Course
Art Direction and Creative Leadership
Learn to turn ideas into clear visual systems, direct creative work across disciplines and lead the team that makes it. You art direct 1 brand from its first brief to its launch and finish with a portfolio case study.
Get 1:1 Feedback in Every Course
Every course and program is taught 1:1 by default, and you can start any day.
Choose the Instructor Who Teaches You
Pick a senior working designer from companies like USA Today, Capital One and Microsoft.
Train Your Eye Before the Tools
Learn the judgment that outlasts any app, including how to direct what AI makes.
Finish with a Portfolio Built for Your Next Role
Every path ends in case studies for your first job, a career switch or a promotion.
Who It Is For
Move from Executing the Work to Setting Its Direction
Most designers know how to execute. Few know how to set the direction for a brand, a campaign and the team that makes it. This course teaches you how.
1
Working Designers Who Want to Lead
You design every day and want to become an art director or design lead, at your company or your next one.
2
Design Students Who Want to Specialize
You have the foundations and want to build your career around art direction.
3
Professionals Who Work with Designers
You brief and review creative work and want the language and process to do it well.
4
Freelancers Who Want to Direct Campaigns
You want to price, pitch and run art direction projects for your own clients.
What You Learn
Learn Essential Skills Every Art Director Needs
Think Like an Art Director
Turn vague ideas into clear direction and make the creative calls with confidence.
Turn Ideas into Visual Systems
Go from mood boards to an art direction that holds together across a whole brand.
Direct AI as Part of the Work
Run AI concept rounds, keep the output on brand and talk about AI with clients and managers.
Direct Across Disciplines
Guide photography, illustration, motion and short-form video through clear briefs.
Lead Projects, Teams and Clients
Run projects from start to finish, give feedback that helps and win buy-in.
Grow into the Title
Build an art direction case study and the case for your promotion or your first clients.
Projects
Direct a Brand from First Brief to Launch
You pick 1 brand at the start: a real brand with outdated design, our fictional client Halverson’s Market or a real project from your own work. Each project builds on the one before it, so you never start from scratch, and your instructor reviews every one with you.
1
Project 1
Plan Your Brand's Art Direction
Choose your brand and set its direction, including an AI concept round you direct and edit.
Reviewed in a 1:1 session
2
Project 2
Create a Brand Book
Define the look, tone and messaging that every piece of the brand follows.
Reviewed in a 1:1 session
3
Project 3
Plan a Short-Form Video Series
Plan a vertical series for social and write the brief you hand to creators.
Reviewed in a 1:1 session
4
Project 4
Review Your Brand for Accessibility
Check color, type, layout, motion and casting so the brand works for everyone.
Reviewed in a 1:1 session
5
Project 5
Plan the Production, Budget and Team
Staff the launch, scope the work and set the budget the way an art director does.
Reviewed in a 1:1 session
6
Final Project
Design, Present and Write Up the Launch
Design the launch, present it the way you would to a client and turn it into a portfolio case study.
Reviewed in a 1:1 session
Curriculum
What You'll Learn in the Course
Each unit ends with a short quiz, and every project builds on the one before it. Download the free syllabus for every lesson, project brief and session in detail.
Unit 1
The Role of an Art Director
See what an art director does and how the role differs from a designer and a creative director.
Unit 2
The Art Direction Process
Run the process from the first client meeting and brief to mood boards and key visuals.
Unit 3
AI in Art Direction
Run AI concept rounds, build style references and handle rights and disclosure.
Unit 4
Branding and Messaging
Shape a brand’s tone of voice, messaging, personality and customer personas.
Unit 5
Directing Across Disciplines
Direct photography, illustration, motion graphics and animation.
Unit 6
Short-Form Video and Social Media
Plan vertical video series and brief the creators who make them.
Unit 7
Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Build accessibility into the brief, the design system and the casting.
Unit 8
Team, Project and Budget Management
Structure a creative team, give useful feedback and manage budgets.
Unit 9
Client Management
Ask the right questions, present your direction and manage expectations.
Unit 10
Freelancing as an Art Director
Price your work, write proposals and contracts and find freelance clients.
Unit 11
Art Direction Case Studies
Study the art direction behind brands like Duolingo, Dove and Mailchimp.
Unit 12
Career Growth as an Art Director
Build your case studies, get promoted and prepare for art director interviews.
Templates
Keep Templates You Can Use at Work the Next Day
Every template comes from the way working art directors run real projects, and you keep all of them after the course ends.
Art direction plan
Moodboard board in Figma
Shot list
AI style reference sheet
Pricing and scope worksheet
Promotion case
Free Syllabus
See Every Lesson Before You Enroll
Get the full syllabus with every unit, project brief and 1:1 session laid out in order, so you know exactly what you will learn and make.
- Every unit and lesson
- Every project brief
- How the 1:1 sessions work
Instructors
World-Class Instructors with Proven Teaching Experience
Our instructors are great at what they do and teach it even better. You can choose which instructor to work with or even work with multiple instructors.
Stephanie Sell
Senior Product Designer
- Washington, D.C., USA
Jenni Renas
Senior Visual Designer
- Richmond, VA, USA
Arnold Kotra
Art Director | Visual/Brand Designer | Studio Owner
- France
Ashley May
Senior Product Designer
- Michigan, USA
Nina Shahriaree
UI/UX & Visual Designer
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
Silvia Script
Senior UI/UX Designer
- Washington, D.C., USA
Reviews
Hear from Designers Who Took the Course
I had been working at Nike as a designer for a couple of years when my boss brought up a promotion to art director. I got the promotion after completing the course.
EA
Eric Abraham Johnson
Senior Designer Turned Art Director at Nike
Our agency had just won a huge contract, and my boss needed someone to step in as creative director right away. I found this course in a panic, and I’m so glad I did because I couldn’t have made the move without it.
YS
Yael Shapiro
From Marketer to Creative Director at an Agency
My college doesn’t have an art direction program, so I looked online. It helped me prepare to become a junior art director after graduation.
KC
Kim Cahill
Design Student at the University of Georgia
Free Lessons
Try 4 Lessons Free Before You Decide
Open 4 real lessons from Art Direction and Creative Leadership in your student dashboard and see how the lessons, examples and briefs work before you enroll. It is free.
Enrollment Options
Choose How You Want to Learn
Every option includes all 12 units and 6 projects. The difference is how much 1:1 feedback you get from your instructor.
Low Entry Price
Self-Study
$349
One-time payment
- Every lesson, quiz and project brief
- Book a 1:1 session for $80 whenever you want feedback
- Lifetime access to the lessons
Best Value
Full Program
$799
One-time payment
- 6 one-hour 1:1 sessions to review your projects
- 4 months to use your sessions, plus a 1-month grace period
- Lifetime access to the lessons
- A portfolio case study of your brand launch
You Save
$100
Career Program
With Portfolio School
$3,999
if bought separately
$3,899
or 5 monthly payments of $779.80, no interest
- Art Direction and Creative Leadership plus Portfolio School
- Your new work goes into a portfolio built to get interviews
- 22 one-hour 1:1 sessions across both programs
- Add Visual Design Foundation and you save $200 in total
Ask Your Employer to Pay for It
Many companies cover training through a learning budget. Download a ready-to-send approval letter that explains what you’ll learn and how it helps your team. After you pay, your invoice is waiting in your dashboard, and you can add your company name, VAT number or PO number to it.
FAQs
Get Answers Before You Enroll
Ready to Launch Your Dream Design Career Yesterday?
Your dream design career won’t start itself, but we are here to make sure it happens for you. If not yesterday, very soon.
