BE A BETTER BRAND DESIGNER
Heyo, brand designers. Ideal for mid- and senior-level designers, we’ll help you increase your confidence, level up your craft & portfolio, and even land a meaningful gig. Featuring our signature workshops, talks, and more.
This 12-week virtual class is on 1 weeknight per week. The curriculum below was for a previous cohort, and will be similar for future cohorts. Apply now.
Due to Labor Day, this session will occur on Tuesday, Sep 5
Student intros
Review course outcomes & individual project
Decolonizing & divesting from European design perspectives, methods, and approaches to design
Create a visual moodboard that represents your personal and cultural identity
Azeez Alli: co-founder of Àròko Cooperative, Former Principal Product Designer at Netflix
How to use your personality to your advantage and benefit
Workshop: crafting sites that convert into sales; collaborate to improve each others’ portfolios
Write down your intro statement
Make 3 high-impact, low-effort changes to your portfolio based on the critical feedback
Bring a past/current design brief to next week’s session
Waqas Jawaid and Andy Chen: Partners at Isometric Studio
Workshop: Crafting a better brief
Make 3 more high-impact, low-effort changes portfolio based on the critical feedback
Eric Ng: Executive Creative Director, DesignStudio
Workshop: Building your personal development plan, including your ideal career path in the next 3-6 months
Map out your existing network, identify who will be useful in your journey as sponsors, and create an action plan
Rich Tu: Partner & ECD at Sunday Afternoon
Temi Coker: multidisciplinary artist & entrepreneur
Each student presents their work, design journey, and advice for others in class pt 1
The most effective questions to ask throughout your creative process
Rewrite the questions you ask during your creative process
Rebecca Brooker: Design Director at Ghost Note Agency, co-founder of Queer Design Club
Each student presents their work, design journey, and advice for others in class pt 2
Each person shares a presentation and receives critique
Update your presentation based on the feedback you received
Lee-Sean Huang: Director of Design Content and Learning at AIGA, co-founder & CD at Foossa
Overhauling and refining your personal brand
Workshop: Color branding (a past class favorite!)
Update your portfolio with your new branding
Jade Purple Brown: artist & entrepreneur
Getting meaningful clients
Workshop: update your pitch deck
Finalize your pitch deck and portfolio
Holley M. Kholi-Murchison: Managing Partner at Oratory Glory
Reading, creating, and editing contracts
Negotiating for higher rates and salaries
Workshop: assembling roles and minimum rates/salaries
When and how to walk away from a predatory situation
Reach out to the roles you want; update your pitch deck and salary requirements
Antionette D. Carroll: Racial equity & design specialist, President/CEO of Creative Reaction Lab, speaker & coach
Building your POC creative community in a safe, supportive, and healthy way
Finding unconventional places to support you
Managing mental health alongside your design career
Workshop: building a community plan
Write an action plan for getting involved with other communities that will support you
Annika Hansteen-Izora: Lead Product Designer at Lex, ex-Somewhere Good, ex-Hyperakt
Roshannah Bagley: Creative Operations Manager at Futurimpose, Partnerships Director at Where are the Black Designers?
Communicating better with clients
Educating clients in a mutually beneficial way
Running an efficient process
Workshop: refine your current process
Update your social media profiles and portfolio
Other homework TBD based on class needs
Silas Munro: Founder of Polymode Studio and Co-creator of BIPOC Design History
Graduation activity!
None!
Forest Young: Global Head of Brand at Rivian, Former Chief Creative Officer at Wolff Olins
The only thing we’re serious about is food.
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The only thing we’re serious about is food.
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Monday to Friday :
10 am to 9 pm
Saturday :
10 am to 5 pm
Sunday :
12 pm to 5 pm
