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Leadership Lesson

Creating a Poster Using Microsoft PowerPoint

Action Plan

Plan and Write

Design Layout

Choose Font and Colors

Create Poster Using PowerPoint

Resources

Poster Showcase

Tutorials

Poster Template
Open and save to your hard drive (PowerPoint, 55KB)


Choose fonts and colors

Use no more than two or three fonts.

  • Use simple, bold fonts that are legible from 6 feet.
  • Sans serif fonts are easiest to read. Helvetica, Arial, Verdana and Tahoma are examples of sans serif fonts.
  • Tip: If you can't read your text when you print using "Scale to fit paper" in PowerPoint, the font size is too small.
  • Suggested font sizes:

    • Title: 96 font size in bold
    • Author's name: 84 font size
    • Poster content: 32 or larger

Use color judiciously.

  • The restrained use of 2-3 colors provides good emphasis; using more than 2-3 colors distracts from the content.
  • Use more intense colors for emphasis or for borders.
  • Unify content with the same color as a border or background.
  • Muted colors (white and shades of gray) are best for the background. Light backgrounds work well with dark photos/graphics; dark backgrounds work well with light photos/graphics. White background reduces the impact of color photos.
  • Fluorescent lighting may intensify colors, making bright colors unpleasant to view.

See an Example >>


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