2026 UCDA Creative Summit

Tuesday, April 14 & Wednesday, April 15, 2026

The 2026 UCDA Creative Summit is a two-day virtual event providing inspiration to refill your creative fuel tank. Programming is curated to spark your imagination and facilitate ideas that can help be a catalyst for your next project or even give you the inspiration to seek out and try new techniques or embark on a new creative path.  

Attendees engage virtually in a casual, friendly setting with creative professionals across North America and beyond. Illustrators, photographers, designers, and creative thinkers will share their inspiring work and stories. We also include workshops and hands-on activities as well as time for open discussions to share experiences and ideas. The virtual format makes it easy to attend from your office, studio space, or home. Come prepared to learn, share, and grow your creative potential—you will walk away with new ideas, fresh perspectives, and inspiration to fuel your next creative endeavor.

The UCDA Creative Summit is an opportunity to discover, create, and connect.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

While UCDA’s programming is designed for creative professionals working in education, design faculty, and students, the Creative Summit is for anyone who needs a creative boost. If you’re a writer, marketer, creative manager, illustrator, photographer, or any other creative professional (or student), this event is for you!

TOP REASONS TO ATTEND THIS SUMMIT

Education: Carefully curated presentations and workshops over two half-days
Community: Connect and exchange ideas with the folks who do what you do
Affordable: Without the need for travel or lodging, the UCDA Creative Summit is budget-friendly. 

AGENDA

The Creative Summit takes place over the course of two days.  We start mid-morning (Central Time) and have a few short breaks scheduled between sessions, which wrap up in the early afternoon. 

Each day features a keynote presentation with an opportunity for Q&A with the speaker, casual conversation with fellow attendees, and exercises to get your creative juices flowing. We’ll round out the day with a hands-on workshop to help you flex your maker muscles. 

SCHEDULE

Preliminary schedule, subject to change.

Join us for two fulfilling days of creativity and inspiration:
Tuesday, April 14, 2025: 11 a.m.–2 p.m. (CDT)
Wednesday, April 15, 2025: 11 a.m.–2 p.m. (CDT)

SPEAKERS & SESSIONS

Nitashia Johnson The University of Texas at Dallas	Nicole Fansler Oberlin College	Mathias Reed Oberlin College	Michelle Lipira Adobe	Steven White Virginia Tech

Nitashia Johnson | Keynote Presentation
The University of Texas at Dallas
Session details to be announced. 

Nicole Fansler & Mathias Reed | Keynote Presentation
Oberlin College
Brand Revisited: How In-House Refinement Leads to Stronger Brand Alignment
Oberlin’s brand has evolved: learn how it started, how it’s going, and how we’re shaping our future in higher education marketing. Through in-house creative and marketing collaboration, we’ve refined our complex institution’s brand to align with our core values. We’ll share how refining institutional voice, visual language, and cross-platform systems has brought our academic excellence, creativity, and mission into sharper focus. Attendees will see how a contemporary, cohesive brand framework strengthens Oberlin’s performance and presence in an increasingly competitive landscape

Michelle Lipira | Keynote Presentation
Adobe
Thriving Through Disruption: A Designer’s Guide to the AI Era
Design has always evolved alongside technology—and today’s AI shift is simply the next chapter. In this session, Michelle Lipira draws on nearly two decades of navigating creative change to explore how designers can move through disruption with clarity and confidence. Attendees will gain practical insight into where AI fits within real-world workflows, how to elevate storytelling through intentional experimentation, and how to adopt new tools without compromising craft, ethics, or creative voice.

Steven White | Workshop
Virginia Tech
Session details to be announced.

Michelle Lipira | Workshop
Adobe
Designing With Disruption: Craft, Context, and AI
AI is reshaping how designers create and iterate. In this hands-on digital workshop, participants will explore how emerging tools support ideation and refinement across text and visuals. Through guided exercises and live demonstrations, attendees will practice directing AI strategically—learning when to push it further, when to rein it in, and how to keep craft, context, and creative authorship in their control.

REGISTRATION

Join UCDA to qualify for member pricing

*Digital recording available as an add-on to live event registration only. 

See UCDA’s Cancellation Policy
See UCDA’s Inclusiveness, Code of Conduct, and Anti-harassment Policy.