Poster Templates
This page on poster design aims to be basic and accessible for anyone to use. The colors and branding are specific to Keck Medicine of USC. Poster size requirements will vary for each conference, so be sure to check the requirements. 48" wide by 36" high is fairly common, but other sizes are common too.
Poster design has come a long way, so if you are looking for current designs with more impact and flair, check out the latest "betterposter" designs. These new designs use extra-large font and open space to convey impactful messages or results more quickly, borrowing from infographic design principles.
- USC Brand and Identity GuidelinesReview the university guidelines pertaining to logos, colors, typography and imagery. Contact the Keck Medicine of USC Brand Department for official hospital logos.
Checklists
- Poster Design ChecklistDesigned for the Keck-USC poster design workshops.
- ACP | Preparing a Poster PresentationThis 2016 guide was developed for medical residents and is applicable to all presenting at scientific conferences.
- A Universal Design checklistUniversal design means that rather than designing for the average user, you design for people with a broad range of characteristics such as native language, gender, racial and ethnic background, age, and disability.
Poster Creation Tools
Data visualization through charts and graphs can communicate your findings much more effectively than just words. Spreadsheets with this feature allow you to quickly create and label charts and graphs of collected results. See the documentation below:
Graphic design using infographics are another great way to convey impactful messages through a combination of pictures, words and design.
- Slidesgo InfographicsExplore all of the free templates Slidesgo offers, this is the direct link to their infographics templates
- CanvaCanva provides thousands of templates, including slides, graphs, infographics
- Word CloudsWord clouds may be used to collect meeting survey responses which may then be saved and added to posters. You may also copy and paste survey results into this free tool to create a word cloud.
The Image resources below can be used to obtain open-licensed, copyright compliant (CC) images. Image resolution will vary. Be aware of the different CC licenses. Use and remix images through credit and attribution, or better yet, create your own.
- Creative CommonsSearch portal across platforms for free, creative commons open-licensed content.
- Open-i - Open Access Biomedical Image Search EngineOpen-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.
- Google ImagesAfter conducting a search, select Tools and then the Usage Rights drop down menu to limit results to Creative Commons licensed images to check the license details for freely available.
- PexelsAll photos and videos on Pexels are free to use. Giving credit to the photographer or Pexels is not necessary but always appreciated. You can modify the photos and videos from Pexels.
- PixabayRepository of free high quality images. May have to sign up for free account in order to download higher resolution images.
- Wikimedia CommonsAn online collection of freely available, high-quality, images, sound and video clips.
Word Cloud Generators are a fun way to include evaluation or survey comments from your participants or study subjects. Below are a few free ones to try.
- Word CloudsThis site has many shape options and appears to function better, it includes more words than some of the others.
- Word ArtAnother good one, easy to use, easy to edit word cloud tool that allows for phrases, and has export options.
- Tag CrowdCreate your own word cloud from any text to visualize word frequency.
QR codes can help to save valuable space and minimize clutter, and they introduce interactivity with your viewers. The most basic ones will generate a QR code to link to a URL, others allow linking to other media such as SMS, email, vCard. The links below all offer free versions.
The following list is provided as a convenience and is not meant to endorse or promote any particular vendor.
- PhD PostersFabric or paper options. Also offers free PPT templates and many poster creation tips.
- PosterSmithFabric posters.