Preparing a 4 Foot by 5 Foot Poster in Microsoft PowerPoint

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Preparing a 4 Foot by 5 Foot Poster in Microsoft PowerPoint


Preparing a 4 Foot by 5 Foot Poster in Microsoft PowerPoint

You may already have an idea of how you want your poster design to be laid out. If you are looking for an idea or place to start, e-mail Adam Persky for some samples. Please use the information below if you wish to create your poster from scratch.

1. Maximize the dimensions of the PowerPoint slide. Because no dimension can exceed 56 inches in PowerPoint, it is recommended you scale your 4 foot by 5 foot poster file to the following dimensions in Page Setup:



Please make your posters actual size. Scaling to a larger size risks loss of resolution, misprints, etc., and makes printing much more difficult.

2. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s trademark and licensing office has provided the following official blues:

  • Carolina Blue: Pantone 278
  • Tar Heels Deep Blue: Panton 282

Since PowerPoint does not recognize Pantone color schemes, we have found the following RBG color codes work well to convert the official colors into a PowerPoint useable format. In order to use the custom colors, you can format an object/font and change the color. The option for “More colors” should be visible on the bottom. Click on the “custom” tab, and enter the following RGB codes in the spaces available:










Carolina Blue

R: 150
G: 192
B: 230

Tar Heels
Deep Blue

R: 0
G: 38
B: 84

Webpage Blue

R: 102
G: 153
B: 204

3. The University’s Old Well logo is the official logo of the School and the University. The University seal may not be used as it is reserved for official use by the chancellor’s office only. We have a high resolution version of the Old Well. The logo is available on the K: Drive under School Logos. Please note, the official policy is to use the black logo when printing from a desktop printer as most printers cannot render the University colors accurately. The HP DesignJet 800 used to print poster, however, can accurately reproduce the blue used for the logo.

  • There is also official university policy on spacing regarding the logo. There must be white space equal to one-half the height of the Old Well. For example, if the old well is one inch tall, you should have one-half inch of white space around the logo.
  • Do not use the Pharmacy Alumni Association logo
  • We will not print posters with the incorrect logo.  There will be a $25 surcharge on returned posters or if we are asked to correct the logo.
  • Please do not make up your own logo - this is a violation of the University policy and the poster will not be printed





Eshelman Logo

  logo PAA

 


Official School Logo
USE
Download the logo

 

Old Logo
DO NOT USE

PAA Logol
DO NOT USE

University Seal
DO NOT USE



4. For your poster to be printed, it must be in the following forms:
        a. Printed directly as a PowerPoint file (preferred)

    • Advantage: High quality text and image output; scalable options available
    • Disadvantage: May cause loss of colors, poster arrangement, and fonts may vary computer to computer.

        b. Converted PDF

    • Advantage: Preserves PowerPoint layout from computer to computer; high quality text and image output.
    • Disadvantage: Requires full version of Adobe Acrobat to convert the file, some issues with enlarging

        c. Converted to a TIFF

    • Advantage: Preserves PowerPoint layout computer to computer; built in conversion within PowerPoint; scaling options available
    • Disadvantage: Loss of font quality


5. Some general tips:

  • Avoid Times New Roman font. Arial appears better on posters. 
  • Bold your text.
  • Avoid italics.
  • Watch the font size on graphs, especially on Excel based graphs. SigmaPlot graphs show up much better and offer more graphing flexibility.
  • Use Adobe InDesign or Illustrator instead of PowerPoint. The print quality is much better, but there is a steep learning curve to using this software.
  • Making posters smaller and wanting the poster to be enlarged (i.e., making a 2 foot by 4 foot PowerPoint file for a 4 foot by 8 foot poster) will most likely result in loss of resolution especially of graphics. Make posters actual size.
  • Remember the KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. Your design should be simple. Adding too much color, graphics, etc. distracts the eye, and poorly designed poster will take away from the message your poster is trying to convey.
  • Recommended font sizes
    • Title font: 80 pts
    • Author font: 66 pts
    • Affiliation font: 60 pts
    • General text font: 40 pts
    • Header font: 48 pts