Typography
- Keep it simple, no more than two fonts—generally one for the titles and one for the body text.
- When selecting a font you can’t go wrong with the classics: Arial, Times New Roman or Helvetica.
- Be sure to use a consistent width for your columns.
Font Suggested Sizes in Power Point
- Title – Font Size: should be at least 48 points or greater
- Sub-title – Font Size: should be at least 48 points
- Body text - Font Size: should be 24-32 points, including captions
Balance
- Your poster should be more than just words.
- Where possible include images and graphs to create balance and to communicate your content in a different way.
- Avoid copyright materials on your poster.
- Always give credit to the photographer or cite the source.
Color
- Avoid large areas of black or extremely dark colors. Dense areas of ink can make the paper weak and takes a long time to dry.
- Consider matching your color palette with your imagery.
- Some institutions require you use their brand colors. For more details about the HSC brand visit the Office of Marketing & Communication resource page.
HSC Color Codes
- graphite - RGB 37 55 70, CMYK 88 57 27 65
- teal - RGB 0 119 139, CMYK 100 0 24 30
- green - RGB 132 189 0, CMYK 48 0 100 1
Composition
- Do not over crowd poster with information.
- Be conscious of the margins, information too close to the edge may be cut off.
Printing
A PDF will be the final file you will send to the printers. PDFs maintain fonts and composition. They also have good quality resolution for printing.
If you are printing a physical poster, HSC has an arrangement with Minuteman Press to print approved templates. For more information, visit the research poster page.
Pro Tip - Proof before Printing
- Open PDF in Adobe Acrobat Print – Actual size
- This will allow you to see a sample section of your poster to know if they font is legible and the images are not pixelated.