University of Southern California

Creating an Effective Conference Poster:
Step-by-Step Guide

Generally, US conferences provide a poster 48 inches high by 96 inches wide. For your visual reference, the graphic shows what the most common poster sizes (in orange) look on a 48x96 backing board (in blue).

Use a poster template that meets the conference requirements.
Before you start working on your poster make sure that you are using a poster template that meets the requirements of your conference, and it matches the poster size you plan to order. Most common PowerPoint poster sizes are shown on this page. You can download the templates above.

Create a banner at the top of the poster
Add the poster title, author(s), and the name of your organization. Lettering for the title of your poster should be large enough to be legible from a few feet away. The names of the Authors and associated institutions does not have to be as large.

Prepare a written summary of your project. 
Organize the poster sections as follows:
1.  Introduction/purpose of the study or project
2. Objectives
3. Methods used in the study or project
4. Results of the study or project
5. Conclusions/evaluation of the study or project.
6. References
7. Author contact and disclosures of all authors (required) on right bottom corner of poster.
8. If nothing to disclose, “Nothing to Disclose” must be displayed next to the author name in place of a disclosure”.

9. If you want to add an audio or video component to your poster,  you can use the digital poster handouts offered below where you can add a narration or a youtube video to your presentation. The service is free with all USC printed poster orders. You can view more information below.