Tips & Guidelines for Poster Presentations POSTER SIZE Posters should be a maximum of 36" w X 42" h (3' w x 31/2' h). MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR HANGING: Presenters should supply their own hanging materials. Depending on the hanging surface, these could include thumbtacks, double-sided tape, masking tape; velcro tape, etc.   CREATING A POSTER EFFECTIVE   INEFFECTIVE An effective poster operates on multiple levels ... source of information conversation starter advertisement of your work summary of your work   Many ineffective posters suffer from easy-to-fix problems, including ... objective(s) and main point(s) hard to find text too small poor graphics poor organization
Layout	Your poster should: use a visual grammar to guide readers to the important parts of your poster. use a column format to make your poster easier to read in a crowd. use organization cues to guide readers through your poster. use "reader gravity" which pulls the eye from top to bottom and left to right (Wheildon 1995). use headings intelligently to help readers find your main points and key information. balance the placement of text and graphics to create visual appeal. use white space creatively to help define the flow of information.
Graphics	Lets graphs and images tell the story; Good graphics - graphs, illustrations, photos - are the centerpiece of your poster. Write explanations directly on figures, instead of referencing from elsewhere.
Text	Use text sparingly. Text should be simple, direct and of a large font size. Text should be readable from a distance. Use phrases rather than full sentences.
Software	Microsoft Powerpoint is an easy to use tool for creating posters (template available for download below). Graphics may be created in Microsoft Excel and exported to Powerpoint. Adobe Illustrator and In Design, Adobe Photoshop are good for creating high quality graphics.
Source NCSU
DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE Download a fully customisable Research Poster Template in powerpoint (.pptx) format for a 36"x42" poster.  Add graphics, change the fonts, colour scheme, layout etc. Instructions included on the template.  (Source: posterpresentations.com). OTHER USEFUL READING http://www.pitt.edu/~etbell/nsurg/PosterGuide.html