United Designs Alliance

29/04/2026

Call for Entries
UDA Annual Int’l Design Competition 2026
Submit before Monday, May 11�
Award Announcement on Monday, June 29

Posters have long been a popular means of visual storytelling, with narratives depicted through paintings and illustrations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, posters serve as a visual language that both designers and non-designers can use to craft them with appropriate formats and messages. The UDA’s annual design competition is a distinguished event where participants can present their top posters. The UDA will preserve winning entries as historical artifacts, enriching our notable design collections. If you’re eager to participate, we encourage you to submit your best posters and become part of our design legacy.

27/04/2026

Congratulations.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 SSL Design Competition. The submitted designs are outstanding, and students, in particular, demonstrated exceptional visual solutions. Kindly visit the designated webpage to view the winners:
http://uniteddesigns.org/ssl-2026-awards/

Our poster design competition concludes on May 11th. We encourage you to consider sharing your creative work with a broader audience.

Award Announcement Signs, Systems, and Letterform Marks (SSL) UDA Annual Int’l Design Competition 2026 Signs are more than just visual cues; they represent the distilled essence of human thought made visible. These elemental forms convey complex ideas with clarity and immediacy. Systems enhance th...

28/03/2026

Wonderful! UDA is a partner of this international event!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWbvfuIDQtu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

17/03/2026

You are invited to the Webinar 2026 Vol. 2 of 4 on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 4:00 pm Turkey. Our UDA Webinars are specially curated events designed for a select audience. We encourage you to spread the word and invite your colleagues to join in on the enriching experience. Your presence would add value to our discussion.

Title: Absurd Possibilities for Sensing Design: Assignments, Workshops, and Experiments

Presenters: Z. Özüm Ak and Yunus Ak
Studio Beautiful Problems
Istanbul, Turkey

Summary:
We invite you to explore Istanbul-based Studio Beautiful Problems and our approach to design through a selection of projects. In addition to our design projects, we will share examples from the assignments we create for students and the experimental workshops we organize; many of these are shaped around absurd themes and unexpected starting points. These exercises invite participants to approach design from unusual perspectives and experience it more intuitively.

We will also discuss how experimentation, mistakes, absurdity, happy accidents, and collective production inspire our design process and open up new possibilities for collaborative creation.

If you want to attend, please send me a message.

Absurd Possibilities for Sensing Design: Assignments, Workshops, and Experiments Z. Özüm Ak Turkey Yunus Ak Turkey Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 4:00 pm Turkey We invite you to explore Istanbul-based Studio Beautiful Problems and our approach to design through a selection of projects. In addition t...

21/02/2026

Discussing the most pressing issues in design education and practice today with three esteemed educators and designers, each of whom brings over 30 years of experience. While there may be no definitive answers, these discussions highlight the evolving nature of design, deeply influenced by technology, the economy, and the human experience.

Discussions:
– Does design education need a new approach?
– Do design students need new skills?
– What essential skills are needed for the screen-based, digital design era?
– How can students stay creative amid external pressures?
– Is the design process still important for a design education/career?
– What are some soft skills especially valued in the design profession currently?
– How can designers create for a resilient future?
– What pressures are design programs within universities facing, and what are the similarities/variations between countries?
– and more…

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Webinar Contents

Introduction & Presentation�Jürgen Hefele
Lecturer
Augsburg University of Applied Sciences
Augsburg, Germany

Kelly Salchow MacArthur
Professor
Michigan State University
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Albert Choi
Assistant Professor
Weber State University
Ogden, Utah, USA

Discussion with all attendees

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In line with the UDA's mission to promote global awareness and provide educational and professional opportunities in communication design, UDA offers webinars, one of many activities designed to enhance our understanding of design in society and culture.
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Graphic Design or Visual Communication Design Skills—Ubiquitous or Specialized? Jürgen Hefele Germany Kelly Salchow MacArthur USA Albert Choi USA Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 4:00 pm, Germany Discussing the most pressing issues in design education and practice today with three esteemed educat...

27/01/2026

The deadline for SSL 2026 is Monday, March 16, 2026. We've been proudly running this exciting international competition for the past 12 years, and we're eager to continue showcasing and archiving these wonderful designs as part of our collection.

Call for Entries Signs, Systems, and Letterform Marks (SSL) UDA Annual Int’l Design Competition 2026 Submit before Monday, March 16Award Announcement on Monday, April 27 Signs, systems, and letterform marks serve as meaningful visual languages that reflect our behaviors, beliefs, and values, defin...

29/12/2025

This was such an outstanding webinar! I wholeheartedly recommend it to all graphic designers and students alike. The transformation truly happens!

How do we craft an experience that scales? Design informs our everyday lives, from the things we touch to our interactions with the world. So, how should we ...