The complete path from "I think I could do this" to a booked-out brand design business.
Brand Design Academy
A step-by-step system for finding your first paying clients, pricing your work confidently, and designing brand identities you're proud of. Built for self-taught designers, career-changers, and creatives ready to turn design skills into real income.
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have you seen this?
Copy-and-Paste Canva Brand Style Guide
- 6 distinct aesthetic directions (Modern Romance, Serene, Playful, Vintage, Rustic, and more)
- Pre-styled font pairings (headlines, subheads, and body text)
- Coordinated color palettes with HEX, RGB, and CMYK codes
- Mood boards that show you how everything comes together in real life
Whether you’re designing websites, templates, social content, or client brand kits, this Canva-based guide helps you create cohesive visuals that feel as good as they look—without starting from scratch.
Perfect for new and aspiring designers looking to learn what works—and why.
class GIFT
Grab your Copy & Paste Canva Template Below
FREE 24 PAGE CANVA GUIDE
FREE TEMPLATE
You've been the creative one your whole life. The friend redesigning logos for free. The Canva self-teacher quietly wondering how far this could go. The marketing assistant whose side projects look better than the agency work.
You have the eye. So why doesn't it pay yet?
Not because you aren't creative enough. Because the path from "I think I could do this" to "I have clients paying me what this is worth" was never explained to you.
So you design for free. You undercharge by a thousand dollars on a friend's logo. You watch other designers post about $5,000 brand projects and think I could design that, I just have no idea how they actually book the client and get paid.
That's not a talent gap. That's a system gap.
That's what Brand Design Academy is. The complete framework, from finding your first paying clients to designing a full brand identity to running the project like a real studio.
You don't need a design degree. You don't need years of experience. You don't need to already feel like a designer.
You need a path. We built one.
Most creatives don't get stuck because they aren't talented.
A strategic framework that tells you *what to do*, *why it works*, and *how to repeat it* — every single time.
You’ve tried it all
Find your first paying clients, even with no portfolio yet
Price your work confidently and stop charging hourly
Design brand identities rooted in strategy, not trends
The Canva templates, the YouTube tutorials, the duct-taped systems...
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Market your services without living on Instagram
Inside this Brand Course, you’ll learn how to:
Build a repeatable client process with Dubsado and ClickUp
No design degree.
No experience required.
This system meets you where you are — whether you’re opening Illustrator for the first time or refining a studio that’s already booking clients.
- You've been designing in Canva and you're ready to go pro
- You're self-taught and want to finally learn brand design the right way
- You're switching careers and want to turn creative skills into real income
- You've got some design experience but can't figure out how to get clients consistently
- You're already designing but you undercharge, overdeliver, and need a system
- You want work that feels polished, intentional, and high-end
Just a proven framework.
Who is this for?
Enroll Today
You're designing in Canva (or sometimes Illustrator), but you're not sure what's "professional enough."
You don't know how to find clients, much less price your work.
You've taken bits and pieces of design courses, watched YouTube tutorials, maybe even started a portfolio, but you still don't feel like a "real" designer.
You're tired of charging $50 (or nothing at all) for work that takes you eight hours.
The issue isn't your creativity. It's that no one ever handed you the full system. The design side, the business side, the client side. All of it, in one place, in the right order.
Right Now It Probably Feels Like:
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Which camp are you in?
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Perfect. That's the starting point we built this course for. The design modules walk you through typography, color, and layout from the ground up. You'll have the vocabulary and process professional designers use by the end.
I've been designing in Canva. Will I be lost in Illustrator?
Module Three includes a 41-minute Illustrator Foundations lesson built specifically for people coming from Canva. You'll pick it up faster than you think.
I don't have a portfolio yet.
You'll build one inside the course. Module Five walks you through five real-world brand projects, so you finish with work that looks like the work of an experienced designer, not a student.
I don't have time. My desk is a graveyard of half-finished courses.
BDA is self-paced with lifetime access. Most students finish in 4 to 8 weeks at about 5 hours a week. Lessons are short enough for a lunch break.
I hate the idea of selling myself.
Same. We built the booking and pricing modules specifically for designers who hate that part. There's a way to talk about your work that feels grounded and honest, not pushy.
The Framework
Strategy is what separates struggling designers from booked‑out studios.
Kodak portra 400
Kodak portra 400
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Brand Design Academy teaches you a clear, repeatable system for building a brand design business from the ground up. Not just how to design, but how to find clients, price your work, deliver polished projects, and keep the pipeline full.
Not trends. Not random inspiration. Not "hope this works."
You’ll learn how to:
✔Find and book your first clients with confidence
✔ Price your work so one project pays for the course
✔ Design a full brand identity, not just a logo
✔ Present your work professionally so clients trust your process
✔ Build a marketing system that keeps new inquiries coming in
Want in on a secret?
The average brand identity starts at $2,500+ (many designers charge a LOT more than this.)
This course is $397.
That means you can earn your investment back with just ONE brand project.
And everything after that?
Profit.
One client can pay for the course.
Two clients can change your income.
And because the very first module of Brand Design Academy walks you through finding, pricing, and booking your first brand projects, that one client isn't hypothetical. It's the path we build you toward from lesson one.
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Option B:
Follow a proven framework.
Learn the strategy behind great brand design.
Make decisions with clarity (and explain them with confidence).
Build a process you can repeat for every client.
And finally feel like a real brand designer—because you have a system.
This brand course is the shortcut between those two paths.
Option A:
Keep guessing.
Starting every project from scratch.
Tweaking endlessly and hoping it looks “professional enough.”
Pricing based on what feels safe.
And wondering if you’re actually cut out for this.
That path costs you time, confidence, and momentum—every single project.
Andrea Laube
“Within the first couple of lessons, I was already thinking differently about my work and what I could actually offer clients. It didn’t feel overwhelming—it just felt clear and practical.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
learn to create brands like thse
Inside this Brand Course, you’ll learn how to:
✔ Find your first brand clients and keep the pipeline full
✔ Package, price, and run brand projects like a professional
✔ Design full brand identities with strategy, not guesswork
✔ Build a repeatable client workflow in Dubsado and ClickUp
✔ Present and deliver work that gets a yes on the first round
✔ Market your services in a way that fits your actual life
You don’t just learn design.
You learn a clear, repeatable brand process you can use for every project.
Brand Design Academy
introducing
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Inside the Course
MOdules
the course
The foundational design principles that separate professional brand work from "pretty but unfinished." Thirteen lessons covering color, typography, layout, and the systems that tie them together.
13 lessons include:
• Introduction to Visual Language
• Color Psychology, Building Palettes, and Color Accessibility
• Typography Fundamentals, Hierarchy, and Font Pairing
• Grid Systems and Spacing Rules
• Contemporary Layout Patterns
• Understanding White Space
• Using Line, Shape, and Texture with Intention
• Introducing Patterns + Illustrations
• Building Brand Assets That Feel Like a System
Elements of Design
MODULE THREE
12 lessons include:
• Finding Your First Clients + Niching
• Business Model Clarity
• Dubsado Setup (CRM)
• ClickUp Client Workflow
• How to Build Your Personal Brand
• Crafting Your Messaging
• Profitable Collections + Pricing
• Your Website Setup
• Sales Pipelines + Booking Systems
• Discovery Call Script
• Delivering a Top-Notch Client Experience
• Contracts + Quotes
Studio CEO Foundations
MODULE ONE
MODULE TWO
The full design process, from intake to final files. This is where you build a real brand identity in Adobe Illustrator, not just a logo, and learn to present and deliver it professionally.
13 lessons include:
• Brand Strategy Intake (The Questionnaire)
• Mood Board + Initial Color Direction
• Illustrator Foundations for Brand Designers (41-minute deep dive)
• Round 1: Initial Logo Concepts
• Presenting Concepts + Choosing a Direction
• Rounds 2-4: Refined Concepts
• Font and Color Exploration
• Full Brand Development
• Final Files (Print + Web)
• Brand Guide + Launch Assets
Brand & Logo Design
MODULE FOUR
A complete marketing system built specifically for designers. No hustle culture. No "post on every platform." Just the tactics that actually bring in inquiries.
10 lessons include:
• Email Marketing
• SEO Basics for Designers
• Social Media Strategy
• Design Posts That Convert
• Instagram Strategy for Designers
• Social Media Scheduling
• Manychat Automation
• Pinterest for Designers
• Pinterest Strategy for Designers
• Visibility Beyond Social
Marketing for Designers
Five real-world brand projects you'll work through inside the course, so you finish with a portfolio that looks like the work of an experienced designer.
5 complete projects:
• Boutique Wedding Planner Brand Identity
• Instagram Carousel Series for a Business Coach
• Portrait Photographer Homepage Design
• Floral Designer Brand Identity
• Retail Candle Boutique Brand Identity
Portfolio Building Projects
MODULE FIVE
This content isn’t taught inside Get Paid to Customize or Design & Sell Showit Templates.
It *is* included inside Design Strategy School—but we know that course is a big commitment.
So we pulled out these specific lessons to create a focused brand course for designers who want to add brand identity design (without enrolling in the full academy).
What’s the difference between this course and your other designer courses?
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Get paid to be creative, while enjoying these bonuses:
Hard to Forget Bonuses
*warning*
Edisto Website Template
We're giving you one license to a *free* DK Showit Website Template when you join the course. This template includes everything you need to start customizing sites for your clients – from the Home to Contact pages. It's set up to be the perfect online home for your design business.
Value $699
24 hrs only!
Starter Illustrator Logos
Editable Illustrator logo templates created with Google fonts so you can dive into my exact settings for typography, start with these layouts and see how I created individual logo elements.
Value $299
included!
Illustrator Logo Presentation File
Make your logo reveals feel like a moment. This minimalist, designer-approved Illustrator template gives you a polished framework for walking clients through your logo concepts—step by step—with intention and clarity.
Value $49
included!
Canned Workflow Emails
From inquiry replies and onboarding to revision requests, final handoff, and everything in between — you’ll know exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to say it professionally.
Value $129
included!
Clickup Workflow Template
This plug-and-play ClickUp template maps out your entire content creation and client workflow from inquiry to offboarding. Whether you're juggling custom design projects or marketing content, this system helps you stay organized, deliver on time, and actually breathe between deadlines.
Value $149
included!
Brand Strategy Worksheets
Clarify your brand strategy from the inside out with guided worksheets designed for designers. You’ll define your niche, audience, and core messaging using a proven framework—so every design decision (for you or your clients) is rooted in clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Value $49
included!
Q&A Calls & Community
Live monthly Zoom calls with Krista. Bring your real client questions, your pricing dilemmas, your "is this normal?" moments. Get unstuck in real time, with the person who built this business.
Value $799
included!
Full Brand Presentation File
Present the final brand with confidence and clarity. Created in Illustrator for easy customization, this sleek and minimal layout allows you to showcase your logo concepts, color palette, typography selections, and visual direction with strategy and style.
Value $49
included!
Brand Presentation Canva Template
Deliver a polished, professional brand reveal experience your clients will rave about. This fully customizable Canva template helps you present logos, color palettes, typography, brand imagery, and mockups in a way that’s easy for clients to understand—and impossible not to love.
Value $229
included!
Premium Font Guide
The internet is filled with hundreds of thousands of font options. Some beautiful, some decent and some that should be avoided at all cost. This guide pulls together many of our favorite premium font combinations we’ve used with our own design clients.
Value $49
included
Passion Project Generator Prompt
A done-for-you AI prompt that helps you generate realistic, dream-client-inspired brand concepts—perfect for building a polished portfolio. You’ll get detailed mock project overviews with strategy, visuals, and goals so you can design with direction (and attract more of the real thing).
Value $49
included
Pricing & Offer Calculator
The Design Offer & Pricing Architect is an AI-powered assistant trained specifically to help brand and website designers like you structure your services, refine your packages, and price with confidence.
Value $79
included!
Yes, we’re giving you 12 BONUSES on top of this all-inclusive course. A gift! Us to you. Completely yours when you join today.
Limited Time Bonuses
YES, please! Sign me up for these
FREE FOR YOU
Total Value: $2,500+
Rebecca Hobbs
“Since completing BDA, I feel so much more confident in my design skills, especially using Adobe Illustrator.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
It’s also changed how I work with clients. I’m much clearer on boundaries now, more confident being firm on deadlines, and I have a better understanding of when I’m not the right fit for a project, which has honestly made everything feel a lot easier.
Your investment for
Brand Design Academy
You could spend months (or years) piecing together brand design from random tutorials.
Or?
Yes, that's a $3,426 value.
Brand Design Academy (value: $799)
BONUS: Edisto Website Template (value: $699) — 24 hrs only
BONUS: Starter Illustrator Logos (value: $299)
BONUS: Illustrator Logo Presentation File (value: $49)
BONUS: Full Brand Presentation File (value: $49)
BONUS: Brand Presentation Canva Template (value: $229)
BONUS: ClickUp Workflow Template (value: $149)
BONUS: Canned Workflow Emails (value: $129)
BONUS: Brand Strategy Worksheets (value: $49)
BONUS: Premium Font Guide (value: $49)
BONUS: Passion Project Generator Prompt (value: $49)
BONUS: Pricing & Offer Calculator (value: $79)
BONUS: Monthly Q&A Calls & Designer Community (value: $799)
Enroll today and get:
Because we believe great design starts with the fundamentals—and should actually support a profitable business—we’re giving you the full Brand Design Academy experience, including every bonus, for just:
89
$
Seven payments of
LIMITED TIME
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$
$
$
$
$
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$
399
two payments of
$219
$
199
six Payments of
$89
799
one payment of
$397
Enroll Today
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Enroll Today
Enroll Today
Try the framework. See how it feels.
If you don’t walk away with more clarity, confidence, and direction in the first 7 days, you don’t keep it.
That’s on us.
Money back guarantee
7
DAYS
We’ve built multiple successful creative businesses by combining strong design with even stronger strategy.
Through years of hands-on client work, experimentation, and refinement, we built a design business that consistently attracts aligned clients, commands premium rates, and supports real life outside of work. Not by chasing trends—but by mastering the fundamentals of design, systems, and strategy.
We still remember second-guessing our pricing, our process, and whether we were “doing it right.” Now? We run a studio with clear frameworks, repeatable workflows, and confidence in every design decision.
Over the past decade, we've also taught thousands of designers how to build the businesses behind the work, through Brand Design Academy, Design Strategy School, and DesignEdit.
We’re Davey & Krista—marketing strategists, designers, and entrepreneurs
FAQ
next question —
Yes. The very first module of Brand Design Academy is called Studio CEO Foundations, and lesson one is Finding Your First Clients + Niching. The full module covers finding clients, pricing, sales pipelines, discovery calls, contracts, and the Dubsado and ClickUp systems we use in our studio to book and run projects. It's twelve lessons on the business side before you even get to the design curriculum.
Does this course actually teach me how to get clients?
next question —
Yes! As soon as you enroll, you'll receive access to the ENTIRE course. We know life is busy and we want you to be able to work through this as fast or as slow as needed.
Upon enrollment, you'll receive lifetime access to your course. As long as we're in business and this course is online, you'll receive access.
Do I get immediate access?
next question —
Yes. Brand Design Academy is built to meet you where you are. If you're self-taught, coming from Canva, changing careers, or just starting out, the course starts from foundations and builds up. You don't need a degree. You don't need a portfolio yet. You don't need to already know Illustrator (there's a 41-minute Illustrator Foundations lesson inside the course that walks you through the basics).
I'm brand new to design. Is this for me?
next question —
This course takes you through our EXACT process to start + scale a brand design business. We dive into the fundamentals of design and then we'll walk through creating a brand (from scratch). We cover everything from how to get your first client, to collecting content, contracts, the launch process and SO MUCH MORE!
What’s included in the course?
next question —
Illustrator is the industry standard for brand design, and the logo design portion of the course is taught in Illustrator. You can get a 7-day free trial at adobe.com, or a full Creative Cloud subscription if you're ready to invest in it.
You do not need an iPad. Canva is referenced for certain client deliverables (you'll get a Canva Color and Font Style Template as a bonus), but the core design work happens in Illustrator.
Do I need Adobe Illustrator? What about Canva or Affinity?
next question —
Brand Design Academy is self-paced with lifetime access. Most students move through the material in 4 to 8 weeks if they're putting in about 5 hours a week. Some finish faster. Some take longer. You can come back to any lesson at any time, and many students do, especially the Illustrator tutorials and the client workflow pieces.
How long does it take to complete?
next question —
Yes. You'll get access to our Designer Facebook Community as part of the course, where you can ask questions, share work, and connect with other designers going through the material. The course itself is self-paced, and there are no scheduled live calls, so you can work through it entirely on your own timeline.
Is there ongoing support or community?
next question —
Honestly, creativity is rarely the thing holding designers back. Systems are. The designers who make it aren't the most creative ones, they're the ones who got clear on their process and stayed consistent. Brand Design Academy gives you frameworks, templates, and a repeatable system, so every project feels less like guessing and more like following a map you trust.
I don't feel very creative. Will this still work for me?
next question —
We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee. If you enroll, start the first lesson, and feel like it's not the right fit, email us within 7 days and we'll refund you. No hoops, no awkward forms.
What if I buy and realize it's not right for me?
If you’re ready to stop guessing, charge for strategy, and build a design business that actually works—
you need a system.
You don’t need more tutorials.
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
399
two payments of
$219
$
199
six Payments of
$89
Enroll Today
799
one payment of
$397
Enroll Today
$
$
Enroll Today
© 2026 Davey & Krista | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Cristina Arce
“I have a university degree in graphic design, and I can honestly say this course delivered incredible value for me.”
Stephanie Thomas
“ This is the best course I could recommend for designers who are serious about creating a business they love and feeling good about the work they do.”