Learning & Research Support
THE LIBRARY
www.salford.ac.uk/skills
PowerPoint – Creating academic posters
1 Using a University template or a blank PowerPoint template? ........................... 2
2 Recommended font sizes for your poster ........................................................... 3
3 Tools for viewing and aligning objects on your poster ........................................ 3
4 Text boxes - Adding text..................................................................................... 4
5 Text boxes - Formatting your text ....................................................................... 4
6 Text boxes - Formatting Border Lines ................................................................ 5
7 Text boxes - Moving and Resizing text boxes .................................................... 5
8 Visual objects - Adding images, tables, icons… ................................................. 6
9 Visual objects - Moving & Resizing .................................................................... 8
10 Changing the Slide background colour .............................................................. 9
11 Tips .................................................................................................................... 9
Other Resources ...................................................................................................... 10
This guide assumes a basic knowledge of PowerPoint.
Using PowerPoint via a web browser provides you easy access to some of its
features, but it is strongly recommended that you use its desktop version1 so that
you can access all of PowerPoint’s tools.
If you are creating a poster for an assessment then follow assessment brief
instructions regarding poster size, font sizes, etc. If you do not have guidance in
these areas, consider the Tips section near the end of this guide.
Begin your planning your poster on paper….
Before opening PowerPoint, you may find it useful to begin by sketching out your
ideas on paper. Consider …
• The structure and layout of your content • Use of columns
• How it will flow • Font sizes/types
• Relevant images/graphics • your colour scheme
1Current students can install the desktop version of Microsoft 365 via https://portal.office.com/account
Sign in with your work/school account. From ‘My account,’ click on ‘Install Office’. PowerPoint will then
be available via the Programs list on your device.
, 1 Using a University template or a blank PowerPoint
template?
a) Do you want to use a ‘Library Skills’ poster template?
Poster templates in different sizes are available. If your lecturer has placed our Skills
PowerPoint poster resources in your Blackboard module they can advise on their
exact location. Otherwise, request the poster template size you want via
. You can adapt and edit the poster templates to
suit your content. If using one of our poster templates, please continue to Step 2 in
this guide.
b) Do you want to create your poster from a blank PowerPoint
slide?
You can create your poster from a blank PowerPoint slide and add the elements
using PowerPoint tools.
Changing the layout of the blank slide
• Open PowerPoint and choose the Blank Presentation template at the top of
the screen. (Close the Designer pane if displayed).
• From the Home tab, select Layout in the Slide group and choose the Blank
layout. Now you have an empty slide in which to place your poster elements.
Figure 1: Changing the layout of a blank slide.
Changing the size of the blank slide
What poster size do you require?
Paper Size Width (cm) Height (cm)
A0 118.9 84.1
A1 84.1 59.4
A2 59.4 42.0
Page 2 of 10 [May2024-MRC]
THE LIBRARY
www.salford.ac.uk/skills
PowerPoint – Creating academic posters
1 Using a University template or a blank PowerPoint template? ........................... 2
2 Recommended font sizes for your poster ........................................................... 3
3 Tools for viewing and aligning objects on your poster ........................................ 3
4 Text boxes - Adding text..................................................................................... 4
5 Text boxes - Formatting your text ....................................................................... 4
6 Text boxes - Formatting Border Lines ................................................................ 5
7 Text boxes - Moving and Resizing text boxes .................................................... 5
8 Visual objects - Adding images, tables, icons… ................................................. 6
9 Visual objects - Moving & Resizing .................................................................... 8
10 Changing the Slide background colour .............................................................. 9
11 Tips .................................................................................................................... 9
Other Resources ...................................................................................................... 10
This guide assumes a basic knowledge of PowerPoint.
Using PowerPoint via a web browser provides you easy access to some of its
features, but it is strongly recommended that you use its desktop version1 so that
you can access all of PowerPoint’s tools.
If you are creating a poster for an assessment then follow assessment brief
instructions regarding poster size, font sizes, etc. If you do not have guidance in
these areas, consider the Tips section near the end of this guide.
Begin your planning your poster on paper….
Before opening PowerPoint, you may find it useful to begin by sketching out your
ideas on paper. Consider …
• The structure and layout of your content • Use of columns
• How it will flow • Font sizes/types
• Relevant images/graphics • your colour scheme
1Current students can install the desktop version of Microsoft 365 via https://portal.office.com/account
Sign in with your work/school account. From ‘My account,’ click on ‘Install Office’. PowerPoint will then
be available via the Programs list on your device.
, 1 Using a University template or a blank PowerPoint
template?
a) Do you want to use a ‘Library Skills’ poster template?
Poster templates in different sizes are available. If your lecturer has placed our Skills
PowerPoint poster resources in your Blackboard module they can advise on their
exact location. Otherwise, request the poster template size you want via
. You can adapt and edit the poster templates to
suit your content. If using one of our poster templates, please continue to Step 2 in
this guide.
b) Do you want to create your poster from a blank PowerPoint
slide?
You can create your poster from a blank PowerPoint slide and add the elements
using PowerPoint tools.
Changing the layout of the blank slide
• Open PowerPoint and choose the Blank Presentation template at the top of
the screen. (Close the Designer pane if displayed).
• From the Home tab, select Layout in the Slide group and choose the Blank
layout. Now you have an empty slide in which to place your poster elements.
Figure 1: Changing the layout of a blank slide.
Changing the size of the blank slide
What poster size do you require?
Paper Size Width (cm) Height (cm)
A0 118.9 84.1
A1 84.1 59.4
A2 59.4 42.0
Page 2 of 10 [May2024-MRC]
