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Brand Lab
Where founders and CEOs engineer and cultivate their personal brand, build thought-leadership, and innovate their businesses.
Brand Lab is my first ever mastermind, born from over two decades running Blind®, a two-time, Emmy award winning, design and production company, and now The Futur™, an education and omni-media company with over 3 million followers across multiple platforms.
If you’re reading this sentence, it’s safe to assume that your time is valuable, you have a bias towards action, and you are an out of the box thinker. So, here’s the tl;dr version (too long, didn’t read).
I can teach you how to:
- Find your unique, authentic voice and style to build authority in your space.
- Create high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
- Use creativity and design thinking principles to innovate your business, processes, and systems.
Who is Brand Lab for?
Brand Lab is for left-brained entrepreneurs, authors, thought-leaders, consultants, coaches, and media mavericks. You’ve mastered the art of business and are ready to master the business of art.
Get access to the Brand Lab for $36K and get:
The Backstory
I had an epiphany recently and it came from a rather unexpected place. My “A-ha” moment came after I spoke at Neel Dhingra’s Forward event.
Days before the event, I was starting to question myself. I was invited to speak about personal branding, something that I’m accustomed to doing and generally excited about sharing. But this time was different. I was going to speak to a room full of left-brainers (mortgage brokers, loan officers and realtors). These were not my people, I thought.
“What could they want to know about branding?” I thought. My fear—I’d make pop culture references that would totally miss, and worse yet, bore everyone to death. I put my faith in Neel knowing his community, and committed myself to the talk.
To my surprise, the audience came alive, and I was relieved, then exhilarated. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
How could I have missed this? Stanford‘s d.school, created in 2004, was designed because they believe “everyone has the capacity to be creative,” and to use design to “make meaningful impact“. What’s cool? They target left-brained thinkers and inject right-brained creativity.
In his book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink, notes the importance of right-brained thinking (design, story, empathy, and play) as critical components, as we shift from the Information Age towards the Conceptual Age. The ascendent brands in the 21st century (Meta, Netflix, Tencent, Sony, Adobe, Disney, Riot) directly/indirectly harness the power of imagination and ideas, not information.
Various thought leaders have simultaneously concluded that “It’s not the attention economy. But rather, attention is the economy.” Those who can create, capture, and leverage attention are the future billionaires.
Examples:
- Reese Witherspoon sold her production company, Hello Sunshine, for $900m.
- Connor McGregor sold his Irish whiskey brand, Proper No Twelve, for $600m.
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s tequila brand, Teremana, is worth an insane $3.5b.
Consider Rihanna with her massive social following of over 101/102m+ followers on Instagram and Twitter, respectively. She is now worth over $1.7b according to Forbes, putting her just behind Oprah as the richest female entertainer. What’s remarkable is her fortune isn’t due to her chart topping songs, but to her inclusive cosmetic brand Fenty beauty.
How did this happen?
Why have brands and personal brands become so hot? We live in a time of abundant choice. Beyond having our needs met, we are looking for meaning, identity, belonging, connection, status and transcendent experiences.
Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.
Everything we do, associate with and buy, says something about who we are and how we see ourselves. We form our self-concept—who you think you are, and what makes you, you. We align ourselves with individuals and brands that stand for the same thing. In our search for meaning, personal brands become lightning rods.
We trust people who believe what we believe.
If people aren’t willing to pay more, have a preference for, develop a deep emotional connection with your product or service, then you’re a commodity.
How can you can avoid this outcome? You have to innovate. You have to design. By design, I don’t mean graphics, shapes, logos, or icons.
By design, I want to refer to Nobel laureate, Herbert Simon’s more expansive definition of design: to design is to devise courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.
Does that sound like you?
Are you creating preferred situations in your line of work? If you are, I’d like to help you do things like:
- Develop an omni-channel content strategy
- Build and nurture an online community
- Grow your reach and influence
- Get clarity around your messaging and personal brand
- Find your creative voice
- Become a more effective communicator and speaker
- Incorporate design principles to elevate your brand
- Apply design thinking to all aspects of your business
- Build an innovative culture
How is this mastermind different?
Now, you may not know this about me, but long before I started creating videos on YouTube or posting carousels on Instagram, I taught sequential design at ArtCenter and Otis College of Design for over a decade. I didn’t know it at the time, but the years I spent teaching helped me to learn how to: structure lessons, listen, ask Socratic questions, problem solve, answer questions—all in real time.
Teaching, as it turns out, is not an entirely selfless act. In his book, The Business of Expertise, David C. Baker writes, “You gain clarity through articulation.” So when one teaches, two learn. In teaching, I learned how to think faster, articulate ideas more succinctly, and ultimately, became more confident. As I grew as a teacher, other people started to notice how I also grew as a leader, speaker and entrepreneur.
Memory coach and author of Limitless, Jim Kwik, says, “The best teachers are the best students. The best students are the best teachers.” In learning how to learn, we can reach towards our true potential.
Some mastermind groups gather “expert” speakers to distill knowledge into 45-60 minute presentation/talks. Those are great, especially when you don’t know what you’re looking for. It’s probably why multi-day events around a myriad of speakers are popular.
This is not what I’m offering. The Brand Lab mastermind is structured around (2) bi-annual events. These are three days long and in-person. No guest speakers, agendas, slides, or prepared talks. Just you, your 99 fellow influencers, and me.
This is a facilitated work session with whiteboard, flip charts, markers and a whole lot of interactive learning. I’ll organize our time around your biggest challenges, in real time. This is not a sit back and listen experience. It's a roll your sleeves up, and get things done workshop.
I want to spend time with a small group of people, over multiple days, diving deep into what matters most—the topics/challenges that will have the greatest impact on your life and business.
Brand Lab: Topics of Discussion
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Personal Branding
Teaching Frameworks
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Content Models
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Story Structures
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Creative Writing
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Conceptual Thinking
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Passive Income Models
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Marketing Strategy
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Authority Building
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Content Creation
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Growth Hacks
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AI for Productivity
Why me?
In an interview with Complex magazine, Todd McFarlane, arguably the most successful comic book artist of all time, was asked what the secret to his success was. He said that he was “bilingual—he spoke the language of art & design, and the language of business.”
Like Todd, I am a bilingual creative—a hybrid professional that lives at the intersection of business and design. I have had a 20+ year history in running a creative services company (Blind), and am a traditionally trained designer.
I got my BFA in graphic design/packaging from ArtCenter College of design in 1995. From 1995-2018, I ran a two-time, Emmy® award winning production and post production company in Los Angeles. Over that period, we grossed over $80m in revenue, had bi-coastal offices, worked with the top tier advertising agencies, and Fortune 1000 brands like: Nike, Sony Playstation, X-Box, Land Rover, Google, Microsoft and Electronic Arts.
During this period, I was coached for 13+ years by my business mentor, Keir McLaren (my unofficial MBA). I taught at ArtCenter College of Design for close to 15 years. I have hired and worked with hundreds of artists over my career. I’ve lectured all over the world and have been published by the leading industry magazines and books including: Communication Arts, I.D., Type Director’s Club, The One Show, British D&AD, Shoot, How, Magazine B, and PPaper. I’ve delivered keynote talks and workshops for: Digital Design Days, Awwwards, Entrepreneur’s Organization, AIGA, MIT, Stanford youth alliance, and RGD.
I didn’t start creating content on Youtube, first as the Skool, then as the Futur, until January 2014, at 42 years of age. I’ve made over 1,800 videos, hundreds of posts and carousels, and have managed to amass a sizable social following.
My social stats—all organic, no black hat strategies.
I believe everyone has the potential to be an influencer in the creator economy once they learn how to use their natural voice and speak from their unique lived experiences. I have tried and tested many strategies, sorted good from bad, and am ready to show you how to do the same.
Ready to get started?
Fill out a brief questionnaire, talk with one of our team members, and put down a (refundable) $10K deposit to save your space in the group.
Here’s what some of my students
have to say:
FAQs
What are the Brand Lab annual dues?
The Brand Lab Membership is an annual investment of $36,000. Membership dues are invoiced at the start of your first year, and enrollment is rolling, which means you can join at any point in the year, as long as there is one of 100 seats available.
Can I reserve a seat if there aren’t any spots available?
Yes! You can hold your spot in line with a completely refundable $10,000 deposit. When a seat opens, applicants on the waitlist will have the first opportunity to join.
When do the calls happen?
The calls are held on a weekly basis, alternating between two times. We make it easy to join, no matter where you are in the world.
How do I know this is right for me?
Brand Lab is for those with unwavering commitment to showing up. To taking action. To breaking down business blocks, even when the road getting there is unknown and outside of your comfort zone. For those who believe in the power of helping others become the best version of themselves, while also becoming the best version of yourself.
You also must meet these specific requirements:
• Two years in business or more
• $500k in annual revenue or more
• Have a team in place to support the day-to-day operations of your business.
What’s the deal with the quarterly events?
As a Brand Lab Member, you'll have access to four exclusive retreats each year. These will be multi-day events dedicated to, well, you. Two retreats will be held online, and the other two will be in person.
How much time do I need to commit to the Brand Lab group?
You can commit as much time as you need or as little time as you want - it's totally up to you. Join the calls when you need help. Get the help you need, and then get back to work. It's that easy.
Who is Chris Do?
Chris Do is an Emmy award-winning designer, director, CEO and Chief Strategist of Blind and the founder of The Futur—an online education platform with the mission of teaching 1 billion people how to make a living doing what they love.
He currently serves as the chairman of the board for the SPJA, and as an advisor to Saleshood. He has also served as: advisory board member for AIGA/LA, Emmys Motion & Title Design Peer Group, Otis Board of Governors, Santa Monica College and Woodbury University.
He has taught Sequential design for over 15 years at ArtCenter College of Design as well as Otis College of Art and Design. Additionally, he has lectured all over the world including: AIGA National Design Conference, Birmingham Design Festival, Awwwards New York/San Francisco/Amsterdam, AIGA Miami, The Design Conference Brisbane, Creative South, Digital Design Days Milan/Geneva, Lu Xun Academy Fine Art Dalian, Motion Conference Santa Fe, VMA Design Conference, MIT Boston, Bend Design Conference, Graphika Manila, Create Philippines, Rise Up Summit Cairo, RGD Design Thinkers Toronto, California Institute of the Arts, LA Art Institute, Otis College of Design, UCLA, MGLA, Cal State Los Angeles/ Northridge, Post Production World, Adobe Video World and San Diego University.
His firm’s work has been recognized by national and international organizations such as: the Emmy’s, Clio, Effie Gold, Huffington Post, Lynda.com, Webbie, Communication Arts, London International Awards, One Show, British D&AD, AICP 20, Pictoplasma, How, 72 dpi, L.A. Weekly, Boards, Res 10, Type Director’s Club (20, 22, 23, 26), IDN, Addy Awards, BDA, Create, Stash (2, 12, 22, 24, 35, 43, 65), Creatie Augustus 2010, Motion Design, Asia Image, Brief, 365 AIGA Year In Design 26, Art Director’s Club, Motionographer, New York Festivals, B Brand, PPaper, I.D., and Print.
Mr. Do has given talks and conducted workshops on: Sales, Negotiations, Value Based Pricing, Mindset, Branding, Graphic & Motion Design, Social Media Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business Management, and Client Relations.