Jonathan Winbush, owner and founder of Winbush Immersive, CNN Design Creative Director Kathy Jaroneski, and the Disney Live Entertainment visual media team will be among the featured leaders at FutureProof 2024, taking place on campus from March 11 through 15. The annual Motion Design conference at Ringling College of Art and Design, now in its ninth year, aims to connect the next generation of visual communicators through education, inspiration, and connection. 

FutureProof offers workshops, presentations, demonstrations, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and nightly keynote speakers from motion design industry leaders, as well as Motion Design alumni and representatives from the Ringling College Center for Career Services. In addition to information and inspiration, the conference provides a unique opportunity for students to connect face-to-face with industry leaders, right on campus. FutureProof is presented by the Department of Motion Design, but all Ringling College students are welcome to attend. This conference serves as a direct indicator of the close industry relationships held by Ringling College. 

Conference events take place primarily in the Diane Roskamp Exhibition Hall in the Ulla Searing Student Center and in the Larry R. Thompson Academic Center. Morning and afternoon workshops and presentations will feature representatives from CNN, Maxon, The Garden Creative, Imaginary Forces, Toastmasters, and DASH.

Evening keynote presentations begin every night at 7 pm, starting Monday with the visual media production team from Disney Live Entertainment; Tuesday’s keynote speaker is Jonathan Winbush, owner of Winbush Immersive; on Wednesday, it will be Maxon manager of events Mathias Omotola and author of The Five Most Important Things You Don’t Learn in School; Thursday’s keynote features a Ringling Motion Design alumni panel. The conference concludes Friday at 8:30 pm with a closing mixer on Soundstage A at the Ringling College Studio Labs. 

The FutureProof 2024 sponsors include Maxon, Foundry, SideFX, and Stash. 

Ringling College was ranked No. 1 in The Rookies list of the 2023 Best Schools in the World for motion graphics. In October 2023, a team of five Ringling College Motion Design seniors won the 21st annual 24-Hours Animation Contest, creating a 30-second animated short from prompt to final product in just 24 hours.