The first thing to consider is what information you should be including on your poster. The exact content varies according to your discipline and any specific guidelines you need to follow but as a general rule you should look at covering the following: 

• Title - your poster needs a title which clearly summarises the topic of your research and encourages people to read the rest of your poster. Try to keep the title as brief as possible (under two lines is great) and make sure the font is large enough to be read.  
• Introduction - although you will be intimately familiar with your research your readers will have no idea what your project is about. Introduce the background to the research to set the poster in context but remember to keep it short – readers need to know enough to understand the poster, not the entire history of the project. 
• Methodology - give an overview of what you did and how you did it. You can include images here if they help to explain your methods.
• Results - the main body of your poster should present the results of your research. Don’t be tempted to present every finding – remember that your poster is presenting a narrative of your results, not cramming a journal paper on a single sheet of paper. Use graphs and charts to report your results but remember that less is more.
• Conclusion/next steps - explain what you have learnt, why it was important and what it might mean for future research projects.
• References - include full references for any research cited or images used which are not your own. 
• Contact details - don't forget to include your contact information so that people can follow up with you, as well as links to further information and any licensing information about your poster. 

Based on a list developed by the Cambridge Medical Library Team.

When designing a poster there are some common pitfalls to avoid. Take a look at the image below and try and spot the (deliberate) errors. Answers can be found in the hidden panel below the image.

It can be tempting to just start creating your poster but it’s important to take a step back and do some planning first. Take some time to read the instructions for your poster and find information such as word limit, size and any formatting instructions so that you know what you are working with. You are likely to have a lot of information to condense into a limited amount of space. Think about what you want people to take away from your poster and plan everything towards that goal. This can stop you from trying to put everything you know about the topic into a poster. Try using Post It notes to plan what you are going to include – they are easy to move around while you get everything in place.  

When designing your poster there are some important points to remember: 

• The content should typically read from left to right and top to bottom for posters in English. This is the typical reading pattern most people will expect to see, and creative approaches could be confusing. Use a logical layout for your poster and leave plenty of blank space to make it easier to read. 
• Make sure your text is large enough to be read from a couple of feet away. For an A0 size poster size 40 is recommended for body text whilst titles should be at least size 90. It is best to use a sans-serif font like Arial, Calibri or Verdana as these are easier for people to read. 
• Choose your colour combinations carefully and remember that colours may look different on screen and in print. Avoid combinations that are known to cause issues for those with colour blindness and use contrast to make text stand out – for example, dark text on a light background. This also displays better in print. 
• Images can be a great way to capture attention but too many can make a poster look cluttered. Graphs and charts should be clearly and consistently labelled so that readers understand what they mean. If you have used an image from a third party it is important to make sure that this is properly referenced. All images should be 200 dpi as a minimum to avoid blurring and it is best to use formats such as PNG, JPEG or TIF to retain clarity. Why not try creating an infographic to summarise some information and save some space in your word count? You can do this easily using tools such as Canva, easil.ly and Piktochart. 

If you are creating a digital poster you can save space by adding interactive elements, embedding relevant links to further information or including a link/QR code which takes the reader to further sources of information or other publications related to the project. 

There are many different software packages that can help you design an effective poster. Many people use PowerPoint as this has the standard features you need but you can also use programmes such as Microsoft Publisher, Canva or Adobe to create posters for both print and digital display.

Poster presentations are so-called as they are a method of presenting your results to an audience. Although they should be capable of conveying the point on their own you may also be asked to stand with your poster during a dedicated period of the event. This means you are available to answer questions or go into detail with any interested parties. It can be a good introduction to formal presentation as it works more like a one-to-one conversation than presenting to a large group. You should prepare a short verbal outline of some of the key points to engage people but it is important not to read the poster out loud – your audience can read it for themselves! You are there to go into further detail on different aspects of the project and answer questions.  

Many conferences and other poster events are held online so you may be asked to replicate your presentation digitally. This may involve being present online at a defined time to answer questions or recording a short video outlining your research. As with in-person presentations it is important to use this to highlight the key points or expand further rather than just reading what is already on the poster. You do not need expensive software to produce a professional looking video – record yourself in Teams, Zoom or even PowerPoint. The important thing to remember is that this is a professional exercise so represent yourself as you would if you were at the event in-person.