FutureProof ’26—The Motion Design Conference at Ringling College of Art and Design will be held on our beautiful Sarasota campus from March 2nd-6th, 2026. Hosted by the Department of Motion Design, the event features industry presentations, workshops, technical demos, and activities designed to help Ringling College students transition seamlessly from the classroom to their careers while preparing the next generation of visual communicators through education, inspiration, and connection.
We’re thrilled to announce this year’s keynote speakers—motion design royalty, including Karin Fong, Director at Imaginary Forces; Joyce Ho, Creative Director at Buck; Chris Dooley, Executive Creative Director at Brand New School; and Joey Korenman, Founder of School of Motion.
“There is no better way to inspire students than to help them recognize that they are already in the fold. Even while they are in college, they are members of the greater Motion Design community alongside the professionals and creative leaders of our industry,” said Department Head of Motion Design Ed Cheetham.
“Because of Ringling’s world-class education and our students’ professional preparedness, leading studios are eager to connect with this next generation of emerging talent,” he shared.
The event will also feature studio presentations from leading motion design studios, including Oddfellows (Jarratt Moody, Eli Ayres), Ravie.co (Austin Bauwens, Sam Essanoussi, Jackson Redford, Will Taylor), Digital Kitchen (Mason Nicoll, Andrew “AJ” Julien), Hornet (Itay Tevel, Kyuri Kim), BlackMath (Louie Jannetty), The Heist (Taylor McDade), Meister (CJ Cook), Calling All Talent (Cat Gulacsy), and Disney Live Entertainment (Jen Schuh, Dan Tomeu).
Our always-popular Alumni Panel will highlight the theme of Entrepreneurial Motion Designers, featuring the founder of Noodle, Doug Alberts ’20, Motion Design; cofounder of SailFuture, Hunter Thompson ’14, Motion Design; and the founders of MakSchu Productions, Christina and Karim Maksoud ’16, Motion Design.
This year, FutureProof will present a host of hands-on technical workshops by Jerry Liu and Lance Snider from RIVE, Luis Cataldi from Unreal Engine, Roy Yang from Foundry, the maker of Nuke, and Michael Goldfarb from SideFX, makers of Houdini. All of these software packages are used extensively throughout the Motion Design curriculum.
The event is created for Motion Design students and alumni—but all Ringling College students are welcome to attend. Representatives from Career Services will also be available throughout the event to provide students with workshops on resume building, networking, and interviewing skills.
“These workshops are just one of the many ways we help prepare them for their careers,” said Alejandra Lance-Henterly, the director of Career Services at Ringling College. “We provide a multitude of opportunities for students to perfect their professionalism skills, whether it’s through the classroom, our career counseling, or events like this.”
The week-long conference culminates with the Senior DEMO DUEL—a March Madness-style bracketed competition showcasing Motion Design senior demo reels. The audience votes in real time to advance their favorites through each round, creating an exciting showcase of student work for recruiters and industry professionals. New this year: the DEMO DUEL will be live-streamed, enabling viewers nationwide to participate in the real-time voting!
We would like to give a big shout-out to our FutureProof ’25 sponsors for their generous support of our students: Gold Sponsors: Brand New School and Rive; Silver Sponsors: Foundry, UnrealEngine, and SideFX; and our media sponsor, Stash.
For more information, visit RinglingFutureProof.com. If you would like to know how to participate in future events, please email motiondesign@c.ringling.edu.
Ringling College’s Department of Motion Design has been ranked #1 in the U.S. and #2 in the World for Best Motion Graphics Schools by The Rookies. The Department has received numerous national and international awards, including National Gold ADDY Awards, D&AD Pencil Awards, Art Directors Club Awards, Motionographer’s Motion Awards, and Communication Arts Awards, and our alumni have won numerous EMMY Awards.
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