ABOUT
Design Educators Summit is a four-day conference/course for high school graphic design instructors. The course operates as morning and afternoon seminars that provide hands-on learning of new tools and innovative methods for teaching graphic design outcomes that are beneficial to students, both in preparing them for future employment in the field after high school and/or for a better interface with post-secondary degree programs.
In addition, this course will provide information and guidance on the qualifications and processes for teaching available articulated media arts courses through College Now; Career Technical Education Pathway certification for media arts instructors; creating and facilitating community supported, work-based learning projects that utilize industry partners, and accessing valuable state-wide resources and support for work-based learning.
The event will be facilitated by Tom Madison, lead faculty for the Graphic Design Program at Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon, a national award winning Art and Applied Science degree program, and Kate Doyle, graphic design instructor at the Center for Applied Learning and Community Impact (CALCI) in Eugene, a project-based learning center for high school students within the 4J School District.
Kate Doyle
Tom Madison
Course Name: Design Educators Summit
Course Dates: MTWTH July 20-23
Course times: 9AM—4PM
Location: Lane Community College, 4000 E. 30th Ave., Eugene, Oregon, 97405Building 10, Room 215
Click here for directions
Includes light breakfast and a catered lunch. We will reach out to you after you register to ask about your dietary preferences!
Cost: $450
Hope to see you there!
SCHEDULE
Format of Summit
Morning session (8:30 - 12), lunch break, Afternoon session (1 - 4)
Evening time activities: Social mixers with Workforce and local designers (potential partners)
Day 1: Monday, JULY 20, 2026
8:30 - 9:00
Coffee and light breakfast in Bldg 32
9:00 - 12:00
Overview of Summit
Welcome and why are we doing this? Get to know each other and what we teach
Fear, Safety, Pressure, Victory design activity with Kate
Prep for meeting with client (Oregon ACTE)
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch in Bldg 32
1:00 - 2:15
Guest speaker, John Stapleton / workforce & collective impact projects
2:30 - 3:30
Meet your future WBL client, Lisa Klingsporn, Oregon ACTE board member
3:30 - 4:00
Optional campus tour with Tom
Day 2: Tuesday, July 21, 2026
8:30 - 9:00
Coffee and light breakfast in Bldg 32
9:00 - 10:15
Design theory deep dive (semiotics, symbol making, mini-Gestalt)
10:30 - 12:00
Apply design theory (Illustrator emerging / proficient breakouts)
Meet in Bldg 10, Rooms 115 & 116
What symbol are you? Design your own symbol using Adobe Illustrator
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch in Bldg 32
1:00 - 2:15
WBL / ODE presentation, Brandie Clark and Jeff Rhoades
2:30 - 3:30
How do you support a WBL experience in your classroom?
Client intake review, brainstorming session, thumbnail sketching
Review of typical design process for branding
Day 3: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
8:30 - 9:00
Coffee and light breakfast in Bldg 32
9:00 - 10:15
Typography discussion
Gravitas, Levitas, Veritas
Type and image combinations
10:30 - 12:00
Apply design theory (add type to your symbol and create realistic mockups using Photoshop)
Meet in Bldg 10, Rooms 115 & 116
Non-Destructive editing
Making Mock-Ups in Photoshop
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch in Bldg 32
1:00 - 2:15
Guest presenter, Josh Barbour - Lane / Linn-Benton SPED leader
2:30 - 3:30
Share out symbols
4:00 - 6:00
Happy Hour gathering (ColdFire Public House, 263 Ferry Street)
Day 4: Thursday, July 23, 2026
8:30 - 9:00
Coffee and light breakfast in Bldg 32
9:00 - 10:15
Oregon ACTE, Work Based Learning in action (project overview & timeline, agile design process with feedback, addressing teacher/program concerns)
10:30 - 12:00
Apply design theory (InDesign booklet)
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch in Bldg 32
1:00 - 2:15
AI / WCAG compliance focused conversation
2:30 - 3:30
WBL / Community Alliance of Lane County visits with a design project
Accommodation
Recommended Hotels:
Close to stores and restaurants as well as access to the freeway to get to Lane Community College easily.
Hayward Inn
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Springfield
Directions
4
Lane Community College
Building 32, 4000 E. 30th Ave.
Eugene, OR 97405
1. Arrive via E. 30th Avenue from either I-5 or Eugene and enter the college on Eldon Schafer Drive.
2. Turn into Parking Lot N and park in the SW corner, close to campus.
3. Walk to the entrance of building 32 (with mural) that faces the playing fields.
4. Check in at the reception desk.
