SCHEDULE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 14

7:30-11 a.m.
UCDA Resource Center with Breakfast

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (Concurrent Breakout Sessions)
12. UX Tips to Make Your Website Not Suck
Joshua Salazar, University of Michigan
Learn from a young whippersnapper how other young whippersnappers use your website. During this session, explore common pain-points of higher education websites as well as suggested solutions to these problems. Discover common and current UX trends in modern web experiences and how to rise above your competitors. No need to be a developer or web designer by trade to attend. If you use the internet, this session is for you! Also, Joshua may get off track and talk about his kids.

13. Moving the Needle
Nina Ovryn, Nina Ovryn Design
What happens when the work is interesting, clients still encouraging, but your creative flame isn’t being fed? The energy from passion projects can spill over and rejuvenate every facet of creative work. Hear how this 30-veteran of college and university publication design was moved by the 2016 national election to use design in the cause of political activism. Hear Nina’s account of how she helped the Resistance find success in her New Jersey town, embracing the challenge of spreading its message through bold color, typography and imagery—on no budget.

14. Find Your Authentic Brand Through a Whirlwind Photo Shoot
Stacey Kim, Lewis & Clark and Nina Johnson, Nina Johnson Photography
No one tells an institution’s story better than students and faculty, but it can be difficult to connect with those who are willing to be the face of your school. The problem has been solved! Stacey and Nina will share their plan for getting the student photos and quotes you need to tell a cohesive story across all of your marketing platforms: how they identify enthusiastic brand ambassadors, capture 30-40 portraits in two half-day photo shoots, and encourage participants to complete email Q&As.

15. Open for Business: A Student Marketing Team is Born
Anna McBrayer, Fort Lewis College
Developing a creative laboratory for students and a robust in-house marketing firm for the institution is a win-win campus-wide. Increase the capacity of your mar-com department services to your campus, offer an authentic voice and perspective for your institution to your primary audience, and build your students’ professional toolkit by readying them for the workforce in creative marketing. Learn how a student intern team can support your in-house mar-com initiatives and offer a stronger widespread support for the marketing needs across campus.

12:15-1:45 p.m.
Lunch on Your Own

1:45-2:45 p.m. (Concurrent Breakout Sessions)
16. Digital Print: A Medium for Agile Making
Chris Harrold, Mohawk
Digital printing used to feel like a compromise. Not anymore... it’s come of age and is a truly viable medium, brimming with potential and new ways to achieve stunning results. And the materials available for digital print are more diverse than ever–opening up new ways to elevate an idea or support an essential function. Join Chris Harrold from Mohawk who will discuss the Maker’s Field Guide to Digital Materials and Processes and learn how your material choices can start to do more and say more.

17. How to Not Get Sued: Design a Website Accessible for Everyone
Joshua Salazar, University of Michigan

Did you know that one in five users of your website have a disability? Did you also know you’re the chosen one for making digitally accessible content? Learn how we can design for all instead of just the majority. Joshua will briefly cover the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and what they mean for us designers as well as the legal implications of failing to abide by the LAW! No need to be a developer or web designer by trade to attend, if you use the internet, this session is for you!

18. The Connected Future
Daniel Dejan, Sappi
The content delivery landscape is constantly shifting, so, deciding what outreach format to use, how to use it, and how to choose specific media for use with each demographic is the ROI of the future—as well as the here and now. In this session, Daniel will dive deeply to address Connected Print, how it works, who the providers are, and campaigns that marry print and digital in a meaningful and successful way. This talk will help you determine how and when to use a Connected Print platform to improve your outbound marketing campaigns.

19. Open for Business: A Student Marketing Team is Born
Anna McBrayer, Fort Lewis College
Developing a creative laboratory for students and a robust in-house marketing firm for the institution is a win-win campus-wide. Increase the capacity of your mar-com department services to your campus, offer an authentic voice and perspective for your institution to your primary audience, and build your students’ professional toolkit by readying them for the workforce in creative marketing. Learn how a student intern team can support your in-house mar-com initiatives and offer a stronger widespread support for the marketing needs across campus.

3-4:15 p.m. (Main Stage)
20. Demystifying the Process of Finding Your Artistic Voice
Lisa Congdon
No matter your medium, genre, or professional aspirations, having your own voice is an artist’s holy grail. Your voice can create magic: it can transform lives, disrupt the status quo, change the conversation, shift mindsets, and offer comfort or connection. Finding your voice remains a mysterious process for many creatives. Artist Lisa Congdon, author of Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic, will unravel the mysteries of the process, including what having a voice means, strategies for developing yours, and the importance of discipline and working through fear.

4:15-5 p.m.
Pop-up Shop: Lisa Congdon

4:30-5:30 p.m.
Silent Auction Closing Reception

6 p.m.
Dinner on Your Own