Every year, we look forward to connecting with our design community at the UCDA Design Conference where we take an in-depth look at the issues and trends in design and communication communities, both in and out of educational institutions, and gain inspiration to spark our creativity and improve our collaborations. But given the growing concerns around COVID-19, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the in-person component of this year’s conference.
 This was a tough call to make—the UCDA Design Conference is an incredibly important event for UCDA and it’s one of our favorite ways to celebrate all of you—but we need to prioritize the health and safety of our members, creative professionals, partners, employees, and everyone who help make the conference happen.

We know that learning doesn’t stop, and the ability to meet and learn from your peers is more essential than ever. We remain committed to hosting the conference—albeit virtual.  It will continue to have speakers and sessions that are relevant and timely, will include the UCDA Design Awards, and will feature the ever popular UCDA Foundation Auction. We also would like to promote our partners by having a virtual UCDA Resource Center. 

We will share additional details on the Virtual UCDA Design Conference in the coming days. In the meantime, we thank you for your patience and understanding, and look forward to seeing you and our creative community at this upcoming conference.

Join us for the Virtual UCDA Design Conference where you can take an in-depth look at the issues and trends in design and communication communities, both in and out of educational institutions, and gain inspiration to spark your creativity and improve your collaborations.

Education
Nineteen carefully curated sessions over three days cover the gamut of work you do—from print to web to interactive and integrated marketing.

Networking
UCDA is your people. Connect with the folks who do what you do so you can charge your creative battery.

Inspiration
Get inspired by the award-winning work in the UCDA Design Awards Show and UCDA Design Collection.

Affordable
Without the need for travel or lodging, the Virtual UCDA Design Conference is very afforable. Without extra costs of an in-person event, along with shrinking or frozen institutional budgets, we are able to pass the savings onto you.

The Conference Pass gets you access to all the scheduled conference main stage live presentations (access to recordings through October 31); the UCDA Design Awards Show and UCDA Design Collection portals; the virtual UCDA Resource Center; participation in the UCDA Foundation Online Auction; a conference swag box; and access to the Help Desk.

In addition to everything included with the Conference Pass, the All Access (AA) add-on gets you a chat with selected UCDA Design Awards winners (Sunday); a cocktail reception with speaker Q&A (Monday); a speaker Q&A (Tuesday); longer access to the conference main stage presentation recordings (through December 31); and a limited edition conference T-shirt (available to the first 75 who sign up for All Access, shirt sizes are first-come, first-serve)

The conference will take place from Sunday, October 11 through Tuesday, October 13. Doors open and chat begins at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern) with program beginning at 11 a.m. (Eastern) each day.

See full list of speakers and presentations.

See full list of speakers and presentations.

For those who like the swag—be sure to register before September 18 so we can mail you a Swag Box full of conference goodies from UCDA and conference sponsors (including the ever popular UCDA Design Conference buttons) to arrive prior to the start of the conference. If you can't register by that date, don't worry; you'll still receive a swag box, but it may arrive after the event.

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

Looking for a powerful way to introduce your product or service to graphic designers in higher education and at educational institutions this year? Make plans now to join the University & College Designers Association for its Virtual UCDA Design Conference! Interested in exhibiting virtually at the UCDA Resource Center at the conference or becoming a sponsor? Contact UCDA at info@ucda.com or 615-459-4559 to learn more!

GOLD SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

EXHIBITORS

PARTNERS

UCDA recognizes the importance of lifelong learning and, as a result, proudly supports members through the dedicated funding of the UCDA Foundation professional development scholarship program. 

UCDA currently has two scholarship opportunities for the conference:

UCDA Foundation Professional Development Scholarship covers the registration cost (Conference Pass plus All Access) for the UCDA Design Conference for UCDA members.
[See complete information]

UCDA Foundation Elevating Black Design Voices Professional Development Scholarship covers the registration cost (Conference Pass plus All Access) for the UCDA Design Conference for both UCDA members or non-members.
[See complete information]

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.

This year with the conference being a virtual event, we have also moved to an online auction. Proceeds from this auction will directly benefit UCDA in forms of scholarships and program assistance.

The UCDA Foundation Online Auction is open to everyone. You do not need to attend the conference to participate. Donations can be sent to the UCDA Home Office where they will be added to the auction for you.

Objects made by our members including photographs, paintings, drawings, prints, posters, jewelry, ceramics, weavings, cards, books, etc., are especially well-received by conference attendees. Also, quirky and unusual items such as pop-up books, collectibles, and objects d'art do extremely well in the silent auction.

Items for the auction can be mailed to the UCDA Home Office. The auction will start prior to the beginning of the conference this year so you will have more time to check out and bid on the array of items, and will be held entirely online throughout the conference.

You may also contribute to the UCDA Foundation outside of auction with a monetary donation.

1. Give or pledge online at the UCDA Foundation website.
2. Give using CashApp: $UCDAFoundation
3. Give using PayPal

Thank you in advance for your support. Enjoy the auction!

The UCDA Design Awards recognizes the best of the exceptional design and creative work done by communication professionals to promote educational institutions (secondary, vocational, or higher education) and supports the exchange of ideas and information relating to the unique role of these creatives.

The UCDA Design Awards Show will take place on Sunday, October 11 with the online gallery opening immediate following. For those with winning entries, awards and certificates will be mailed after the conference.

The UCDA Design Collection is the growing collection of design work being produced by and for educational institutions since 1971. The pieces from the collection have won in the UCDA Design Competition annually, and currently documents more than 6,500 award winning entries ranging from printed posters and publications, to videos and websites from 1971 through today.

To celebrate UCDA's 50th Anniversary, selecctions from the UCDA Design Collection will be made available for online viewing during the conference.