Guidelines for 2026 Poster Presenters
GUIDELINES FOR POSTER-SESSION PRESENTERS
2026 Beacon Conference Poster Session Walk-Through
- The 2026 Beacon Conference will take place via Zoom.
- If you have never used Zoom, instructions on creating an account and basic features can be found here. We strongly recommend that you create an account to familiarize yourself with the Zoom environment in advance.
- However, please note that you do not have to have a Zoom account to participate in the Poster Session.
- The 2026 Beacon Conference Zoom site will be activated on June 5.
- To enter the Poster Session room on June 5, go to the conference website at https://www.beaconconference.org and click on the Poster Session button.
- This room will be open to the audience from 3:00 – 4:00 PM. You will be able to enter it 15 minutes in advance.
- You will be provided a link in advance to preview the Beacon’26 Poster Session layout.
- Each poster presenter will have a designated window, displaying the presenter’s photo, their name, paper title, mentor’s name and the name of the college. A customized feedback link will be included.
- Conference attendees will view each poster by clicking on the paper title.
- Interaction between poster presenters and attendees will be conducted via comment links listed next to your poster followed by email.
- Conference attendees will be able to submit comments and questions to each poster presenter individually by clicking on the feedback link in the presenter’s window. The link will not display the email address of the presenter, but it will require the email address of the sender where the presenter’s response will be sent.
- Please submit your photo and a .pdf file of your poster to https://beaconconference.org/poster-presenters-file-submission/ no later than Monday, May 25. In the interest of time and equity, limit your poster length to 3 .pdf pages maximum. Use the landscape orientation.
- You must be available remotely for the entire duration of 3:00 – 4:00 PM Poster Session to interact with the attendees.
- Unlike Session I, II and III concurrent panels, the Poster Session is non-competitive and poster presentations are not evaluated by a Judge. The Poster Session format affords presenters more informal opportunity to interact with a wide and interested audience.
How to Design a Poster
Think of your poster as a visual version of your paper abstract or a condensed overview of your project.
Generally, your poster will be effective if it has the following characteristics:
- It provides a brief summary of your research
- It conveys your message visually
- It is readable on a computer screen
- It is clearly organized
Poster Contents
Posters can vary significantly because of differences in discipline, research methodology, project complexity, aspects of the subject matter researched, etc. Successful posters usually include the following contents:
1. The Title of Research Project/Paper
2. The Research Question
3. The Thesis or Hypothesis
4. Background Information/Introduction
5. Main Findings/Insights
6. Conclusions/Significance of Work
7. References (for any sources used on the poster)
Suggestions:
- Don’t crowd your material
- Help your audience focus on individual chunks of information
- Limit the number of fonts and colors
- Use a consistent font size for all text except titles or headings (larger) and references and acknowledgments (smaller)
- Use graphs or pictures if they summarize material effectively
- Provide a title or descriptive phrase for graphs or pictures
Online Poster Resources
Visual and UX Design Principles Can Improve the Effectiveness of Poster Sessions
How to Design an Award-Winning Conference Poster