Justification of text in the center of a line will draw attention. Bookman, Helvetica, and Geneva are examples of good choices. If your font is not supported by the printer, you will get ragged edges on all your letters. Choosing a color that does not compete with your data is wise. LaserFoil is a new product that allows you to make your printed words from a laser printer come out in color.
Colored yarn can be effective in visually linking poster elements.
Adding light color backgrounds to your figures can make the poster attractive. For example, using white lettering and lines on a blue background can make your poster eyecatching. Like a painting, poster elements can also be double matted to add interesting contrast. Although it is efficient to use computer-generated color slides as poster elements, you lose some fidelity in doing so. For example, the edges of letters will blur slightly in going from a slide to a printed image or vice versa.