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Are Courses from The Futur™ Worth It?
Around this time, we had discovered a major gap in creative education. We realized that across the board, there was a serious lack of business acumen. Creatives didn't know how to sell their work—or even price it for that matter—among many other crucial skills.
From that point, our mission was clear: teach creatives of all levels about the business side of things so they can make money doing what they love. We made our classroom global, online, and accessible to everyone.
Now, we know the Internet is a pretty busy place. There are plenty of platforms to choose from if you're looking to learn a new skill. Practically anywhere you look, it seems like a new digital course pops up.
So if you're a creative looking to sharpen your craft or add some business chops to your belt, you might be wondering...are our courses right for you? And are they worth it?
To answer that, we'll give you the full scoop on who we are, our experience as creative professionals, and how our courses are structured.
Who We Are
We're industry professionals, first and foremost. Our team is made up of creative talent across branding, graphic design, motion graphics, animation, illustration, UX/UI design, cinematography, photography, marketing, and more. Together, we've got a collective 60+ years of experience in the field.
About Chris Do
Our Founder and CEO, Chris Do, has been in the industry for 25 years. He started out like many of you: a designer with dreams of starting his own creative business.
In 1995, he launched Blind, a motion & brand design consultancy in Santa Monica, California. Chris and his team at Blind have worked with some of the world's biggest brands like Audi, Nike, Snapchat, Google, and Xbox. Blind's work has been recognized by national and international organizations such as the Emmy’s, Clio, Effie Gold, Huffington Post, Lynda.com, Webbie, and Communication Arts.
On top of his business credentials, Chris has taught sequential design for over 15 years at ArtCenter, as well as Otis College of Art and Design. He has lectured all over the world at conferences such as AIGA National Design Conference, Birmingham Design Festival, Awwwards New York/San Francisco/Amsterdam, AIGA Miami, and more.
About Our Team
Our online educators create content and courses here at The Futur based on insights and stories from their unique, individual journeys as creative professionals to help others navigate their own.
Mr. Ben Burns is the Chief Operating Officer at The Futur and the Digital Creative Director at Blind. Ben has over a decade of experience in design, focusing on branding and UI/UX. He's worked with clients like Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and AMC. Before entering the creative field, Ben served as a Narcotics Agent and as a Sergeant in the Army National Guard. (We can't believe it either.) When he went all-in on his design career, he scaled his small design agency to a team of five and increased their average engagement size from $1,000 to $40,000.
Our Chief Content Officer and Creative Director at Blind, Matthew Encina, has over 15 years of experience in design, advertising, and content creation. His work has won multiple awards, including 3 Clios for his work with Xbox, and 3 Webby Awards for "Ink," the groundbreaking interactive music video for Coldplay. Beyond the digital screen, Matthew speaks about his experiences in the industry at international conferences and events, such as TEDxCSULB, the Youtube Creator Workshop, and CTNxAnimation Expo.
Greg Gunn, our Chief Creative Officer, has over 15 years under his belt in the fields of design, animation, directing, advertising, illustration, and content creation. During his time at Otis College of Design, Greg co-founded an animation and directing studio while working in the advertising field to direct and produce commercials. Greg has worked with a number of impressive clients, like Disney, Nickelodeon, and singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley.
Suffice it to say...our team has been around the block a few times.
If you want to learn more about the entire Futur team and our contributors, click here to get to know us.
What We Teach
Design Fundamentals
Given that our mission here is to help creative entrepreneurs scale successful futures, we think it's important to start with the basics.
Our creative courses are meant to help students level up, whether that's through sharpening design skills, presenting work, or streamlining the creative process.
No matter what you're looking to learn as far as creativity goes, we've got a course for it. We cover a range of skills like color theory, logo design, typography, hand lettering, and more. These are just a few of our most popular creative courses:
- Typography 01: Learn typography fundamentals to master design, type, and layout.
- Logo Design 01: Want to charge more for your logo designs? Learn the skills the pros use to charge $10k and higher for logos.
- Stylescapes®: Clearly present ideas to clients to eliminate revisions, and hit their expectations of your design work on the mark.
Business Strategies
Building a business is no easy feat—especially if you're a creative at heart. The business side of things just doesn't come naturally to us. That's exactly why we're here.
We want all creatives to understand their value in the marketplace and grasp the business strategies to get there.
We do this by teaching students how to negotiate with clients, manage projects with teams, manage their money, how to send proposals, how to market themselves on social media, and so much more.
Our business resources and courses are meant to guide all creative professionals in the right direction. Here are a few of the more popular ones:
- The Legal Kit: Hope for the best and plan for the worst with industry standard agreements.
- The Style Guide Kit: An easy-to-use template to help you create brand guidelines for clients or brands you manage.
- The Perfect Proposal: Everything you need to craft effective proposals that win jobs and close leads.
Personal Development
Your mindset affects just about everything—how you think, what you say, and what you do. And whether you're freelancing, running a business, or working in-house, it's important to check in with yourself.
There will be times where you might doubt yourself or question whether you're doing the right thing. Imposter syndrome creeps up on us all.
With our personal development courses, we teach students how to feel more confident in themselves, eliminate limiting beliefs, and show up as they are in their work:
- Be Your Best Self: Learn how to reframe your mindset to change your business and squash self-doubt.
- Build Your Confidence: Overcome imposter syndrome to achieve your goals.
Get an Inside Look at Our Courses
All of our courses are entirely self-paced, so you can go through the material as fast or slow as you want. With a mixture of recorded lectures, homework assignments, downloadable resources, and bonus content, you'll have everything at your disposal to grasp the material on your own time, and in your own way.
Plus, every course comes with lifetime access and updates. When we make any changes to the material inside, add new content, or, if you need a refresher on a concept, you'll have instant access to it all.
We also host Q&A webinars and critique sessions with our instructors so you can get your toughest questions answered, and lean on their support to amp up your skills.
Let's take a closer look at our courses:
Color For Creatives
Imagine knowing exactly what colors you were going to use for your next logo design, web design, or brand identity design project. In Color for Creatives, Greg shows students how to master the color wheel to create visually stunning work.
Color for Creatives goes in-depth into the theory, science, and psychology of color so you can truly understand how to use it in a way that's impactful and effective. If you've ever gotten lost in the color wheel, this course will serve as your guide to choose the right colors time and time again.
Here's what our Color for Creatives students have to say:
“This course really opened my eyes to the many different ways to use color with intent and also some techniques that I had never used or heard of before.” — John Beatty
“I have always struggled with knowing exactly what colors to pick. Greg helped me by giving a really comprehensive overview of color. From theory to history, there is something for all types of designers to learn.” — Tommy Negrete
How to Negotiate
One of the things most creatives would rather not do is negotiate with clients. But to build a sustainable future as a creative professional, negotiating is an essential skill to grasp. In our course, How to Negotiate, Chris teaches students of all skills and levels how to deal with the most challenging client questions so they can win more business and make more money.
How to Negotiate will teach you how to speak the language of business so you can confidently face client objections and understand what clients really want. This course covers the Socratic Six framework—Chris's go-to selling technique to reframe client objections—as well as role-playing exercises, homework assignments, and downloadable content.
So... Are Our Courses Worth It?
Well, that's for you to decide. Whatever you're looking to learn, there's something for you in our catalog of creative, business, and personal development courses.
Whether you've been on the fence about taking one of our courses or just wanted to learn more, we hope we've knocked out some of your more pressing questions.
If you haven't already, make sure you subscribe to our main YouTube channel where we cover business, mindset, sales, pricing, and more. For more design-focused videos, subscribe to The Futur Academy channel to learn how to refine your creative skills.
We also have plenty of free resources and content available on topics like mindset, marketing, pricing, confidence, and so much more. They're a great way to dip your toes into what our courses have to offer, so we highly encourage you to check it all out.
If you're ready to jump right into one of our courses, browse our entire catalog to choose one and get started.
Are Courses from The Futur™ Worth It?
Eyeing one of our courses? Learn about our instructors, how our courses are structured, and if they're right for you.
Eyeing one of our courses? Learn about our instructors, how our courses are structured, and if they're right for you.
Around this time, we had discovered a major gap in creative education. We realized that across the board, there was a serious lack of business acumen. Creatives didn't know how to sell their work—or even price it for that matter—among many other crucial skills.
From that point, our mission was clear: teach creatives of all levels about the business side of things so they can make money doing what they love. We made our classroom global, online, and accessible to everyone.
Now, we know the Internet is a pretty busy place. There are plenty of platforms to choose from if you're looking to learn a new skill. Practically anywhere you look, it seems like a new digital course pops up.
So if you're a creative looking to sharpen your craft or add some business chops to your belt, you might be wondering...are our courses right for you? And are they worth it?
To answer that, we'll give you the full scoop on who we are, our experience as creative professionals, and how our courses are structured.
Who We Are
We're industry professionals, first and foremost. Our team is made up of creative talent across branding, graphic design, motion graphics, animation, illustration, UX/UI design, cinematography, photography, marketing, and more. Together, we've got a collective 60+ years of experience in the field.
About Chris Do
Our Founder and CEO, Chris Do, has been in the industry for 25 years. He started out like many of you: a designer with dreams of starting his own creative business.
In 1995, he launched Blind, a motion & brand design consultancy in Santa Monica, California. Chris and his team at Blind have worked with some of the world's biggest brands like Audi, Nike, Snapchat, Google, and Xbox. Blind's work has been recognized by national and international organizations such as the Emmy’s, Clio, Effie Gold, Huffington Post, Lynda.com, Webbie, and Communication Arts.
On top of his business credentials, Chris has taught sequential design for over 15 years at ArtCenter, as well as Otis College of Art and Design. He has lectured all over the world at conferences such as AIGA National Design Conference, Birmingham Design Festival, Awwwards New York/San Francisco/Amsterdam, AIGA Miami, and more.
About Our Team
Our online educators create content and courses here at The Futur based on insights and stories from their unique, individual journeys as creative professionals to help others navigate their own.
Mr. Ben Burns is the Chief Operating Officer at The Futur and the Digital Creative Director at Blind. Ben has over a decade of experience in design, focusing on branding and UI/UX. He's worked with clients like Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and AMC. Before entering the creative field, Ben served as a Narcotics Agent and as a Sergeant in the Army National Guard. (We can't believe it either.) When he went all-in on his design career, he scaled his small design agency to a team of five and increased their average engagement size from $1,000 to $40,000.
Our Chief Content Officer and Creative Director at Blind, Matthew Encina, has over 15 years of experience in design, advertising, and content creation. His work has won multiple awards, including 3 Clios for his work with Xbox, and 3 Webby Awards for "Ink," the groundbreaking interactive music video for Coldplay. Beyond the digital screen, Matthew speaks about his experiences in the industry at international conferences and events, such as TEDxCSULB, the Youtube Creator Workshop, and CTNxAnimation Expo.
Greg Gunn, our Chief Creative Officer, has over 15 years under his belt in the fields of design, animation, directing, advertising, illustration, and content creation. During his time at Otis College of Design, Greg co-founded an animation and directing studio while working in the advertising field to direct and produce commercials. Greg has worked with a number of impressive clients, like Disney, Nickelodeon, and singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley.
Suffice it to say...our team has been around the block a few times.
If you want to learn more about the entire Futur team and our contributors, click here to get to know us.
What We Teach
Design Fundamentals
Given that our mission here is to help creative entrepreneurs scale successful futures, we think it's important to start with the basics.
Our creative courses are meant to help students level up, whether that's through sharpening design skills, presenting work, or streamlining the creative process.
No matter what you're looking to learn as far as creativity goes, we've got a course for it. We cover a range of skills like color theory, logo design, typography, hand lettering, and more. These are just a few of our most popular creative courses:
- Typography 01: Learn typography fundamentals to master design, type, and layout.
- Logo Design 01: Want to charge more for your logo designs? Learn the skills the pros use to charge $10k and higher for logos.
- Stylescapes®: Clearly present ideas to clients to eliminate revisions, and hit their expectations of your design work on the mark.
Business Strategies
Building a business is no easy feat—especially if you're a creative at heart. The business side of things just doesn't come naturally to us. That's exactly why we're here.
We want all creatives to understand their value in the marketplace and grasp the business strategies to get there.
We do this by teaching students how to negotiate with clients, manage projects with teams, manage their money, how to send proposals, how to market themselves on social media, and so much more.
Our business resources and courses are meant to guide all creative professionals in the right direction. Here are a few of the more popular ones:
- The Legal Kit: Hope for the best and plan for the worst with industry standard agreements.
- The Style Guide Kit: An easy-to-use template to help you create brand guidelines for clients or brands you manage.
- The Perfect Proposal: Everything you need to craft effective proposals that win jobs and close leads.
Personal Development
Your mindset affects just about everything—how you think, what you say, and what you do. And whether you're freelancing, running a business, or working in-house, it's important to check in with yourself.
There will be times where you might doubt yourself or question whether you're doing the right thing. Imposter syndrome creeps up on us all.
With our personal development courses, we teach students how to feel more confident in themselves, eliminate limiting beliefs, and show up as they are in their work:
- Be Your Best Self: Learn how to reframe your mindset to change your business and squash self-doubt.
- Build Your Confidence: Overcome imposter syndrome to achieve your goals.
Get an Inside Look at Our Courses
All of our courses are entirely self-paced, so you can go through the material as fast or slow as you want. With a mixture of recorded lectures, homework assignments, downloadable resources, and bonus content, you'll have everything at your disposal to grasp the material on your own time, and in your own way.
Plus, every course comes with lifetime access and updates. When we make any changes to the material inside, add new content, or, if you need a refresher on a concept, you'll have instant access to it all.
We also host Q&A webinars and critique sessions with our instructors so you can get your toughest questions answered, and lean on their support to amp up your skills.
Let's take a closer look at our courses:
Color For Creatives
Imagine knowing exactly what colors you were going to use for your next logo design, web design, or brand identity design project. In Color for Creatives, Greg shows students how to master the color wheel to create visually stunning work.
Color for Creatives goes in-depth into the theory, science, and psychology of color so you can truly understand how to use it in a way that's impactful and effective. If you've ever gotten lost in the color wheel, this course will serve as your guide to choose the right colors time and time again.
Here's what our Color for Creatives students have to say:
“This course really opened my eyes to the many different ways to use color with intent and also some techniques that I had never used or heard of before.” — John Beatty
“I have always struggled with knowing exactly what colors to pick. Greg helped me by giving a really comprehensive overview of color. From theory to history, there is something for all types of designers to learn.” — Tommy Negrete
How to Negotiate
One of the things most creatives would rather not do is negotiate with clients. But to build a sustainable future as a creative professional, negotiating is an essential skill to grasp. In our course, How to Negotiate, Chris teaches students of all skills and levels how to deal with the most challenging client questions so they can win more business and make more money.
How to Negotiate will teach you how to speak the language of business so you can confidently face client objections and understand what clients really want. This course covers the Socratic Six framework—Chris's go-to selling technique to reframe client objections—as well as role-playing exercises, homework assignments, and downloadable content.
So... Are Our Courses Worth It?
Well, that's for you to decide. Whatever you're looking to learn, there's something for you in our catalog of creative, business, and personal development courses.
Whether you've been on the fence about taking one of our courses or just wanted to learn more, we hope we've knocked out some of your more pressing questions.
If you haven't already, make sure you subscribe to our main YouTube channel where we cover business, mindset, sales, pricing, and more. For more design-focused videos, subscribe to The Futur Academy channel to learn how to refine your creative skills.
We also have plenty of free resources and content available on topics like mindset, marketing, pricing, confidence, and so much more. They're a great way to dip your toes into what our courses have to offer, so we highly encourage you to check it all out.
If you're ready to jump right into one of our courses, browse our entire catalog to choose one and get started.
Nathalia is the freelance copywriter at The Futur. She works across various touchpoints to bring you closer to our content.
