Become an Art Director in 30 days
The course & bootcamp where you’ll learn to think conceptually and craft a creative campaign as an art director.
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Learn to feel
Find the insight that makes an idea worth making.
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Learn to think
Turn insights into BIG ideas that scale.
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Learn to see
Define a visual language that's impossible to ignore.
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Learn to lead
Execute your vision across teams & touch-points.
2 ways to learn
The on-demand course or a live bootcamp…
The Course
▶ 15+ lessons, 4+ hours of on-demand video
✔ Self-paced project assignments. Finish with a portfolio-worthy 360 campaign in 30 days.
✔ Templates & worksheets. Big idea frameworks and slide templates you can use on real work.
✔ Reference archives. Craft techniques, campaigns & examples.
✔ Lifetime access, including any future updates to the course.
✔ Credit the cost toward The Bootcamp
The Bootcamp
✔ Everything in The Course
✚ 4× 60-minute live online classes. All recorded so you can join live or watch later.
✚ 4× 30-minute Q&A sessions. Bring your work, get answers in real time.
✚ Direct feedback on your work. Personal critique on your concepts and assignments, not generic advice.
✚ Private cohort community. Slack access to your peers for feedback, guidance, and building your network.
✚ Alumni community & jobs channel. Stay connected after the cohort ends.
✚ Guest speakers. 1x live guest + all previous recordings.
✚ Full 300+ page slide deck.
✔ This is for you if…
You're a designer, photographer, editor, content creator or current art director ready to level up into art direction.
You're a creative who wants to think and lead, not just execute.
You have the craft skills and want to go deeper on the conceptual side, including current art directors.
You're ready to build a standout portfolio project to take your career to the next level.
✗ This is NOT for you if
You're looking for a shortcut. This will require work.
You have zero craft skills or software knowledge. You’ll need the ability to make your ideas.
Worth knowing
This course focuses on conceptual art direction, not software or design basics.
The curriculum is built specifically for art direction roles in advertising and brand creative departments. We’ll briefly touch on a few other industries.
Why now?
Execution alone isn’t enough anymore.
Anyone can design. Anyone can edit. Anyone can push pixels or cut a timeline.
What’s rare now is someone who can think.
If you want to lead creative campaigns and projects in this next chapter of the industry, you need to think conceptually. You need to understand the idea behind the work, not just the work itself.
You need to think bigger about your role and your career.
I will teach you the skills of modern art direction and how to think like an art director so you can stop executing someone else's ideas and start shaping the ideas yourself.
Bootcamp Mentors
Jason Murray
Jason is a Canadian creative director, art director and creator based in Southern California. Blending traditional agency experience with a first-hand creator perspective, he’s worked at companies like Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab, OK COOL, BBDO, and Huge, leading creative teams and campaigns for brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Lululemon, Brooks Running, Kraft Heinz, Mars-Wrigley, and Adobe.
Kay Beck
Kay is a multi-disciplinary art director and designer based in New York, working across commercial and personal projects rooted in reimagination, innovation, and culture. She's led art direction on brand campaigns for Amazon, DiGiorno, and Cheetos, including product design work like the Cheetos Duster. Kay also brings creative direction to cultural work, including branding for ABHA, an organization preserving Black heritage in Arkansas.
Cole Davis
Cole is an art director and creator who combines strong agency experience with a passion for teaching and mentorship. He’s worked at leading agencies on campaigns for major global brands like Mercedes, HBO MAX and Lululemon. And has taught at Miami Ad School, one of the leading advertising portfolio programs.
OpenAI
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Amazon
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Wieden+Kennedy
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Nike
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Lululemon
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AKQA
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72andsunny
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OpenAI / Amazon / Wieden+Kennedy / Nike / Lululemon / AKQA / 72andsunny /
Past Guest Speakers
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Aisha Hakim
Aisha is a Creative Director and Art Director widely known for creating The Art of Deckmaking and her writing on advertising and creativity. Her work has appeared in Times Square, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics. She’s been featured in Communication Arts, selected for Medium’s Staff Picks, and named one of Business Insider’s 30 Most Creative Women in Advertising, as well as a One Show Next Creative Leader.
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Jason Gold
Jason is a Creative Director and brand builder whose work spans campaigns, identities, and storytelling. He’s led creative at OpenAI and Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab, with past roles at Droga5 and R/GA. His work includes brands like Meta, Lululemon, Hennessy, Volvo, Samsung, and Chase, and has been recognized by Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, and the Webby Awards.
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Brad Hall
Brad is an experience and entertainment Creative Director who's built campaigns for Apple, Disney, Netflix, Nintendo, Nike, and Prime Video. Named one of "30 Under 30 Most Creative People in Advertising," his work pairs technical complexity with whimsical execution, driving blockbuster franchise success and worldwide press. He's been recognized by Emmys, Cannes Lions, D&AD, and the Webby Awards.
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Marck Lund-Nielsen
Marck is a multidisciplinary creative based in Copenhagen, running Fake Plastic Brands, a brand consultancy and social channel built on stripping the "plastic" out of brand strategy and content. He previously served as Creative Director at WALLHACK, where he helped build viral, community-first content for gaming brand SkyPAD that sold out product drops in minutes without paid media.
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Mark Pollard
Mark is a strategist and founder of Sweathead, the strategy podcast and training platform he's grown to over 1.6 million listens worldwide. He's led strategy teams at agencies including Big Spaceship, Edelman, and Leo Burnett, and is the author of Strategy Is Your Words.
What the students are saying
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"Honestly there's no review I can write that fully captures what NEXT Art Director gave me. I walked away with a full 360 campaign for my portfolio, and the tools to keep building more like it on my own. That alone made this worth it. But more than the portfolio piece, this month built a foundation for what it actually means to be an Art Director. The guidance was clear, the feedback was honest, the deadlines kept me accountable, and the community made the whole thing feel like less of a solo grind. This was one of the best investments I've made in my career. Five-plus stars, no question. "
Andi Parmelee, Creative Producer
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“NEXT Art Director was by far the best online course I’ve ever taken. I loved the combination of live classes, weekly homework, and direct feedback on projects. I went from someone with no art direction experience to having a complete project for my portfolio. Jason did a great job breaking down the subjects clearly and made the content fun! Overall it is 100% worth the price of admission.”
Boris Hope, Product Line Manager
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“NEXT Art Director gave me a semester’s worth of advertising school in 30 days. It completely changed how I approach ideas. I left with a clear process, a strong portfolio piece, and the confidence to seriously pursue art direction.”
Chelsea Perry, Photographer
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“NEXT Art Director gave me the confidence to launch into a career that can sometimes seem impossible to break into. Jason is a great teacher, providing detailed and thoughtful feedback that you can't get anywhere else.”
Stephanie Morales, Graphic Designer
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“Jason completely demystifies Art Direction. The course is comprehensive while remaining condensed so you learn everything you need to know to get started right away. Not to mention Jason is super generous with his time and knowledge.”
Jason Gonzales, Creative Director
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"The NEXT Art Director course has a special place in my heart. I almost never take this kind of jump, but Jason was someone I could trust. You see it in his content and in his course: he genuinely cares about giving us something that lasts. Jason and Cole are the dream-team duo you'd want as mentors. I grew so much. I'm glad I took the leap."
Ha Eun Cho, Aspiring Art Director
By Connor McLoughlin
By Connor McLoughlin
By Connor McLoughlin
By Connor McLoughlin
By Connor McLoughlin
By Connor McLoughlin
By Kristin Massa
By Kristin Massa
By Kristin Massa
By Kristin Massa
By Kristin Massa
By Jason Gonzales
By Jason Gonzales
By Jason Gonzales
By Chelsea Perry
By Chelsea Perry
By Chelsea Perry
By Chelsea Perry
By Chelsea Perry
By Carlo Dionisio
By Carlo Dionisio
By Carlo Dionisio
By Carlo Dionisio
ENROLLMENT
2 ways to learn: The on-demand course or a live bootcamp…
$599
NEXT Art Director:
The Course
Learn to become an Art Director with the on-demand course you can watch & re-watch at your own pace. Includes:
15+ lessons, 4+ hours of on-demand video.
Self-paced project assignments. Finish with a portfolio-worthy 360 campaign in 30 days.
Templates & worksheets. Big idea frameworks and slide templates you can use on real work.
Reference archives. Craft techniques, campaigns & examples.
Lifetime access, including any future updates to the course.
Credit the cost toward enrollment in The Bootcamp.
$1,199
NEXT Art Director:
The Bootcamp
Includes all of The Course content, PLUS:
Live instruction: 4 classes (60 min) + 4 Q&A workshops (30 min), all recorded
Community: private peer cohort, feedback, alumni & jobs channel
More resources: guest speaker sessions, slide decks, templates, & more.
Open Enrollment: October Cohort
Live Calls Tuesdays @ 4pm PT / 7pm ET — Oct 6, 13, 20, 27
Q&A Fridays, 10am PT / 1pm ET
All calls recorded for timezone flexibility.
Join the Waitlist
Add your email to the waitlist and you’ll be the first to know when enrollment is live for future sessions.
Past Students
FAQ
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Classes will be recorded. Office hours are also provided for timezone flexibility. We've had multiple students join at 2am! Others just watch the recorded classes and then utilize the earlier Office Hours time for Q&A.
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Yes, but I expect you to already have some level of “making skills” or the ambition to figure it out as you go. I won’t be teaching you specific software. Art direction is about thinking conceptually and figuring out the execution whether or not you know how.
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Then LFG! A lot of art directors struggle with insights & big ideas. Let’s get you to the next level! I think this will still be worthwhile.
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No. But if you show up to everything and put in the work, and still didn’t get any value from the experience, I’ll give you your money back.
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Yes, all prices are in USD. I completely understand that currency conversions to other countries might not make this program accessible to everyone. I designed it to provide a more accessible program than what is available in the US market specifically. But I do my best to share as much free content as possible. Do not feel obligated to purchase the program. Feel free to follow learn from my content on YouTube and Instagram.
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Please email help@modernartdirection.com if you have any questions.