Details

The curriculum itself is the same. Live Cohort gives you the full 12-week experience with live calls, critique from us, community, deadlines, and the accountability of moving through the process alongside a small group. Independent Study gives you immediate access to the full curriculum so you can move through it entirely at your own pace. No live calls, no private critique, no schedule to keep up with. If you know you thrive with feedback, conversation, and a little external pressure, come live. If you're self-directed, want more flexibility, or simply want access to the way we think and work without the live component, Independent Study is your gal.

Founders, designers, and creative entrepreneurs who want to build (or rebuild) a brand identity through guided practice, feedback, and collaboration. You don’t need to be a professional designer: just someone ready to get hands-on.

Not necessarily. Our preferred programs are Adobe Illustrator + Adobe XD (or Figma + Pixelmator), since that's what we use in the studio and where most of our technical tutorials live. You can absolutely use Canva if that's where you're comfortable. Just know this isn't a software course. It's about learning how to think through design and build a brand. The tools matter less than the process.

Totally fine. You can bring a new idea, a rebrand, a personal project you’ve been itching to explore or even something hypothetical. The goal is simply to work on something that feels engaging enough for you to move through the full process.

We recommend giving yourself around 10–15 hours per module for watching, thinking, making, experimenting, and revising. Live Cohort: You'll move through roughly one module each week alongside the group. Independent Study: There are no weeks. Take three days or three months on something if you want. The curriculum isn't going anywhere.

Live sessions will be held on Wednesdays at 2 PM EST (except for bi-weeks). Each call will be recorded and added to Circle Each live call runs ~120 minutes and includes: -> grounding start meditation → Quick check-ins and reflections → Open Q&A on that week’s workbook → Live critique and screen-share feedback → Optional breakout discussions for peer review

Whichever path you choose, the goal is the same: a complete brand identity you've actually built yourself. That includes your strategy, creative direction, logo system, color palette, typography, art direction, and a clearer understanding of how to make all of those pieces work together. But more importantly, you'll have moved through the entire process of making one—giving you something you can use again and again long after this particular brand is finished.

Absolutely. The Class is designed to sharpen your eye, strengthen your critique skills, and stretch your creative process. Many designers join for accountability, fresh perspective, and honest feedback that’s hard to find working solo.

Because this isn’t a template or a passive course. It’s 12 weeks inside the exact strategy → creative direction → identity process we use in our studio. A full brand engagement at a studio level today typically ranges from $20k–$50k+ depending on scope. The Class isn’t a replacement for that. It’s the right first step. You’re building the strategic backbone and visual identity yourself with our live guidance, critique, and community support. It’s priced to reflect the depth of the container, the access, and the transformation, while still being accessible compared to a full engagement.

That’s the point and the beauty of The Class. Vulnerability is part of the creative process, and we’ve built this community to make it feel safe, encouraging, and constructive. You’ll be met with care, clarity, and curiosity every step of the way.

Totally okay. Michelle went to graphic design school and they still didn’t teach the programs. Ellen’s entirely self-taught. The truth is, once you understand what you’re designing and why, the tech gets a lot less intimidating. We do include technical support and tutorials throughout the process, but this isn’t a software course. It’s about the thought process behind strong branding. You’ll want to give yourself space to click around, get messy, maybe watch a YouTube tutorial or two, and learn by doing. The Class guides your thinking, the tools just help you execute it.

People learn differently. Some of us need the deadline, the room, the conversation, and someone saying, okay, show us what you've got. Others want the material and the freedom to disappear into it on their own time. So we made room for both.