The Ultimate Portfolio Builder (UPB), our most advanced online course! This powerful course will give you all the tools and advice you need to grow your body of commercially viable work, refine and strengthen your professional design portfolio and give you the fast-track to trade show success.

Brought to you in association with Blue Print Shows, one of the top surface and textile design shows in the world, this course will provide you with exclusive insight to help you secure the right buyers for your work, deal effectively with clients, get trade show ready and discover the secrets to landing work you dream of.

GET READY TO LEVEL UP!

INSTANT ACCESS CLASS (Start whenever you’re ready and enjoy full access until Dec 31, 2024)

*IMPORTANT INFO* After thirteen fantastic years, we have made the tough decision to close the doors of Make It In Design December 31, 2024. After purchasing a course, you will need to log in and download anything you need by December because there will be no extensions under any circumstances beyond that date. Please note videos can only be streamed in the classroom (not downloaded) so you will need to watch them, make notes and download the transcripts before the deadline. You can find all questions answered here.

NEW PARTNERSHIP! We are so excited to now be in association with Blue Print Shows! This much-loved course is packed with trade show planning advice (for both physical and online shows) direct from the experts. This new content will include an incredible four-part creative brief from to help you create trade show success and attract the clients you want and the kind of work you dream of.

NEW RESOURCES! This new version of class will be overflowing with new resources from mock-up psd templates, to trends and from fresh creative assignments to exclusive pdf downloads.

Design briefs from real companies!

• Exceptional in-depth teaching on various subject matter (objects, characters, nature, geometrics, typography and abstract), colour and media, the power of recolouring, designing for occasions, genre and style, audience and market and so much more
• A series of fun creative design challenges to help you grow as a designer and build a strong, rounded portfolio
• 14 video based technical masterclasses from guest expert designers on typography, characters, photography, mixed media collages and more, to hone your professional design skills.
• Insight into the practicalities of managing a growing design studio
• Bonus material on managing your finances, how to be your own career strategist and thinking outside the box
• Access to professionally shot, exclusively styled room set and stock photography images ready-made for you to render your designs on
• One awesome global design community

And a whole lot more – this course really is jam-packed full of goodness!

• You have completed Module 3 (although this is not a pre-requisite)
• You want to expand and develop your professional portfolio to show your versatility as a designer
• You want to learn more complex techniques for sophisticated and commercially-appealing surface pattern design
• You want to connect with other established designers and learn from industry experts
• You want to know how to secure top deals at trade shows and attract the right work
• You want to generate more income from your existing designs and create a new body of work
• You want to be pushed outside your comfort zone so you’re ready to handle any brief
• You want to make it as a professional surface pattern designer

You will need to be proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to get the most out of this course. We also cover Procreate. Please note we do not offer technical guidance for any other software programmes (including free software).

Rachel Lang talks about taking the course after working several years in-house:

Imogen Joy talks about her highlights from the course and what’s next:

Here are a handful of words used by previous students to describe this module:

“a great investment” 

” an amazing experience ” 

“a great motivator”

“an intense, highly focused course that will propel you to the next level”

“highly recommended for anyone serious about a career as a surface pattern designer

“insightful, thorough and encouraging”

“jam packed with opportunities”

“potentially life changing”

“real-world experience”

“totally motivating” 

Our alumni have gone on to win amazing awards, set up their own design studios and labels, land major design gigs with household brand names, signed exciting licensing deals and built thriving design careers.

Check out our Terms & Conditions page. We strongly encourage you to read these before registering, as registering for one or more courses or bundles acknowledges acceptance of these Terms & Conditions.

This course is aimed at advanced level designers. Each of our Masterclass tutors have created tutorials and content which is very easy to follow. We have welcomed thousands of students onto our courses from over 100 countries around the world, and our classrooms are accessible on-line 24/7, so you can join us from any time zone and fit the course into your busy life.

Software

The masterclass video workshops are taught in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Procreate. If you wish to get the most out of the Masterclasses then you will need to have these programmes available to you and have experience using them. Please note that the software is not included in class and it will need to be purchased separately from Adobe. We advise getting in touch with them directly for the best deals. Adobe programmes are widely used in the design industry and are an essential investment if you are serious about a creative career or learning to apply the skills you will learn. However, we always advise our students to take the courses at their own pace so if you wish to save the technical sections of the course for later when you feel you are more ready we would encourage this.

Devices

We do not have a set device requirement other than if you wish to follow the technical section of the course then your device will need to be able to run Adobe programmes sufficiently. The team works on Apple devices but we have had students also work on PC’s. If you have a scanner for uploading your drawings then this is great, but you can upload photography of your drawings to work on too.

If you are new to Make it in Design:

You will be sent an email confirming your class registration after purchase as well as an email containing information on how to set up your student account. Our online classrooms are accessed through this account, and once registered will be accessible through your dashboard. If you have not received emails from us, please check your junk mail and set [email protected] as a safe sender. Please email us if you have still not received anything.

If you already have an account with us:

The class will appear in your dashboard after purchase. If it is a live class this will be in your dashboard but will not be accessible until it goes live (please check dates on individual classes). If you cannot see your class, please check you have signed up with the same email address. If not, please email [email protected] and we can combine the accounts for you.

Sound good? Scroll up to register!