What We Learned from the 2025 UCDA Design Conference: Building Resilience in Design
Our Progress Print Plus sales representative, Tom Piha, recently returned from the 2025 University & College Designers Association (UCDA) Design Conference in Pasadena, California. He brought back some powerful insights that reflect where design, storytelling, and technology are headed next.
This year’s theme, “Resilience,” captured how the design community continues to evolve in a world of constant change, from new technology like AI to shifting communication strategies and institutional priorities. But what really stood out to Tom was how the industry is redefining resilience: not just about recovering from challenges, but about using them as catalysts for innovation.
What Tom Brought Back
“The biggest thing I took away,” Tom shared, “is that resilience isn’t about holding on — it’s about adapting quickly and staying creative no matter how the landscape shifts.”
Here are a few key lessons Tom shared from the conference:
Resilience is proactive, not reactive. Many speakers emphasized turning disruption into creative energy, using obstacles as opportunities to reimagine processes, strategies, and design itself.
Technology and storytelling are inseparable. From sessions on AI-driven design and digital asset management to augmented reality in recruitment marketing, the message was clear: tools are advancing fast, but it’s still the story that makes design matter.
Higher-ed design leads the way. Since most attendees work in education, much discussion centered on how designers are addressing changing student behaviors, tighter budgets, and evolving institutional goals, lessons any creative industry can learn from.
Connections create innovation. Tom noted the value of the vendor expo and networking sessions, where designers, printers, and creative partners came together to share ideas and discover new solutions. These conversations reaffirmed how collaboration drives the kind of creative resilience that lasts.
Final Thoughts
For us at Progress Printing Plus, the UCDA Design Conference served as both inspiration and affirmation. The future of design isn’t static, it’s flexible, experimental, and deeply human. Resilience means designing with change in mind, creating systems and stories that can evolve right along with our clients’ needs.
Armed with Tom’s insights, we’re excited to:
Revisit our tools and workflows to ensure agility and efficiency,
Deepen our storytelling approach in every print and digital project, and
Strengthen partnerships that help us innovate and adapt together.
Resilience isn’t just a conference theme, it’s a mindset we’re carrying forward at Progress Printing Plus. Here’s to designing stronger, smarter, and more adaptable solutions in the year ahead.