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.
