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COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

FACULTY RESEARCH CENTER

Professional Poster Tutorial

Written By Amy Prosser, M.A. and Janet Rinker, B.S.

Graduate Research Assistants

Revised Fall 2009 By Amy Prosser, M.A. and Sami Story, M. Ed.

Graduate Research Assistant

Purpose of Training The purpose of this training is to learn the basic steps needed to make a professional poster for conference presentations. Poster Plotter Training Topics 1. Prerequisites for Making a Poster 2. Using PowerPoint to Create Your Poster 3. Printing the Poster

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1. PREREQUISITE FOR MAKING A POSTER

1.1. Have access to a word processor and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003. 1.2. Have all of the poster content organized using a word processor. 1.3. Know the basics of using PowerPoint: creating simple slides, adding

graphics, working with different slide layouts, etc.

2. USING POWERPOINT TO CREATE A POSTER

2.1. Downloading the NAU PowerPoint Template

2.1.1. Access the internet and go to http://www4.nau.edu/marketing/. (The website addresses may change. You may also search for marketing from the main NAU webpage.)

2.1.2. From the NAU Marketing webpage, click on the link for

Downloads/Tools.

2.1.3. From the Downloads & Tools webpage, click on the link for

PowerPoint Templates.

2.1.4. From the templates page, choose the layout you prefer for your

poster. It is wise to choose a mostly white background as your template design. Otherwise you will have to pay extra to get your poster printed with a dark background. For our training we will use the template with the white background and sage bar. Click on White Background – sage bar.

2.1.5. A window will open asking you whether you want to open or save

the file.

2.1.5.1. If you are using Mozilla Firefox click Open. PowerPoint will open with the template. To save the template, go to File > Save As. For our training we will save the file to the Desktop and name it poster.

2.1.5.2. If you are using Internet Explorer click Save. For our

training we will save the file to the Desktop and name it poster. From here you will be prompted to open the file. Click Open.

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2.1.6. PowerPoint will open with the NAU template. The template is made up of three pages for creating a PowerPoint presentation. For making our poster, we are only interested in the third slide of the template.

2.1.6.1. Delete slides 1 and 2 by clicking on the slides on the left

side of the screen and selecting Edit > Cut or pressing Ctrl + x. A warning box may appear. Click OK. You should be left with a PowerPoint slide with a white background and a sage bar running along the top.

2.2. Formatting the NAU PowerPoint Template for a Poster

2.2.1. Make the slide into a poster size document by selecting File > Page Setup. Change the Slides sized for: field to Custom. Change the Width to 48 and the Height to 34.

2.2.2. For ease in formatting the poster, enable the grid tool. To show the

grid select View > Grid and Guides. From the new window change Spacing to ¼ or .25 and select the box for Display grid on screen. This grid will now appear in your PowerPoint, but will not print on your poster. Deselect the box for Snap objects to grid. Click OK.

2.2.3. Format the main heading of your poster by selecting the sage box

at the top of the PowerPoint slide. Select Format > Placeholder. From the new window select the tab for Size. Change the Height field to 4.75”. The Width field should default to 48.02”. Click OK.

2.2.4. To format the main body of your poster, text boxes will be added to serve as columns. First we need to remove the placeholder which is currently in the center space of our slide. To do this select the box in the middle of the slide and use Ctrl + x or Edit > Cut.

2.2.4.1. To add the first text box select Insert > Text Box. The

cursor will then change to a small up-side-down cross. From anywhere in the slide, use the mouse to create a text box by holding down the right mouse button, dragging the mouse, then letting go of the right mouse button.

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2.2.4.2. From here select Format > Text Box or right click and select Text Box. In the new window select the Colors and Lines tab. Change the Color under Line to Automatic. We will remove the line later, but for now it serves as a guide.

2.2.4.3. To resize the text box, select the Size tab. Change the

Height field to 27.25” and the Width field to 10.5”. 2.2.4.4. To position the text box, select the Position tab. Change

the Horizontal field to .75” and the Vertical field to 6.25”. Click OK.

2.2.4.5. Create, size, and place the remaining three text boxes as

described above by entering the following information for height, width, horizontal placement and vertical placement. Remember to add the lined border as described previously.

Text Box 2 Text Box 3 Text Box 4

Height 27.25 27.25 27.25

Width 10.50 10.50 10.50

Horizontal 12.75 24.76 36.76

Vertical 6.25 6.25 6.25

2.3. Adding the NAU Logo

2.3.1. Access the internet and go to http://www4.nau.edu/marketing/. (The website addresses may change. You may also search for marketing from the main NAU webpage.)

2.3.2. From the NAU Marketing webpage, click on the link for

Downloads/Tools.

2.3.3. From the Downloads & Tools webpage, click on the link for Logos.

2.3.4. From the NAU Logo Downloads webpage, click on the link for

Print Formats (hi-res). 2.3.5. From the Print Images page, find the logo you wish to use. For our

project, choose the color tif file with the logo on the left and Northern Arizona University on the right. It is the third logo on the page.

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2.3.5.1. If you are using Mozilla Firefox, right-click on the tif link

next to the image and select Save Link As. 2.3.5.2. If you are using Internet Explorer, right-click on the tif

link next to the image and select Save Target As.

2.3.5.3. Save file on the Desktop or in another file for retrieval in PowerPoint. For this training, save the file as logo on the Desktop. If you are using Internet Explorer, click Close.

2.3.6. In PowerPoint, select Insert > Picture > From File. Locate the

saved logo file on the Desktop and click Insert.

2.3.7. Resize and move logo to accommodate your poster layout. Keep in mind how logos will appear if placed on a colored background. For this training select Format > Picture. Under the tab for Size make sure the boxes are checked next to Lock aspect ratio and Relative to original picture size. Also under the tab for Size change the Height field to 1.3. The field for Width should automatically change to 12.31. Under the tab for Position change the Horizontal field to 33.75 and the Vertical field to .25. Click OK.

2.3.8. Currently the logo has a white background. To make the

background transparent select View > Toolbars > Picture. From the Picture toolbar, click on the icon. Then click on the white part of the image.

2.3.9. To change the background color or fill effects of your poster, right-

click on anywhere in the middle of the poster and select Background. A window will appear with an example of the color scheme and a drop down menu to select the background fill.

2.3.9.1. For our poster we have added a gradient fill effect. To

add the effect click on the drop-down menu and select Fill Effect. From the new window select Two Colors under Colors. Using the drop-down menu, set Color 1 as the light NAU sage color and Color 2 as white.

2.3.9.2. Under Shading Styles select Diagonal Down. Then click

on the third box under Variants which shows the darker parts of the gradient in the lower left and upper right corners of the box. Click OK. Click Apply to All.

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2.4. Adding the Title, Headings, and Subheadings

2.4.1. To add a title to your poster, single-click in the placeholder at the top of the poster, where it says Click to Add Title. First, change the font to Times New Roman and the size to 96 point. Then, type the title of your poster. For our project, the title is Predictors of All-But-Dissertation (ABD) Stress among Students in Counseling

and Clinical Programs.

2.4.1.1. If your title is long, consider a carriage return. You may need to increase the height of the placeholder or shorten your title. If your title is short, you may want to increase the font size or decrease the height of the placeholder. For this poster, place the cursor in front of the word Students and press Enter.

2.4.1.2. Titles may be centered or left-aligned based on your style

preference. Just keep in mind where you want to place your author names and affiliation/logo.

2.4.2. To add the NAU department affiliation and author names to our

poster we will add three separate text boxes.

2.4.2.1. To add the first text box select Insert > Text Box. Change the font size to 36. Change the font color to the NAU blue by selecting Format > Font and using the drop-down box for the Color field.

2.4.2.2. To position the text box select Format > Text Box.

Under the Position tab enter 37 in the Horizontal field and 1.25 in the Vertical field. Click OK. You may have to click and drag on the right side of the box to make the text appear on one line.

2.4.2.3. In the text box type Department of Educational

Psychology. 2.4.2.4. For the authors’ names create two more text boxes

according to the directions above, using the information in the following table.

Text Box 2 Text Box 3

Horizontal 37.00 37.00

Vertical 2.25 3.25

Text Krista Bridgmon, Ph.D. William E. Martin, Jr., Ed.D.

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2.4.3. Headings and subheadings may be added as part of your text, or as

separate text boxes. Separate boxes are easier to rearrange and format. For our poster, we will add our headings and subheadings as separate text boxes.

2.4.3.1. To add the first heading, select Insert > Text Box. For

our first heading we will want to create it at the top of our left-most column. Click on the upper-left corner and drag to the far right side of the column to create the heading.

2.4.3.2. To format our new heading select Format > Text Box.

For the main headings, we will use the NAU blue as a fill. Under the Colors and Lines tab, change the Color under Fill to the NAU blue. Under the Size tab, change the Width field to 10.5 and the Height field to 1.00. Under the Position tab, make sure that the Horizontal field is set at .75 and the Vertical field is set at 6.25.

2.4.3.3. To add the text to our heading, change the font size to 54, the text color to white, and the justification of the text to center. In the first heading type Introduction. Heading text should be no smaller than 32 point font. For main headings, 54 point font works well.

2.4.3.4. For our subheadings we will use the NAU sage as the fill

and 32 point font. The size of the subheading will be 10.5 for the Width and .75 for the Height. The position of the subheading will be .75 for the Horizontal field and 13.75 for the Vertical field. In the subheading type: Purpose and Goals.

2.4.3.5. When you create header text boxes, do so one-at-a-time.

Type text into the text boxes as you create each heading and subheading. If you have to, use a generic heading, like “Header.” If you do not type in the box, it may disappear.

2.5. Adding Text

2.5.1. At this point in the training we will work from a new file with the headings, subheadings, and some of the text already added. From the files for this training, open the file titled poster_example.

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2.5.2. We will now add text to the new document. Text may be added to your poster by freehand typing, or from a preexisting document. In either case, text font should be no smaller than 24-point.

2.5.3. To add text from another document (such as Word), open the

existing document, highlight desired text, right-click and select Edit > Copy or Ctrl + c. Return to PowerPoint, select the desired text box, right-click, and select Edit > Paste or Ctrl + v. This method will likely require you to highlight and resize your text.

2.5.4. For this training we will type the text into our poster. Begin by

selecting the text box at the far right of the poster. When the text box is selected it will turn white and the headings and subheadings will not be visible.

2.5.5. We are going to add text under the heading Future Directions.

Click at the bottom of the text box and press the Enter key until the cursor is below the heading.

2.5.6. To have our text stand out, change the color to NAU sage. Then

type the phrase: Further validation, assessment and modification of the BASS and its items and press the Enter key twice.

2.5.7. For our second statement under Future Directions, we will change

the font color to the NAU blue. Type the phrase: Comparison studies of successfully graduated students, other academic

disciplines, and relationship of other variables to ABD stress. 2.6. Adding Charts and Graphs

2.6.1. Simple charts and graphs, like those created in Excel, can be added to your poster from within PowerPoint. Note that data will have to be reentered manually to use this method. The advantages to this method, however, are that editing and formatting is easier, and text within the chart is not distorted when resized.

2.6.2. Select Insert > Chart. A datasheet and graph will both appear.

Enter your data and titles in the datasheet, adding rows and columns as necessary.

2.6.3. To change the chart or graph type, click on the chart and select

Chart > Chart Type. The appearance of your datasheet may change slightly.

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2.6.4. To add a title, change an axis, or adjust the location of the legend, select the chart, click on the chart and select Chart > Chart Options.

2.6.5. Parts of a chart, such as borders, pie colors or legend text, can be

formatted individually or as a whole. Select the area you wish to change, right-click, and select Format > Selected Chart Area.

2.6.6. Once you have formatted your chart, resize and move your chart to

the location of your choice. Keep in mind that resizing also resizes font, therefore font points may have to be readjusted.

2.7. Adding Tables

2.7.1. To add a table to your poster it is best to create the table in a Word document as the tools available for creating tables in PowerPoint are somewhat limited. For the purposes of our training, open the Word document table. When the document is open, highlight the entire table including one line above and below the table and select Edit > Copy or Ctrl + C.

2.7.2. Return to your PowerPoint document and select Edit > Paste

Special. In the Paste As field, select Microsoft Office Word

Document Object. Click OK. 2.7.3. The table can be positioned by dragging the table to the bottom of

the third column and can be resized by dragging one of the corners of the table. The table can also be resized and positioned by selecting Format > Object. Under the Size tab, change the Height field to 10.25 and the Width field to 8.41. Under the Position tab, change the Horizontal field to 25.75 and the Vertical field to 23.15.

2.8 Finishing Up

2.8.1. Before having your poster printed double-check your spelling, content and formatting.

2.8.2. For our poster we need to hide the guidelines we used to create the

columns. To do so, select the each text box and select Format > Text Box or right click and select Text Box. Under the Colors and Lines tab, under Line, change Color to no line.

2.8.3. You may also want to preview your poster without the gridlines.

To turn the gridlines off, select View > Grid and Guides and un-check the box next to Display grid on screen.

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3. PRINTING THE POSTER

3.1 Find out who is in charge of billing for your department and inform

them of your poster request.

3.2 Contact Ed Anderson (Ed.Anderson@nau.edu) in the Physics Department with your plans for printing and then provide him with contact information for the person in charge of billing for your department.

3.3 Email your PowerPoint poster file as an attachment in an email to Ed

Anderson.

3.5 Allow 2-3 weeks for your poster to be made. Sometimes it will be finished faster but, in case of overflow, plan ahead.

3.6 The cost for a 3ft by 5ft poster (standard size for most conferences) is

around $30. If you choose a background effect, the cost will be around $40.

3.7 Ed Anderson should contact you when the poster is finished, and it will

be available for pick-up in the Physics Dept. (Bldg 19, Rm 209).

Price File Types $6.50 per linear foot PowerPoint (.ppt) + $10 charge for background color PDF (.pdf) PostScript (.ps)

Size Height:34 inches printable space (max) Time Width: 56 inches for PowerPoint One week notice minimum; Unlimited for PDF or PostScript however, the sooner the better

Contact

Ed Anderson NAU Physics Department Ed.Anderson@nau.edu 523-7096 www.physics.nau.edu/~anderson