Poster Submission Guidelines

This document should serve as a guide for formatting your poster for submission.

Submission File Information 

  • NEW FORMAT- Supported file format: PDF ONLY
    • Posters should be created in a program designed for digital presentation with PDF export tools
  • Max file size: 25 MB
  • Use common/ universal fonts: Arial/Helvetica, Times New Roman/Times, Courier, etc. 
  • Recommended minimum font sizes (if working in Power Point):
    • Titles: 60-point font
    • Subtitles: 30-point font 
    • Body of text: 20-point font 
    • Citations: 14pt
  • Each PDF poster document should be no longer than 5 pages, slides, or plates.
  • Posters must be in wide screen (16:9)
  • All PDF poster content must be included in the poster file. 
  • Posters may include QR codes for citations and links to additional content, particularly sound and video resources.


Digital Accessibility

  • Use format headings instead of large or bold fonts
  • Use high contrast color themes when considering font color and the background
  • Do not use imported images of text for content
  • Include additional visual cues when text color differences are used to convey information


Embedded Content (images files only)

  • Only image files can be included in your PDF poster file
  • Audio and video content cannot be included in the PDF poster file.
  • Image files:
    • Images should be limited in size to 2160 pixels by 3840 pixels 
    • Images should be no smaller than quarter-screen size, or 270 pixels by 480 pixels 
    • Images should be saved at a resolution of 72 dpi 


Copyright Guidelines
Copyrighted material includes: 
Literary works; Musical works, including any accompanying words; Dramatic works, including any accompanying music; Pantomimes and choreographic works; Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; Motion pictures and other audiovisual works; Sound recordings; Architectural works. 

Remember, material found on the Internet has the same copyright protection as material distributed through other media. Exceptions include materials found in the public domain, which can be used without permission, which refers to any material published before 1923 or 70 years after the creator’s death. 


Fair Use: In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. 

  • Examples of what may be considered ‘fair use’ in a poster: Quoting a short passage for illustration or clarification of the presenters’ observations or using an image of a costume in a poster that analyzes the costume design. 

There is no exact science to fair use. This is just a guide.
Some uses of copyright-protected material are permitted without explicit permission of the copyright owner. Uses of protected material outside of those parameters cannot be permitted on posters or in poster presentations. 

General Note: Never quote more than a paragraph from a book or article, take more than one chart or diagram, quote more than one or two lines from a poem, use more than a few seconds from a video or song, or indicate an illustration or other artwork in a book or newsletter without the artist’s permission.