How to Design an Poster in Microsoft PowerPoint in 7 Simple Steps

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Hannah Dillon is a Technology Writer and Editor at wikiHow. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from North Dakota State University in 2013 and has since worked in the video game industry as well as a few newspapers. From a young age Hannah has cultivated a love for writing and technology, and hopes to use these passions in tandem to help others in the articles she writes for wikiHow.

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Do you need to make a poster for school or an event? PowerPoint can be a great tool to create a poster to accompany your project or advertise something. PowerPoint can create posters that are up to 56" by 56", and it's a convenient software choice if you already own Microsoft Office and don't want to learn Photoshop or InDesign. In this article, we'll teach you how to make a poster in PowerPoint easily and quickly.

Things You Should Know

Make sure your images are high quality so they print clearly on the poster.
Consider how your poster will look when printed, and make your text and images large enough to see.
If you want to print a poster bigger than 11x17, you'll likely have to get the poster printed at a print shop.

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Make your own graphs or charts using PowerPoint. These assets can be resized while you're in the program so they print clearly on the poster.
Collect images that are at least 150 dpi. You can check the DPI (dots per inch) of your image various ways, such as in the File Explorer or Paint.

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Open a new PowerPoint document. You can create PowerPoint posters up to 56" long and/or wide. If your poster dimensions are longer than 56" on any side, you'll have to use a different program to create your poster, such as Adobe Photoshop or InDesign.

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\n"> Click Design > Slide Size . A window will pop up, allowing you to adjust your slide size.

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If you're planning to print at home, keep your poster size to 11"x17" or less. If your printer can print larger-format documents, size your poster accordingly. Otherwise, you'll need to get your poster printed at a print shop.

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Draw out your design before you make it. If you have an idea for your poster's design, sketch it out so you have an idea of where to start once you open up PowerPoint.
Insert images directly into PowerPoint. Don't use copy and paste, as this may not import the highest-quality image.
Make sure your text is big enough to read. Depending on your poster size, start with a headline font that is 100pt and a body font between 24 and 48pt. Make sure to select fonts that are easy to read, such as serif or sans-serif fonts.
Remember contrast. Don't put dark text on a dark image or light text on a light image. If you selected a background with many different colors, consider adding a solid-colored box behind your text to make it legible.
Arrange your content from top to bottom. Most people will read a poster from top to bottom, so put your initial or most important points near the top of the poster.

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Click File > Export . You will want to export your file as a PDF, which is the best file type for printing.

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\n"> Click Create PDF/XPS document . Type in a name for your file and save it.

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Even if you're printing a small poster, you will have to go to a specialized print shop if you need your poster printed on a unique material like vinyl.
At-home printers can usually print up to 11"x17" size paper and can generally handle paper thickness up to a sturdy cardstock. Some common paper sizes for at-home printers include 8.5"x11" (letter), 8.5"x14" (legal), and 11"x17".
If you can't or don't want to go to a print shop, you can print large posters at home using the Rasterbator tool. Simply go to Rasterbator.net and follow the on-screen instructions to upload your poster file and split it into smaller pieces you can print at home. After printing, trim the margins from the papers and join them with tape or by gluing them to the poster board. While this won't create a professional-quality poster for a school or work project, it works when creating a rough draft or just making a poster for your wall at home.

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