of Glasgow, pre-prepared subtitles or leveraging built-in close-captioning may make online talks even more accessible.

The participants had mixed views on the conference size and the selection of topics. While many participants appreciated the small scale, as it allowed them to attend all of the talks, other participants wished for more presentations on a wider range of topics. Additionally, given the diverse educational level, some respondents suggested more in-depth tutorial-type presentations and extended Q&A times; this was also pointed out by David Pile, Editor at Nature Photonics, in his post-conference debrief  2 . One of the invited speakers, Nader Engheta from the University of Pennsylvania, suggested that it may be better to have questions come directly from the listeners via an audio/video connection, rather than via the session chairs 2 .

One approach to addressing some of these suggestions is to have a pair of events: one consisting of tutorial-type lectures and a second consisting of more detailed technical presentations. Another option is parallel streaming. However, having multiple virtual rooms would require the different hubs to select a single topic or have multiple physical rooms. At our inaugural POM, we decided to avoid this type of fragmentation.

In addition, in the first POM, we decided to use a single online interface for both watching the speakers and entering questions. In future events, alternative strategies may be tested and could facilitate audience engagement; for example, audience members at some hubs had no easy way to insert their questions into the computer that was livestreaming POM to that room. There are many emerging online tools designed exclusively for this purpose. For example, Slido is commonly used in large multi-site lectures and could be adapted for virtual conferences.

Finally, one of the main goals of the event was to improve access to scientific findings and to increase education equality. For this goal to be realized, everyone on the global stage must have access to the software and various web platforms used. Despite an exhaustive search, we were unable to find universally accessible web platforms that met our needs for both the poster session and the online presentations. As a result, some regions were partially excluded from the event, as the poster session on Twitter was not accessible in certain geographical regions. In the future, universal access will be a fundamental challenge facing not only the scientific community, but the global community.

In evaluating the event’s success, we considered its global reach, particularly into communities that might not normally attend conventional conferences, as well as absolute participant numbers. We also surveyed the participants before and after the event to learn as much as possible about their experience.

Overall, we evaluate this inaugural Photonics Online Meetup to be a strong success. With 66 hub sites in 27 countries on 6 continents, the event had a large impact on an international scale. More than 600 participants watched the event at the hubs, and approximately 500 more participated as individuals. The recorded videos reached an additional 200 unique viewers. Importantly, more than half of the participants were graduate or undergraduate students. For many of these students, POM was their first conference, and attendance may not have been possible if it had not been free.

We would like to emphasize some of the innovations of POM as compared to in-person conferences and existing online events such as webinars. Our virtual poster session was held entirely on Twitter via a specially designed poster format. The posters were retweeted via the conference account, and almost 60 high-quality posters were made available to everyone online, with an average of 3,000 + impressions recorded per poster in the first three days — far more than one would expect at an in-person conference. Our POM-Hub model successfully merged talks broadcasted over the internet with a physical presence and community building: the 66 POM-Hubs that organized organically around the world ranged from a few students in Stockholm to a massive 65-person event in Ottawa.

Conclusions and vision

Given the clear benefits to research communities of eliminating the cost (financial and otherwise) of holding in-person events, we aspire to establish a movement of online meetups. The suite of freely (or almost free) technologies that is now available was not accessible even a decade ago, and we should take advantage of it. For some scientists around the world, particularly students, POM was a truly unique opportunity to experience an academic meeting. As novel technology is developed, online meetings will likely become even more compelling.

We believe that the innovations we developed in preparation for the inaugural POM event will be applicable not only to future POMs, but can also be readily generalized and implemented for low-cost, inclusive and delocalized conferences in all fields. Though we do not expect online meetups to displace all physical conferences, nor to replace the serendipity and networking of meeting in person, they have great potential to reduce air travel, costs of conference attendance and impact on families, and to democratize access to knowledge on a global scale.

Pacchioni, G. Virtual conferences get real. Nat. Rev. Mat. 5 , 167–168 (2020).

Article   Google Scholar  

Pile, D. Photonics from afar. Nat. Photon 14 , 137–138 (2020).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Grove, J. Research intelligence: how to organise a virtual conference. timeshighereducation.com https://www.timeshighereducation.com/career/research-intelligence-how-organise-virtual-conference (2020).

Wills, S. A Different Kind of Conference. Optics & Photonics News osa-opn.org https://www.osa-opn.org/home/newsroom/2020/january/a_different_kind_of_conference/ (2020).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank G. Ragusa and A. Sladek for post-event interviews and feedback. We once again thank the University of Southern California Viterbi DEN team for their invaluable support and all the volunteers that assisted us and inspired us along the way. O.R. acknowledges support from the NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, I.A. from the ARC, A.M.A from ONR (N00014-16-1-2851), S.G. from the ERC (ERC; H2020, SMARTIES-724473), R.G. from the ERC (Grant 714837 Chi2-nano-oxides) and the Swiss NNSF (Grant 179099), M.A.K. from the NSF (ECCS-1750341, PHY-1839176, CHE-1839174), and R.S. from EPSRC (EP/M013812 and EP/P033431) and the European Commission.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Orad Reshef

ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Igor Aharonovich

Dept of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Andrea M. Armani

Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Sorbonne Université, Ecole Normale Supèrieure, Collège de France, CNRS UMR 8552, Paris, France

Sylvain Gigan

ETH Zurich, Department of Physics, Institute for Quantum Electronics, Zurich, Switzerland

Rachel Grange

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

Mikhail A. Kats

The Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK

Riccardo Sapienza

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Riccardo Sapienza .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Related links

Photonics Online Meetup: https://sites.usc.edu/pom/

POM bingo game: https://twitter.com/MarinaRadulaski/status/1216846121525399552

Poster template: https://twitter.com/armanilab/status/1197902612365897729?s=21

Positive response: https://twitter.com/drgregquarles/status/1234885559996186624?s=21

Subtitles: https://twitter.com/milespadgett/status/1233470052646768641?s=21

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Reshef, O., Aharonovich, I., Armani, A.M. et al. How to organize an online conference. Nat Rev Mater 5 , 253–256 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-0194-0

Download citation

Published : 18 March 2020

Issue Date : April 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-0194-0

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

This article is cited by

The impact of digital healthcare and teledentistry on dentistry in the 21st century: a survey of hungarian dentists.

• Orsolya Németh
• Eszter Uhrin
• Zsuzsa Győrffy

BMC Oral Health (2023)

Going beyond being there to bring astronomy to the world

• Vanessa A. Moss
• Glen A. Rees
• Ron D. Ekers

Nature Astronomy (2023)

Brain barriers virtual: an interim solution or future opportunity?

• Brianna M. Holder
• Shaina E. Tolan
• Brandon J. Kim

Fluids and Barriers of the CNS (2022)

Opportunities and risks of publishing academic talks online

• Jessica E. M. van der Wal
• Claire N. Spottiswoode
• Shoko Sugasawa

Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022)

What Is the Utility of Posters? Qualitative Study of Participants at a Regional Primary Healthcare Conference in Asia

• Charlene S. L. Soon
• Lorainne Tudor Car
• Helen Smith

Medical Science Educator (2022)

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Customer Reviews

Free research poster powerpoint templates.

About our free research poster templates

Easy to use and customize.

▪ Change colors with one click ▪ Most standard US and international poster sizes. ▪ Support for all PowerPoint versions ▪ Only basic PowerPoint skills required ▪ Fully customizable ▪ Instructions included with the poster templates. ▪ Online video tutorials ▪ Configured to print professionally ▪ Additional layouts included in each template

40 color schemes built-in to every research poster template

Five reasons to print your poster with us >, professionally designed research poster templates.

QUICK FIND POSTER TEMPLATES American standard poster sizes (inches) 
 30x40 | 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual International common poster sizes (centimeters)
 91x122 | 70x100 | 100x140 | 100x100 | 100x200 | A0 | A1 | Virtual IMPORTANT Check the requirements of your conference before you download and work on a poster template. If you need further assistance, our phone support is available and free. We are here to provide the best service you can ask for.

Step-by-Step Tutorials

This series of short videos and animated tutorials will walk you through the research poster-making process, answering the most common questions along the way.

  Need further poster template assistance? 510.649.3001

Free powerpoint poster templates for research poster presentations.

Poster template design: Aragon Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold  | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design: Beaumont Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold  | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Newfield Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold |  Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Winchester Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Lockwood Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Kensington Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Stone A new, simplified concept for better poster design Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download A0 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Marquee Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Winston Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download A0 ► View Samples    ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Chamberlain Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

Poster template design:  Forrest Standard poster sizes in inches (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 36x48 | 36x56 | 36x60 | 36x72 | 36x96 | 42x60 | 42x72 | 42x90 | 44x44 | 30x40 | 48x48 | 48x72 | 48x96 | Trifold | Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) | Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio) Standard poster sizes in centimeters (Height x Width) - Click on a size to download 122x91 | 100x70 | 140x100 | 100x100 | 200x100 | A0 | A1 ► View Samples   ► Learn how to customize the template colors

PAPERLESS POSTER PRESENTATION HANDOUTS

Free with a printed poster order.

A feature-packed alternative to traditional paper poster handouts

Instant QR Code Generator

Add functionality to your poster! Share a link to a page, your email or additional info on the web. It's easy, free and further connects your audience! 

Professional Trifold Poster Boards

Ready to use out of the box. Great solution for tabletop 36x48 Trifold poster presentations. Price includes printing, mounting and free Ground FedEx shipping.

Poster Font Size Checker

A convenient way to visualize what size the text will be on your printed poster.  Wondering how big the fonts will be on your poster? Download and print this PDF on your desktop printer.

Quick access to ALT code symbols


Click here to choose from over 350 easy to copy and use ALT code symbols.

Fabric Research Posters

Say goodbye to poster tubes with a professional fabric poster you can pack in your luggage! With our crease-resistant EasyTravel™ fabric your presentation will look professional, sharp, and will pack nicely in your carry-on.

Simplify Your Group’s Poster-Ordering Process

Join our free service designed to help you coordinate your group’s poster orders, get discounted rates and customized special features not normally available for standard orders.

Links to university corporate identity (Logo) pages

List of corporate identity pages where you can download university logos to use with your poster presentation. Help your fellow researchers. Good quality logos for use in printed research posters  are difficult to find online. If you have a link to the identity page of your university, email it to us and we will add it to our list for others to use.

UC Berkeley Texas A&M UCLA Columbia Medical Center Stanford University

Adelphi University Duke University UPENN Bradley University ENMU

UNC Chapel Hill Northwestern University Magnet recognition Seal  Howard University University of Houston

Drexel University Carlow University UNLV UNR UFL

TUFTS George Mason U. St. Scholastica College Mount Royal University Penn State

Yale University University of Wisconsin SD School of Mines USC GATECH

STARTER POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATES

Standard size research poster templates in inches use these starter poster templates as a starting point for your own poster designs, thumbnails of posters are shown in proportion to each others’ sizes based on a 48 inch (height) x 96 inch (width) display area, 36” tall x 48” wide
.

STARTER 36x48 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE The 36x48 scientific poster template size is one of the smaller sizes and also one of the most common. It is very suitable for scientific posters with low to moderate amount of text and graphics. The 36x48 research poster template can also be printed at the following sizes without distortion or any necessary adjustments: 36x48 (Standard), 42x56, 48x64, 30x40

Trifold (tabletop)

STARTER    TRIFOLD POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE These free PowerPoint poster templates are designed for a standard 3x4 foot poster presentation to be mounted on a standard Trifold poster board. This research poster template should be printed only at the following size: 36x48 (Standard Trifold) This poster template is for a standard Trifold board presentation. You can use it with poster boards available at office-supply stores or our professional ready-to-use Trifold poster presentation product. Are you looking for a larger MonsterBoard template? Use this PowerPoint MonsterBoard template.

36” Tall x 56” Wide

STARTER    36x56 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x4.5 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 36x56 (Standard), 42x65.3, 48x74.6

36” Tall x 60” Wide

STARTER 36x60 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x5 foot poster presentation. This is also one of the standard sizes. It is used mostly when the height of the presentation board is only three feet and there is more content to present that can fit in a 48x36 poster.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 36x60 (Standard), 42x70, 48x80

36” Tall x 72” Wide


STARTER    36x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x6 foot poster presentation. The same as the above scientific poster template, only wider by a foot. Again, it depends on how much content you need to present.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 36x72 (Standard), 42x84, 48x96

36” Tall x 96” Wide

STARTER    36x96 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3x8 foot poster presentation. 
It’s the widest one you can use on a three foot tall presentation board. It has five columns.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 96x36 (Standard), 24x64

42” Tall x 60” Wide

STARTER    42x60 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.5x5 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 42x60 (Standard), 36x51.42, 48x68.57

42” Tall x 72” Wide

STARTER    42x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.5x6 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 42x72 (Standard), 36x61.70, 48x82.28

42” Tall x 90” Wide

STARTER 42x90 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.5x7.5 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a large size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
42x90 (Standard), 36x77.14, 44x94.28

44” Tall x 44” Wide

STARTER 44x44 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 3.7 x 3.7 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium size poster. It is suitable for many poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate amounts of content.
 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 44x44 (Standard), 36x36, 42x42, 48x48

48” Tall x 72” Wide

STARTER 48x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 4x6 foot poster presentation. This PowerPoint research poster template is for a medium/large size poster. It is suitable for most poster presentations. It can accommodate moderate to large amounts of content. 
This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 48x72 (Standard), 24x36, 42x63

48” Tall x 48” Wide

STARTER    48x72 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 4x4 foot poster presentation. This scientific poster template is a good size for limited available spaces without compromising room for content.

 This research poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 48x48 (Standard), 36x36, 24x24, 42x42

48” Tall x 96” Wide

STARTER    48x96 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 4x8 foot poster presentation. This poster template is for the largest size poster usually allowed in conferences.

It can accommodate a lot of content. You can use this template if you also have a large number of photos, tables, charts, and text.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 48x96 (Standard), 24x48, 42x84, 36x72

40” Tall x 30” Wide

STARTER    40x30 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard 40x30 inch poster presentation. This vertical poster template can accommodate a moderate amount of content. It can accommodate several photos, tables, charts, and a decent amount of text. This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 40x30 (Standard), 48x36, 56x42

Free PowerPoint poster templates in metric sizes (cm) for international poster conferences

Thumbnails of posters are shown in proportion to each others’ sizes based on a 200 cm (height) x 100 cm (width) display area, 91 wide x 122 tall.

STARTER    91cmX122cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 91 cm by 122 cm scientific poster presentation for international poster sessions. This PowerPoint poster template is essentially a vertical version of a standard 48x36 inch poster presentation. 

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 91 cm x122 cm (Standard 36x48 inches), 76x102 cm

70 Wide x 100 Tall

STARTER 70cmX100cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 70 cm by 100 cm scientific poster presentation for international poster sessions. This PowerPoint poster template is for a small size poster poster presentation commonly used at international conferences.

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes: 70 cm x100 cm (Standard 27.5x39.37 inches), 100x143 cm

100 Wide x 140 Tall

STARTER    100cmX140cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 100 cm by 140 cm scientific poster presentation for international poster sessions. This PowerPoint poster template is for a small size poster poster presentation commonly used at international conferences.

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following sizes:
 100 cm x140 cm (Standard 39.37x55.12 inches)

1 Meter x 1 Meter

STARTER    100cmX100cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 1 meter by 1 meter scientific poster presentation for international or domestic poster sessions. This template is commonly required at the Keystone Symposia research poster conferences.

This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 100 cm x 100 cm (Standard 39 x 39 inches). Any square size up to 121 x 121 cm

100 Wide x 200 Tall

STARTER    100cmX200cm POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric 1 meter by 2 meter scientific poster presentation for international or domestic poster sessions.

 This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 100 cm x 200 cm (Standard 39 x 78 inches)

STARTER A0 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric A0 scientific poster presentation at a 841mm x 1189mm size for international or domestic poster sessions. This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 46.81 inches x 33.11 inches

STARTER    A1 POWERPOINT POSTER TEMPLATE This free PowerPoint poster template is designed for a standard metric A1 scientific poster presentation at a 594mm x 841mm poster size for international or domestic poster sessions. This scientific poster template can be printed at the following size:
 23.39 inches x 33.11 inches

VIRTUAL POSTER PRESENTATION

STARTER    POSTER TEMPLATES These free PowerPoint poster templates are designed for screen presentations at virtual meetings Virtual - Standard Screen (4:3 Ratio) Virtual - Wide Screen (16:9 Ratio)

Virtual poster sessions for conferences and meetings of all sizes

If you are a meeting organizer we can help you set up a virtual poster session, free yourself from managing poster submissions and provide your meeting's attendees with a versatile presentation platform that will meet all your requirements.

Five good reasons to print your poster with PosterPresentations.com

Amazingly fast printing: Experience amazingly fast printing with us! If you place your poster order between Monday and Friday before 3pm Eastern time (noon Pacific time), we'll ship it out the same day. You can expect your delivery within one, two, or three business days. Plus, if you give us an additional two business days, we'll provide free shipping! Top-Quality Materials: We take pride in using the finest materials available in the industry. Our prints are produced on high-quality photographic papers, vinyls, and exquisite fabrics. In fact, we were the pioneers of fabric printing for research posters in the USA back in 2008. Reliable Customer Support: Rest assured that we don't simply print whatever you send us. We ensure that your files are optimized for the best possible printing results. If we notice any issues, we'll promptly inform you. Your presentation matters as much to us as it does to you. Competitive Pricing with No Surprises: As a professional, you'll find our prices to be competitive, and we never add unexpected last-minute fees. Furthermore, expedited printing is always included at no extra cost. For students, our prices are among the lowest nationwide. Group Discounts Available: Place a group order with us and not only will you enjoy free shipping, but also discounts that can beat most of our competitors. Feel free to reach out to us at 510.649.3001 for more information.

PosterPresentations.com 2117 Fourth Street STE C Berkeley California 94710 USA

Copyright © 2024

Poster Printing

Research paper posters

Fabric posters

Trifold poster boards

Rollup banners

Dry-erase  whiteboards

PowerPoint poster templates

Poster-making tutorials

Google Slides support

Terms and Privacy

Poster design services

New Services

Virtual poster meetings

• Paperless poster handouts

👀 Turn any prompt into captivating visuals in seconds with our AI-powered design generator ✨ Try Piktochart AI!

• Piktochart Visual
• Video Editor
• AI Design Generator
• Infographic Maker
• Banner Maker
• Brochure Maker
• Diagram Maker
• Flowchart Maker
• Flyer Maker
• Graph Maker
• Invitation Maker
• Pitch Deck Creator
• Poster Maker
• Presentation Maker
• Report Maker
• Resume Maker
• Social Media Graphic Maker
• Timeline Maker
• Venn Diagram Maker
• Screen Recorder
• Social Media Video Maker
• Video Cropper
• Video to Text Converter
• Video Views Calculator
• AI Brochure Maker
• AI Document Generator
• AI Flyer Generator
• AI Image Generator
• AI Infographic
• AI Instagram Post Generator
• AI Newsletter Generator
• AI Quote Generator
• AI Report Generator
• AI Timeline Generator
• For Communications
• For Education
• For eLearning
• For Financial Services
• For Healthcare
• For Human Resources
• For Marketing
• For Nonprofits
• Brochure Templates
• Flyer Templates
• Infographic Templates
• Newsletter Templates
• Presentation Templates
• Resume Templates
• Business Infographics
• Business Proposals
• Education Templates
• Health Posters
• HR Templates
• Sales Presentations
• Community Template
• Explore all free templates on Piktochart
• Course: What is Visual Storytelling?
• The Business Storyteller Podcast
• User Stories
• Video Tutorials
• Need help? Check out our Help Center
• Earn money as a Piktochart Affiliate Partner
• Compare prices and features across Free, Pro, and Enterprise plans.
• For professionals and small teams looking for better brand management.
• For organizations seeking enterprise-grade onboarding, support, and SSO.
• Discounted plan for students, teachers, and education staff.
• Great causes deserve great pricing. Registered nonprofits pay less.

AI-Powered Poster Generator

With the Piktochart AI poster generator, you can turn any prompt into a gorgeous poster in seconds. No design skills? No problem. Just tweak it as you wish, then share your poster.

The new way of creating posters

Create in a Flash

Prompt to poster in 10 seconds

Say goodbye to complicated design steps. Simply type in your theme and watch as our AI poster maker transforms it into reality.

AI Image Generation

Bring your vision to life

Go stock photos and generate images that are contextualized to your needs with our advanced AI image generator. Put your creativity to the test and generate highly realistic images that make you stand out.

Create Without Limits

Where every idea finds its canvas

For events, marketing, learning, or personal creations, Piktochart AI delivers captivating poster designs for every need. Dive into a universe of impressive imagery tailored to suit any subject.

Create Your Vision

Piktochart starts, you put the finishing touches

Our AI sets the stage with a professionally crafted poster, then passes control to you, allowing you to modify and refine each detail to amplify your visual impact while keeping true to your brand.

Posters created using Piktochart’s AI-powered poster maker

Professionals like you use Piktochart’s free online poster maker to:

• Create eye-catching promotional materials that align with brand identity, ideal for advertising campaigns, product launches, and trade shows.
• Design captivating posters for corporate events, webinars, and conferences.
• Communicate new offers, services, or store openings.

HR & Internal Comms

• Internal announcements, motivational quotes, or event notifications.
• Job advertisements and onboarding materials to attract and welcome new employees.
• Convey important company policies and reminders through clear, engaging posters, ensuring better compliance and awareness.

NGOs and Government Organizations

• Develop impactful posters for awareness drives, fundraising events, and community outreach programs.
• Attract volunteers, highlighting the roles, benefits, and the difference they can make.
• Announce charity events, workshops, and seminars.

• Create informative posters on health topics, wellness tips, and medical advisories.
• Showcase healthcare services, specialist departments, and new medical technologies available at healthcare facilities.
• Display important health and safety protocols within healthcare settings.

How to Make a Digital Poster

1. Define Your Story

Briefly describe (within 120 characters) the purpose behind your poster. Whether it’s for promotion, making an announcement, driving awareness, or sharing health information.

2. Select from Our Varied Poster Designs

Jumpstart your project with our array of ready-to-use poster templates, perfect for shining a spotlight on any subject. After picking your preferred design, you’ll find yourself in our editing suite.

3. Tweak the Design with Piktochart Editor

With your template chosen, hitting the “Edit” button grants you entry into the Piktochart editor. This is your playground to adjust, alter, and align the design to reflect your personal touch and message.

4. Enhance with Visual Elements

Piktochart’s user-friendly drag-and-drop editor makes personalization a breeze. Tap into our rich collection of complimentary photos, icons, illustrations, and text options to craft a poster that stands out. Enhancing and tailoring colors is just a click away with our versatile design tool.

5. Publish and Promote

Once your poster is exactly as you envisioned, it’s time to save and share your work. Export in various formats like JPG, PNG, or PDF, catering to both digital platforms and print materials.

AI-Powered Visualization for Any Topic

What kinds of posters can be generated using this AI tool?

Navigating design elements and finding the right visual style can be daunting. With Piktochart AI, it’s easy to transform data into high-quality posters . Excellence made simple, just for you.

Event posters

Drum up buzz and awareness for an upcoming event. Piktochart AI transform dense data and information into engaging invitational posters for your events.

Advertising posters

Spark emotions that incite action – whether it is to make a purchase, improve brand opinion, donate to a cause, or make a lifestyle change. With Piktochart AI, it’s achievable at the click of a button.

Conference posters

Inform your audience with a glance about an upcoming conference. Whether it’s for a medical conference, marketing conference, or any conferences, Piktochart AI’s user-friendly poster maker helps you catch the attention of your audience effortlessly.

Ready to use AI to design posters like a pro?

Join more than 11 million people who already use Piktochart to create stunning posters.

Is it possible to personalize my poster with my own photos and diagrams?

What’s the limit on poster creation, how do i enhance the quality of my posters, is signing up mandatory to use piktochart, poster resources.

How to Make a Poster in 6 Easy Steps [2023 Guide With Templates]

25 Poster Ideas, Templates, and Tips for Creative Inspiration

Communications

7 Types of Posters and What Makes Them Stand Out

What else can you create with piktochart ai.

Main Navigation

• Contact NeurIPS
• Code of Ethics
• Code of Conduct
• Create Profile
• Journal To Conference Track
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Proceedings
• Future Meetings
• Exhibitor Information
• Privacy Policy

NeurIPS 2024, the Thirty-eighth Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, will be held at the Vancouver Convention Center

Monday Dec 9 through Sunday Dec 15. Monday is an industry expo.

Registration

Pricing » Registration 2024 Registration Cancellation Policy » . Certificate of Attendance

Our Hotel Reservation page is currently under construction and will be released shortly. NeurIPS has contracted Hotel guest rooms for the Conference at group pricing, requiring reservations only through this page. Please do not make room reservations through any other channel, as it only impedes us from putting on the best Conference for you. We thank you for your assistance in helping us protect the NeurIPS conference.

Announcements

• The call for High School Projects has been released
• The Call For Papers has been released
• See the Visa Information page for changes to the visa process for 2024.

Latest NeurIPS Blog Entries [ All Entries ]

Important Dates

If you have questions about supporting the conference, please contact us .

View NeurIPS 2024 exhibitors » Become an 2024 Exhibitor Exhibitor Info »

Organizing Committee

General chair, program chair, workshop chair, workshop chair assistant, tutorial chair, competition chair, data and benchmark chair, diversity, inclusion and accessibility chair, affinity chair, ethics review chair, communication chair, social chair, journal chair, creative ai chair, workflow manager, logistics and it, mission statement.

The Neural Information Processing Systems Foundation is a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to foster the exchange of research advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, principally by hosting an annual interdisciplinary academic conference with the highest ethical standards for a diverse and inclusive community.

About the Conference

The conference was founded in 1987 and is now a multi-track interdisciplinary annual meeting that includes invited talks, demonstrations, symposia, and oral and poster presentations of refereed papers. Along with the conference is a professional exposition focusing on machine learning in practice, a series of tutorials, and topical workshops that provide a less formal setting for the exchange of ideas.

More about the Neural Information Processing Systems foundation »

Reference Examples

More than 100 reference examples and their corresponding in-text citations are presented in the seventh edition Publication Manual . Examples of the most common works that writers cite are provided on this page; additional examples are available in the Publication Manual .

To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g., periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of work (e.g., journal article ) and follow the relevant example.

When selecting a category, use the webpages and websites category only when a work does not fit better within another category. For example, a report from a government website would use the reports category, whereas a page on a government website that is not a report or other work would use the webpages and websites category.

Also note that print and electronic references are largely the same. For example, to cite both print books and ebooks, use the books and reference works category and then choose the appropriate type of work (i.e., book ) and follow the relevant example (e.g., whole authored book ).

Examples on these pages illustrate the details of reference formats. We make every attempt to show examples that are in keeping with APA Style’s guiding principles of inclusivity and bias-free language. These examples are presented out of context only to demonstrate formatting issues (e.g., which elements to italicize, where punctuation is needed, placement of parentheses). References, including these examples, are not inherently endorsements for the ideas or content of the works themselves. An author may cite a work to support a statement or an idea, to critique that work, or for many other reasons. For more examples, see our sample papers .

Reference examples are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Chapter 10 and the Concise Guide Chapter 10

Related handouts

• Common Reference Examples Guide (PDF, 147KB)
• Reference Quick Guide (PDF, 225KB)

Textual Works

Textual works are covered in Sections 10.1–10.8 of the Publication Manual . The most common categories and examples are presented here. For the reviews of other works category, see Section 10.7.

• Journal Article References
• Magazine Article References
• Newspaper Article References
• Blog Post and Blog Comment References
• UpToDate Article References
• Book/Ebook References
• Diagnostic Manual References
• Children’s Book or Other Illustrated Book References
• Classroom Course Pack Material References
• Religious Work References
• Chapter in an Edited Book/Ebook References
• Dictionary Entry References
• Wikipedia Entry References
• Report by a Government Agency References
• Report with Individual Authors References
• Brochure References
• Ethics Code References
• Fact Sheet References
• ISO Standard References
• Press Release References
• White Paper References
• Conference Presentation References
• Conference Proceeding References
• Published Dissertation or Thesis References
• Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis References
• ERIC Database References
• Preprint Article References

Data and Assessments

Data sets are covered in Section 10.9 of the Publication Manual . For the software and tests categories, see Sections 10.10 and 10.11.

• Data Set References
• Toolbox References

Audiovisual Media

Audiovisual media are covered in Sections 10.12–10.14 of the Publication Manual . The most common examples are presented together here. In the manual, these examples and more are separated into categories for audiovisual, audio, and visual media.

• Artwork References
• Clip Art or Stock Image References
• Film and Television References
• Musical Score References
• Online Course or MOOC References
• Podcast References
• PowerPoint Slide or Lecture Note References
• Radio Broadcast References
• TED Talk References
• Transcript of an Audiovisual Work References
• YouTube Video References

Online Media

Online media are covered in Sections 10.15 and 10.16 of the Publication Manual . Please note that blog posts are part of the periodicals category.

• Facebook References
• Instagram References
• LinkedIn References
• Online Forum (e.g., Reddit) References
• TikTok References
• X References
• Webpage on a Website References
• Clinical Practice References
• Open Educational Resource References
• Whole Website References

Create designs that inspire

Trending searches, productivity, social media, fresh picks.

Celebrate an occasion

Food and drink

How it works

1. Start with the perfect template

2. Customize it with help from AI

See the templates for:

3. Share your creation with the world

• Contact AIChE
• Communities
• Learning & Careers
• Publications
• Careers at AIChE
• Equity, Diversity, Inclusion
• Young Professionals
• Operating councils
• Local Sections

Other Sites & Tools

Technical groups, follow aiche, 2024 undergraduate student poster competition.

Sponsored by Omega Chi Epsilon.

Hundreds of students are expected to present their research in poster format. Prizes will be awarded in several categories. 

Over the years, the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition has become one of the highlights of the AIChE Annual Student Conference. With more than 400 students present and about 100 judges, it is the largest forum for Chemical Engineering undergraduates to present their research activity to the professional community at large.

Who can participate?

Why should you participate, submitting your abstract, abstract acceptance.

• What you need to do after submitting your abstract
• What you need to do after your abstract is accepted

Preparing your poster

Poster presentations, judging, and awards.

• Tips, FAQs, and Contact Information

[Back to Top]

This poster session is exclusively for undergraduate students to present results from projects that they have carried out as undergraduate researchers at their university or during internships/co-ops.

If you are a first-semester graduate student, you may still present work that you did as an undergraduate student. However, more senior graduate students are expected to participate in the professional meeting. Non-compliant submissions will be rejected.

You must register for the Annual Student Conference and attend the in-person portion of the conference taking place in San Diego, CA, USA in order to participate; you are expected to stand by your poster during the competition to present your work to judges and other interested people and to answer their questions.

Please note that the Poster Competition is a different session than the Undergraduate Student Technical Presentation Competition, which is an invitation-only session for the winners of Regional Paper Competitions.  This is also different from the Undergraduate Research Forums session, for which students can submit abstracts for oral presentations.

• If you are interested in pursuing graduate school in chemical engineering, the poster session is a great opportunity to meet faculty from a large variety of chemical engineering graduate programs from around the country as they tour (and potentially judge) the posters.
• Likewise, if you are looking for an industrial job, this is also a great addition to your resume, demonstrating that you have been active beyond the classroom.
• The call for abstract submissions will open on approximately August 1, 2024 and will close on Saturday, October 15, 2024.  We are unable to accept any late abstracts.
• Please discuss abstract submission with your advisor(s) well before the deadline!  Make sure that your advisor/supervisor/co-authors all sign off on your abstract before submission; all submitted abstracts become public information, so it is your responsibility to make sure that there are no confidentiality issues.
• The suggested length of the abstract is 200 - 400 words.
• As a part of the submission process, you will be asked to first pick a topic area from the following list of available topical research areas: 1) General, 2) Catalysis and Reaction Engineering, 3) Food, Pharmaceutical, and Biotechnology, 4) Separations, 5) Environmental, 6) Education, 7) Fuels, Petrochemicals, and Energy, 8) Computing and Process Control, and 9) Materials Engineering and Sciences. Note that posters may be moved to a different topic area by the session organizers if deemed appropriate based on the abstract of the work submitted.
• Consult your advisor/supervisor/co-author if you are unsure which topical area is best for your poster.  For topic selection, focus on the nature of the work that was done, not on pie-in-the-sky applications. For example, fundamental research into new polymeric materials should be submitted to the “Materials” topical area, even if the ultimate applications may be for novel drink bottles, which may suggest “Food”. Only if no topical area seems particularly appropriate for capturing a substantial portion of your work, you may submit it to the “General” topic area as last resort.
• As in the past, we aim to accept as many poster abstracts for presentation as possible based upon our capacity.  We will only accept poster abstracts submitted by qualified presenters before the deadline, but may not be able to accept all poster abstracts submitted by qualified presenters before the deadline.  In the event that the number of poster abstracts received exceeds our capacity, acceptance prioritization will be based upon abstract submission date/time.
• In order to accommodate as many eligible student researchers as possible, including those who may encounter longer lead times to make travel arrangements or to request funding from their universities, we now offer the following tiered schedule of acceptance status notification based upon abstract submission date:

• We encourage students to submit abstracts as early as possible and to make plans to attend the Annual Student Conference, book travel arrangements, and begin preparing their poster prior to receiving formal approval/acceptance. 
• In the event that your poster abstract is not accepted for presentation due to capacity constraints, you’ll still get to take advantage of the many opportunities at the Annual Student Conference to network with and learn from your peers, successful chemical engineers, and company and graduate school recruiters, to develop professionally, to enhance your technical expertise, and to demonstrate your ChemE pride. 

What you need to do after submitting your abstract:

• Register for the conference. All speakers and contributors are expected to register for the Meeting on a paid basis. AIChE's registration policy is available here . AIChE does not have a grant program that awards funding towards meeting registration or travel expenses. Visit www.aiche.org/asc to register.
• Book your hotel. Book early as rooms at the negotiated rate will become unavailable quickly. Visit www.aiche.org/asc to book your hotel.
• For presenting authors requiring an invitation letter to secure a visa to travel the U.S. or for other purposes, a personalized Annual Student Conference invitation letter can be generated for you. Note that we are unable to directly contact embassies or various officials on your behalf.  Please submit your invitation letter request here:  https://aiche.formstack.com/forms/asc_invitation_letter .  Invitation letter requests will be reviewed and processed on a weekly basis, so please allow us ~1 week to send your invitation letter after submitting a request.
• If co-authors require visa letters , please contact [email protected] with co-author information (name, affiliation, email and any other information required in the letter). We are unable to directly contact embassies or various officials on their behalf.
• Prepare your poster.   Read on for more info.

What you need to do after your abstract is accepted:

• Notify all co-authors of the acceptance.
• Remember to mention your participation in the poster session to the graduate school and company representatives you meet during the Recruitment Fair on Sunday morning so that they can hopefully come see your poster and discuss your work with you.  Such interactions can make important differences in the recruitment and admissions process.
• There is no poster template for the Annual Student Conference.
• Poster Board Size: The live display of poster boards is 3.75 feet wide x 3.75 feet tall (110 cm x 110 cm). Please make sure your poster is slightly smaller so that it fits in the space.
• Printing & Bringing your Poster: Poster Presenters are responsible for bringing their posters to the conference. AIChE will not be able to print the posters. Please check the venue websites for information on printing services available. If you have never printed a poster, ask your advisor for assistance. Commercial poster printing (e.g. Kinko’s) can be expensive; your university usually provides access to poster printers much more economically.
• Poster Setup: Each poster presenter will have an assigned space. You will be able to set up your poster approximately one hour before the session starts. Please do not set up your poster earlier as it may cause confusion with someone else using that spot at an earlier poster session. Please ensure that posters are made of lightweight materials, such as paper (laminated or other), cardboard, foam core etc. to put up on the panels. Push pins will be made available at the poster session to attach your poster to the poster board.
• Poster Session FAQs & Tips: More information is available here .
• You must be present at your poster from 10am until noon on the day of the competition to talk to judges in order to qualify for the Poster Competition, so plan your flight home carefully if you plan to present a poster. 
• Each poster will be judged by a panel of typically 3 or 4 AIChE professional members from academia and industry.
• Awards will be given to the top posters in each topical area during an awards ceremony at the end of the poster session.
• This year's Undergraduate Student Poster Competition is sponsored by Omega Chi Epsilon.

Questions? Contact:

Poster Session FAQs

See photos on Flickr.

More Conference Links

Cancelation policy, code of conduct, beware of hotel and attendee-list scams.

Watch the video for highlights from the announcement.