SPARC 24 will be held in-person on Wednesday 4th December in Pollock Halls, Edinburgh. Posters for SPARC 24 will need to be printed and brought with you to the event on the day, where boards and adhesives will be available for the presenters. A note that all poster presenters are expected to take their posters home with them after the event as well.
This year we are keen to support both ‘traditional’ posters and infographic-style posters, and encourage you to decide which format best fits your work. Traditional posters and infographic posters should follow the same guidance information below.
Essential poster information:
- Size and orientation: Posters should be printed in size A0 and in portrait orientation only (84.1 cm wide x 118.9 cm long).
- Material: Posters may be printed on paper or canvas.
- Formatting: Please ensure that you include the title of your presentation at the top of your poster as it is in your abstract submission. The names of the presenter and other contributors should be clearly stated as well.
- Content: There is no need to include your abstract on the poster. Overall, try and minimise the amount of text presented – a range of 300-800 words is recommended.
- Visual techniques: Think about how best to use a combination of text, tables, figures, and other visuals to best convey the important information. Think about using bullets, numbers, and headlines to guide the viewer and make it easy to read.
Top tips for creating posters from the SPARC scientific committee:
- Poster presenters (new and experienced) are encouraged to follow the guidelines of the #betterposter design (more information and templates available at https://osf.io/vxqr6/ or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@drmikemorrison or you may want to follow Mike Morrison on Twitter (@mikemorrison).
- Posters need not be created in Microsoft PowerPoint, software like Canva and Piktochart can also be used. Both Canva and Piktochart have templates that can be used. It is important to create the poster in the correct size and orientation (A0 and portrait) irrespective of which software package you use.
- Text on the poster should have a font size that can be easily read when printed on A0. Font size may vary between sections, but all text should be legible. Make text clear and to the point. Your poster should be readable from several feet away.
- Different graphics, colours and fonts can help make your poster more effective and the key information to stand out. To ensure that your poster is accessible to range of different audiences, Microsoft have useful advice on font choices. Poster and font colour are also worth considering, and presenters are encouraged to use a Contrast Checker which is also a great tool to check accessibility.
Guidance on creating infographics can be found on the following pdf document:
Some examples of posters and infographics to give presenters some additional ideas of conference posters can be found below.


