I want to create posters for my poster presentation on a conference. What tools or LaTeX classes are available for preparing posters ?
[Tex/LaTex] How to create posters using LaTeX
big-listdocument-classesposters
Related Solutions
If the publicity poster is more of a flyer (around A4 size), then regular beamer will work fine. If it's really poster-sized (around A0), then beamerposter. And yes, depending on how much control you want in where things go, you might be better off with illustration software instead. However, here's what I've used for short course publicity in the past:
\documentclass{beamer}
\usetheme{default} % no need for borders, sidebars, etc.
\setbeamertemplate{navigation symbols}{} % no need for navigation symbols
\begin{document}
\begin{frame}[fragile]{CAE Short Courses for Graduate and REU Students}
% [fragile] since I have a \verb for the email address. Could be removed if you use
% \texttt{} instead.
\begin{columns}[t] % top-aligned columns
\begin{column}{0.5\textwidth}
Basic information
\begin{itemize}
\item Selected topics relevant to research and publication
\item Each course is independent of the others: sign up for one, two, or all
\item Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00--9:00 pm
\item 4 meetings (2 weeks) per course
\item No registration fee
\end{itemize}
\end{column}
\begin{column}{0.5\textwidth}
Courses and starting dates
\begin{itemize}
\item \bfseries{Introduction to Linux and UNIX: January 25}
\item \bfseries{Introduction to MATLAB: February 8}
\item \bfseries{Introduction to \LaTeX{}: February 22}
\end{itemize}
Other courses may be offered, depending on interest and availability.
\end{column}
\end{columns}
\begin{center}
To register, or for more information, email Mike Renfro \verb|<renfro@tntech.edu>|
\end{center}
\end{frame}
\end{document}
I think the poster still needs a little bit of a massage, both typographically as well as the copy. First the headline.
With a poster you want to get the attention of the reader. The headline has just a few seconds to attract attention in which the reader will decide to read further on or walk away. You can use what the advertising industry calls the ABC headline formula.
A = Attention
B = Benefits
C = Creativity
A+B+C = Headline
I think the headline needs to be turned around a bit. You need to decide if it is a symposium or conference and the announcement line can be omitted.
I would also remove the INVITED FROM "INVITED SPEAKERS". "Speakers" would suffice. You could also include photos of the speakers in a block below the poster. Images of people's faces will attract attention.
The colored graphic is distracting from the message, I will make it as transparent as possible and include it as a backdrop. All contact details I would put at the bottom, including the email, but I would not frame it in angle brackets. I would also remove the "more information" at the bottom and just have a www.website.us/etc/etc.
, no need for the http:\\
part.
And here is a very opinionated announcement. A bit of a modified headline. The reader goes nearer to have a look, we answer his questions, who is speaking, where, what is the benefit for him/her a little more details (its your 30 seconds elevator speech), who to contact where etc (can be below the text at the right, which I did not include). The graphics obviously and photos will need some work and attention, but if your selling point is the invited speakers, you should promote that.
Update
I added another variation to the theme, using a graphic rather than faces as the consensus appears to be that a Lorenz type of attractor will be more likely to attract the attention of the group than faces (although I am sure that when you looked at the examples here, your attention was drawn to the faces first). Unless one does some A/B testing we will never know. One needs to really experiment with the copy once all the information is known. I used the mathpazo font at 65pt and the soul package for spacing out. One should also print the poster and experiment with sizes. I would stick to my guns and not have any text on the graphics.
Schmendrich's ideas are also good especially the qr-code, you should try and incorporate it in the final version.
\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage{mathpazo,xcolor}
\usepackage[top=1cm,left=1cm,right=1cm,bottom=1cm]{geometry}
\usepackage{graphicx,soul,lipsum}
\parindent0pt
\def\lorem{\leavevmode Fusce adipiscing justo nec ante. Nullam in enim.
Pellentesque felis orci, sagittis ac, malesuada et, facilisis in,
ligula. Nunc non magna sit amet mi aliquam dictum. In mi. Curabitur
sollicitudin justo sed quam et quadd. \par}
\makeatletter
\def\HUGE{\@setfontsize\HUGE{65}{90}}
\makeatother
\begin{document}
\thispagestyle{empty}
\raggedbottom
\begin{minipage}{0.8\textwidth}
\sffamily
\centering
\HUGE{\bf SYMPOSIUM}\\
\LARGE{\textbf{\so{CAROLINA DYNAMICS GROUP}}}\\
\Large{\textbf{\so{CLEMSON UNIVERSITY}}}\\
%\large{\textbf{APRIL 5, 2012}}
\bigskip
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.6\textwidth}
\normalsize
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{lorenzattractor01}
\textbf{PRESENTED BY THE CAROLINA DYNAMICAL \\ SYSTEMS GROUP}. Some more text here to fill the space. You need to get the reader to stop and read a bit more. Some more text here to fill the space. \par
\rule{0pt}{32pt}
\end{minipage}\hspace{5pt}
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.37\textwidth}
\textbf{\large INVITED SPEAKERS}\par
{\leavevmode \raggedright
Dr Liang Foo\\
Dr Berry Ling\\
Dr Zezsko Petrovick \\
Dr A Berchowitz\\
\par{}
}
\medskip
\large{\textbf{VENUE}}
The symposium will take place at Clemson University.
\medskip
{\large\raggedright
{\textbf{DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS}}
\par
}
\normalsize
\smallskip
\lorem\lorem\lorem
\medskip
\textbf{\large ORGANIZERS}\par
Martin Schmoll, Clemson University\\
Predrag Punosevac, Augusta State \\
University
\medskip
\textbf{\large CONTACT }\par
Predrag Punosevac, Augusta State\\
University
\textcolor{blue}{email@mail.com}
\rule{0pt}{78pt}
\end{minipage}
\vspace*{-70pt}
\HUGE{\bf APRIL 5 $\cdot$ 2012}\\
\end{minipage}
\end{document}
Best Answer
The
beamerposter
package is quite nice.Examples: