Life is our most important project. But it’s also full of constraints and challenges, just like a design project. Not everything can be the most important thing. So how do you prioritize work, play and family to live your life to the fullest? Join renowned designer Ayse Birsel as she walks through a series of questions and visual exercises designed to help you reflect on your work/life/creativity balance based on her book, Design the Life you Love.

Did you know that you can turn your sketches, drawings and doodles into patterns? Join Bonnie Christine for an introduction to creating patterns to use in your very own fabric prints, stationery designs, website backgrounds, cell phone covers, and much, much more. This course will take you through the process of working with Adobe Illustrator to create digital versions of your artwork. You’ll learn tips and tricks for working in Illustrator and how you can use the software to create repeating patterns of your very own drawings. Bonnie will guide you step-by-step through the process of transforming sketches and tracings into vector art which can be used for an endless array of printable and online projects from customized stationery to computer wallpaper. You’ll also learn how to assemble your collection of designs into a portfolio you can use to impress potential collectors and buyers. This course will lay a solid foundation for those new to Illustrator and open up exciting new possibilities for people already familiar with the program. If you are ready to bring your drawings to life in new ways this class is for you.

No matter how beautiful your work is, it won’t sell if it’s not presented in a polished, professional way. In Design, Print, and Build Your Own Portfolio, Bonnie Christine will take you through the complete portfolio design process, so you’ll feel confident about showing your work. Bonnie Christine is a surface pattern designer and mother hen of the Roost Tribe, an inspirational community for creatives. 

Steven Heller is a legend in the world of design and his influence on the industry cannot be overstated. When CreativeLive visited Heller in his NYC studio, we talked about his life-long passion for design and why history matters. Heller has authored more than 170 books on design-related topics and the list continues to grow. In this candid conversation, Heller discusses the logos of legendary designer Paul Rand and why design literacy is important. He talks about the role of history in a contemporary designer’s work and how being well-versed in what came before you yields better results.

Paula Scher, one of the world’s most acclaimed graphic designers, has pushed the boundaries of visual communication for over three decades. Iconic, smart and unabashedly populist, her images have entered into the American vernacular. She began her career as an art director in the 1970’s and early 80’s, when her eclectic approach to typography became highly influential. 

Lance Wyman is a master of transforming public spaces through branding and is most noted for his iconic work on the 1968 Mexico Summer Olympics identity. Lance’s work resonates today, as much as it did when he first began in the 1960s. Join us for this installment of the Civilization Design Lecture Series to learn more about Lance Wyman – his work and his legacy. 

Traci Reed will teach you how to design a custom scrapbook layout – from start to finish – in Design Digital Scrapbook Layouts in Photoshop.

With the increased accessibility of cameras, the ease of snapping digital photographs, and the sheer number of quality photographers today, how do you differentiate yourself from the masses? Pro photographer John Keatley will break down what goes through his mind during a shoot and shed light on how you can actively work to define YOUR personal style. John will speak to his own experience, and show you how to strategically incorporate your style as you build your portfolio and client base.

Floral garlands are not only beautiful, they are incredibly versatile. Learn basic garland-making techniques in Decorative Floral Garlands with Farmgirl Flowers. Garlands are can be draped across arbors, laid on tables, or fashioned into wreaths. Once you know how to make one, you’ll find yourself doing it again and again. In this beginner-friendly class you’ll learn every step in the process.

The Decibel Conference is three days of panels, workshops and other events that runs in parallel to the Decibel Festival. Now on its 12th year, Decibel is one of the nation's longest-running and most respected electronic music festivals, and CreativeLive is proud to partner with Decibel to produce the 2015 Conference. For details on the schedule and content, please visit the official Conference page.

Branch out from the stale embroidery kits you find in the big box stores and learn how to make your very own designs in Customize Your Embroidery with Lisa Shaffer. Lisa has been creating her own modern needlework for the past 15 years and in this class she’ll teach you how to create your own!

Don’t settle for the patterns and kits that come out of a box! Learn how to put your own spin on cross-stitch patterns in Customize Your Cross-Stitch with Lisa Shaffer. Lisa does incredible custom needlework under the moniker Zelma Rose.

Photoshop can feel complicated and time-consuming if you don’t have it set up to assist you for the way you work. Learn how to speed up your image editing work in Customize Photoshop's Panels, Shortcuts, and Menus with Dave Cross. The two key ways to speed up your work in Photoshop are to use presets and make the Photoshop workspace look and feel the way that works best for you. You’ll learn how to customize your Photoshop process by editing menus, adding keyboard shortcuts, using Photoshop’s Workspace features, and creating and using all kinds of presets. You’ll be working more efficiently and seamlessly in no time.

Raising money and gathering resources is crucial for making movie dreams a production reality. In Crowdfunding Your Film, Emily Best will lay out your options for getting early support and identifying the fundraising sources that will bring your work to life.

It can be hard to set aside time for your creative outlet, and even harder to put time and energy into doing the research and legwork to advance your skills. Vickie Howell turns this formula on its head. Your craft should be your inspiration, and learning new techniques should be fun, attainable, and energizing. Vickie is an easy-to-follow crochet master who can help you learn the just-out-of-reach skills you need to tackle advanced patterns.

A creative practice such as crocheting is best learned with others, particularly as your ambitions begin to outpace your technical knowledge. When your only method of advancing your skills come from flat diagrams and instructions in a book, the prospect of making new garments can seem daunting.

If you are confident in your beginner projects and ready to explore the next level of crochet, this is the class for you! In this advanced beginner class, Vickie Howell will teach you the tools and skills you need to crochet intermediate-level projects. You’ll build on your beginner crochet skills as you explore ways to create more complicated projects.

Crocheted works are sculptural, creative, practical, and functional – sometimes all at the same time! If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to crochet or have simply been intrigued by and about the process of crocheting, Crochet Maker 101 with Vickie Howell is the class for you. This beginners’ introduction to crochet will give you the tools to tackle fun and useful projects like phone cozies, stitch sampler scarves, farmers market bags, and classic mesh plant holders.

Are you ready to take your ZBrush-ing to the next level? In this weekly series, ZBrush artist Ryan Kittleson shares his personal approach on how to make ZBrush work for you. Ryan demonstrates how to set hot keys so that ZBrush operates more like your other favorite software. He shows you how to customize the interface, so that the features you use the most are placed front and center, and how optimize the setup of a custom scene to achieve maximum workflow efficiency. He demonstrates how to create macros to simplify complex and repetitive tasks into single-click solutions. This series is designed to help you go from spending time fussing with software to having more time to make great, new things with ZBrush!

Every business, brand, product, and service needs a strong visual identity through all media. Consequently, it's crucial that clients and creative professionals are able to work together effectively. And the key to success, as with any relationship, is communication. In this course, learn how to deal with the subjectivity, emotional pitfalls, and the occasional chaos of a creative partnership. Throughout this course, Bonnie Siegler—founder of respected design firms No. 17 and Eight and a Half—discusses how to articulate your visual goals to a designer and set a clear, consistent direction.

Statistics show that young creatives will change jobs every 18–24 months. This trend can make mentoring a challenge, and renders many existing methods of employee training and retention outdated. Navigating this new professional landscape can be frustrating for creatives of all generations. In this course, you can gain insights into the millennial mindset, and learn techniques for working effectively with young creatives. Join Petrula Vrontikis as she shares what millennials value, and highlights their unique internal and external challenges. In addition, she walks through how to create a workplace in which millennials can thrive and grow as leaders.

In network communications, knowing where something came from can often be as important as what it contains. Browsers can be particular about this, sometimes surprising developers when things can't be reached or connected. In this course, learn how same-origin policies play an important role in web security, so you can develop secure, interactive sites. Find out how to build Ajax requests using headers that affect the origin, how to work with server-only cookies, how to create secure communications between browser windows or tabs from the same origin, and more.

It's easy to start drawing with a Wacom tablet and ignore the buttons running down the side. Known as ExpressKeys, these buttons offer time-saving shortcuts to common functions, such as mode toggles, 3D rotation, and pan, scroll, and zoom. This course helps you unlock the full power of your Wacom device with the ExpressKeys, touch controls, gestures, and other shortcut features available. Instructor Mark Simon—a story artist and avid Wacom user—also shows how to customize the shortcuts further, and then tailor them for use with specific software: Photoshop, PowerPoint, Storyboard Pro, Maya, After Effects, and more. Plus, get tips for working with the Wacom remote.

Visual communication is the modern marketer's secret weapon. It tells your story without words, for a quick impact on today's busy and increasingly global audience. This course explains what visual communication is and why it matters to modern businesses. Amy Balliett provides tips for creating killer content that communicates your message in seconds flat. She takes you on a fast-paced ride though topics like data visualization, visual storytelling, and external vs. internal communication. Learn techniques for getting your message across in microseconds, keeping your audience at top of mind, investing in quality, and avoiding the number one mistake marketers make with visuals: clutter.