UCDA Design Conference Programming
We are please to offer mainstage presentations, concurrent sessions, pre-conference workshops, and additional bonus content for the upcoming UCDA Design Conference: Confluence.
Below is the conference programming. For more general conference information or to view the schedule, please use the following links:
YOUR ZONE OF CONFLUENCE
Felix Oliha
SAT OCT 14 | 5-6:30 p.m.
Leaning into the messy middle. How liminal spaces in life and design drive our work.
SEASONS AND SIDE PROJECTS
Jeremy Slagle
SUN OCT 15 | 9-10 a.m.
Work ebbs and flows. One month you’re so busy you can barely keep your head above water, the next you find yourself with little to do and worried you’ll never work again. Finding the opportunity to invest in yourself when your stock is low is the secret to higher dividends later.
Over the past 14 years of running his own creative studio, Jeremy will share stories and examples of side projects that were birthed out of difficult seasons which lead to more work and big opportunities.
TRUST THE EXPERTS
Jason Craig
SUN OCT 15 | 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Jason will give key insights into retaining talent, improving creative workflow, and getting the best possible work from your teams. It’s not all about unlimited vacations and company retreats. It’s about trusting your people to make you look good when it really counts.
YOU LOOK LIKE THE RIGHT TYPE
Mark Addison Smith
SUN OCT 15 | 2:45-3:45 p.m.
Daily, since November 23, 2008, Mark has been listening in on strangers’ conversations and drawing their words as black and white, type-forward drawings, never missing a day with over 5000 drawings his ongoing archive. When the lockdown happened, Mark was unable to overhear quotes in public settings and invited strangers to hold conversations over Zoom. These conversations became his own virtual window to the world, and he spent hours at his dining room table translating other people’s words into lengthier, visual essays of how strangers (now friends) were grappling with the pandemic.
You Look Like the Right Type is a story of sustaining a daily, fifteen-year design project while finding new sources of inspiration within it.
LET’S MAKE COMICS
Jess Smart Smiley
MON OCT 16 | 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Jess makes rad pictures with his bare hands and has helped thousands of children, teens, and adults around the world to create their first comics.
He loves sharing his passion for writing, drawing, and storytelling with schools, libraries, museums, and students of all ages and skill levels and his talk will focus on visual literacy.
THE BIG GAME SHOW
MON OCT 16 | 3:45-4:30 p.m.
Join us for this interactive and fun game show experience! Attendees will serve as both contestants and the audience in a fast-paced, high-energy event.
COME HUNGRY, LEAVE FULL
Mike Jones
TUE OCT 17 | 8:30-9:30 a.m.
There are multiple ways to make a meal, just like there are multiple ways to be a good designer. All recipes have their strengths, but the best recipes share some common ingredients. Join Mike as he shares how life experiences have taught him the common ingredients to good design.
INFOGRAPHIC AND INTERACTIVE DESIGN FOR JUSTICE
Jessica Bellamy
TUE OCT 17 | 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Are you purpose driven and interested in the power of data, design, and storytelling? Drawing from the expertise of information designer, researcher, and grassroots organizer Jessica Bellamy, session attendees will learn innovative and effective strategies that use infographics and interactive design for passing progressive policies and counter-mapping disinformation. Session attendees will gain a foundational knowledge of conscious and responsible design principles, systems thinking, and power analysis, as well as gain an actionable list of design and storytelling techniques to get long-term wins that build power for vulnerable communities.
DISRUPTING BURNOUT
Dr. Patrice Jackson
SUN OCT 15 | 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Just three years ago, burnout caused Dr. Jackson to walk away from a career she spent more than 20 years building with no idea what she would do next. Today, she takes every opportunity she can to share her remedy for burnout with others who find themselves left with nothing more to give.
Productivity and employee retention are at critically low levels because our team members do not know how to accomplish the work without sacrificing their own wellbeing. Her message is for servant leaders who struggle through cycles of overwhelm, burnout, and compassion fatigue.
Here’s the good news. You do not have to quit the job you love. You do not have to hit rock bottom. You can disrupt cycles of burnout now so you can serve from the heart without jeopardizing your own wellbeing.
FROM IDEAS TO PRODUCTION: DESIGNING FOR A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN
Barbara Malec and Beth Connolly
SUN OCT 15 | 1:30-2:30 p.m.
From launch to close, learn how the MIT Resource Development design team approached branding, marketing, digital, events, and thanking donors with memorable experiences, collateral, and gifts during MIT's recent capital campaign, and take home ideas you can leverage for any campaign, whatever your role.
A SCALBALE SOCIAL BRAND FRAMEWORK
Jesse Godfrey, Chas Williams, Lainey Graham
MON OCT 16 | 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Discover a consistent process that enables you to create the content your audience craves and deliver it where they need it most. Through this talk, attendees will get a glimpse at the journey Clemson University’s team has made to scale social/creative operations from a place of reactive, week-to-week content planning to an automated and strategically branded framework for content. Attendees will leave with many takeaways and tactics on how to apply this same framework to their own process and develop efficient content planning techniques.
DESIGNING IN THE AGE OF AI
Ashley Touchton
MON OCT 16 | 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Artificial intelligence is becoming more commonplace across industries and sectors with rapidly decreasing barriers to entry. Past technology tools focused on things like efficiency and speed with which tasks are accomplished. Throughout these advances, the creative industries had been shielded by the importance of the designer’s strategic vision. However, AI is bringing new challenges as the output now goes beyond efficiency and speed. In this talk, Ashley Touchton of Orange Sparkle Ball will discuss this shifting landscape, our true value as designers, and what the future could look like for the industry.
BOOM! BANG! BRUSH! Custom Illustrator Brush Workshop
Jeremy Slagle
SAT OCT 14 | 9 a.m.-12 noon
Learn how to add verve to your vectors, love to your lettering, passion to your pen tool, boldness to your beziers, and gusto to your graphics! This custom Illustrator brush workshop is a hand’s-on class where you learn how to make unique, one-of-a-kind, hand-created textures and turn them into custom brushes. We’ll even explore the many ways to use them.
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. SPACE IS LIMITED
LAPTOP WITH ILLUSTATOR NEEDED.
$65/PERSON ($85/GUEST)
PARTY ON THE GREEN
SAT OCT 14 | 6:30-9 p.m.
Join us at the first social event of the conference! Enjoy meeting fellow conference attendees and making new friends while enjoying the diverse tastes and sounds of Atlanta!
SILENT AUCTION
BEGINS: SAT OCT 14 | 4 p.m.
ENDS: MON OCT 16 | 5 p.m.
Each year we ask our members, speakers, sponsors, and anyone in our profession to submit items to be auctioned off during the UCDA Design Conference. Funds collected are used for the UCDA Foundation scholarships programs.
Items for the auction can be brought with you to the conference and turn them in at the registration desk. If you are not attending, you may mail to the UCDA Home Office.
Photo by Matt Lester
COFFEE TALK, CITY WALK, OR INSTAMEET
SUN OCT 15 | 7-8 a.m.
Why not enjoy an early start with a walk around Buckhead? Join UCDA leaders, colleagues, and friends for an invigorating beginning to your day.
More interested in coffee at 7 a.m.? Come join colleagues, friends, and UCDA leaders for some down-to-earth coffee talk.
Are you an Instagrammer? Bring your camera for a stroll through the area as you discover and share your photographs through Instagram.
BOOK SIGNING WITH JEREMY SLAGLE
SUN OCT 15 | 10-10:30 a.m.
Designer, illustrator, and Mainstage speaker Jeremy Slagle will have a limited number of the children’s books he has illustrated for sale (Chin Up, Chinchilla and Hip, Hooray, Hippo). Stop by after his session and pick up a copy and have him sign it for you!
UCDA DESIGN AWARDS SHOW
AWARDS PRESENTATIONS: SUN OCT 15 | 11:30 a.m.
The UCDA Design Awards recognizes the best of the exceptional design and creative work done by communication professionals to promote educational institutions and supports the exchange of ideas and information relating to the unique role of these creatives. Come be inspired by the winners of this year’s awards as we honor the best work in educational design—in Print and Digital, Illustration, Photography, and Student Competitions.
Photo by Matt Lester
20x20 PRESENTATIONS: SHARE YOUR STORY
SUN OCT 16 | 4-5:30 p.m.
The 20x20 presentation format allows presenters to show their 20 chosen images, each for 20 seconds. In other words, they've got 400 seconds to tell their story, with visuals guiding the way.
These short presentations will be given by conference attendees, and we welcome your participation. If interested in telling your story with 20 images, mark that box on your registration form or email us!
Photo by Matt Lester
SWAP SHOP
SUN OCT 15 | 5:30-6 p.m.
Share your printed work and pick up some samples for inspiration in this limited-time event. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and once the samples are gone, they’re gone! Bring samples with you to the conference and drop them off at the registration desk.
Sponsored by Slate Group
Photo by Matt Lester
UCDA EXPO
MON OCT 16 | 7:30-11 a.m.
The UCDA Expo (formerly the Resource Center) includes an exhibition by various companies. Included again this this year—check out the Sponsor Pods for additional programming and the Design Pods for some creative hands-on activities. Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting, email us!
DESIGN PODS AND SPONSOR PODS
MON OCT 16 | 7:30-11 a.m.
Join your fellow conference attendees at the Design Pods for these small, informal, and fast-paced sessions on the floor of the UCDA EXPO.
In addition to visiting the sponsor and partner booths during the UCDA EXPO, enjoy the Sponsor Pods—these small, informal mini-sessions for added takeaways and content.
Sponsor Pod 1: Mediagraph—a DAM for the whole school
Peter Krogh, Mediagraph
Most DAMs are mainly tuned for one purpose, and built to serve one department. Mediagraph is built to serve multiple departments, without anyone making compromises. Design and Communication teams can set up workflows that serve their needs, from design production to social media feeds. Your Photo teams will love the ability to build archives of any size that make finding images a snap. Video teams will benefit from having a great library of B-roll and finished videos available on demand. And when another group or department in the school asks to have their own space on the DAM, you can now say yes (while keeping your stuff partitioned). Peter Krogh will give you an overview of all that Mediagraph has to offer your entire communications team.
Sponsor Pod 2: Explore, Engage, Excite: Crafting Print Collateral for Higher-Ed
Trey Laverty and Nikki Davis, Slate Group
Discover the art of captivating your audience through print marketing. Explore design and product trends, while unlocking the psychological triggers that will ignite curiosity and inspire action. The exploration will empower you to create collateral that not only captures attention, but also resonates deeply with prospective students embarking on their academic journey to cherished alumni contributing to your institution’s legacy.
Sponsor Pod 3: The Nature of Sustainability
Hope Sowders, Neenah Paper
We will take a deep dive into the world of eco-conscious practices, explore the latest trends, and marvel at beautiful printed samples exemplifying sustainable print and design. Join Hope to gain insights into how sustainability is not just a term, but a holistic approach that is transforming our world, one step at a time. Get your copy of “The Nature of Sustainability” which highlights:
- The true meaning of sustainability and its multifaceted dimensions.
- Explore current global trends that are reshaping industries.
- Witness exquisite printed samples, embodying the very essence of eco-friendly design.
- Learn about pioneering companies leading the charge in sustainable practices.
Design Pod 1: Iconic Iconography
Scott Fuller, The Studio Temporary
Join Scott Fuller of The Studio Temporary for a quick peek inside his icon design process. We’ll go through the characteristics of a good icon, figuring out your icon subject matter, ideation, and end it with a quick Illustrator demonstration. Every attendee will go home with a cheat sheet of my process. Stop by and let’s get ICONIC!
SCHOOL SPIRIT EVENT
MON OCT 16 | ALL DAY
Show your school spirit by wearing your school or branding colors on Monday!