Creating a Poster in PowerPoint

Start PowerPoint

Go to “Layout” and click on the format that works best with what you’re creating.
We recommend using a slide layout with a title, as you should include a title on your poster.

Choose the size of your poster

Under the “Design” tab, click on “Page Setup”.
Change “Slides sized for” to “Custom”.
Make sure that one of the sides of your poster is less than 40” wide/tall, as the poster paper in the lab is 40” on the short side.

Adding text

To add a text box, go to the “Insert” tab and click “Text Box”. Next, click or click-and-drag where you want to put in text. After, you should see the rectangular shape of the Text Box. The box grows automatically as you type. You can re-size it at any time by dragging one of the little squares or circles on the corners and sides of the box.
As in many programs, you can change the font and size by highlighting the text to be changed and then making the changes. A 100-point font is about an inch high. If you don't see the size you want in the selection list, you can enter it in by hand.
To move a Text Box, position your pointer over a part of the edge of the box that is not a mini circle or square. The pointer should become shaped like a plus sign with arrows. Click and drag the Text Box to the wanted position.
You can change the color of the text, the edge, and the fill of the text box by clicking on the box and selecting the “Format” tab.

Adding images

To add an image, go to the “Insert” tab, click Picture and select your file. The image will appear on your document with handles. Use one of the corner handles to re-size it. (The corner handles will keep the same aspect ratio; the side handles will not.) Click and drag in the middle of the graphic to move it. You can do many other things to an image (including brightness, cropping, and resetting it to how it was originally brought in) under Picture Tools>Format.
It is best to plan ahead regarding your image size. Your goal is no more than 200 dpi (dots per inch). A program like Photoshop, which is available in the University Technology computer labs, can help you to check this setting. 100-150 dpi will look fine for most images.

You can use the Copy and Paste option for something like an Excel graph you want to add to your document. Generally avoid this method if you can – Copy and Paste will often only give you a low-resolution copy of a graphic.

Background

You can select a background on the Design tab. You will see many Theme options initially. If you want a picture background, select “Background Styles” to the right of the Themes, then click “Format Background…”. Choose the radio button for “Picture or texture fill” and click the button that says File… Find the picture you want from your hard drive. You will probably want to fade or lighten the image prior to using it as background or you risk the picture competing with your text, but you can also adjust the Transparency using the slide in this Format Background dialog box.

Lines, Boxes, Arrows

In the Drawing section of the Home tab, you will see options for ovals, boxes, lines, arrows, etc. When you have made one of these, you can adjust it (when it is selected) with the Shape Fill, Outline, and Effects options in that Drawing section, or using the Drawing Tools > Format tab.

Printing

For Personal Use

Keep the following in mind if you are printing your individual poster for grading purposes only (not for display): Chose "File" then "Print". Under Settings, click "Full Page Slides" and make sure "Scale to Fit Paper" is checked. This will print a small poster (8.5" X 11" or 8.5" x 14" if you use legal paper). To get maximum benefit from the use of color you should use a color printer, although a black & white printer will also show some gray variations that demonstrate where color is used in the document.

For Display

To print to one of the large format printers available in either the Faculty Lab or Student Activities, you should look to the Guidelines for Posters page for more information.