Davey and Krista – Brand Design Academy

Brand Design Academy by Davey and Krista is a self-paced video course for new and self-taught designers who want to build a brand design studio. Its six modules bring together design principles, identity projects, business operations, marketing, and portfolio development.

Skills you’ll build in Brand Design Academy

• Master brand identity design from intake to final files in Adobe Illustrator
• Develop a pricing model and Dubsado-based client workflow that runs your studio
• Build a five-project portfolio across wedding, coaching, photography, floral, and retail niches
• Apply color, typography, grid, and layout systems that read as professional design work
• Implement a designer-specific marketing system across email, SEO, Instagram, and Pinterest
• Learn to present concepts, deliver final files, and run discovery calls that book clients

The six-module curriculum

The curriculum combines the creative side of brand design with the systems needed to manage a design studio. It moves from business foundations and visual principles into identity work, marketing, portfolio projects, and bonus materials.

• Studio CEO Foundations: 12 lessons on choosing a niche, using Dubsado and ClickUp, setting prices, conducting discovery calls, and working with contracts.
• Elements of Design: 13 lessons on color, typography, grids, and white space.
• Brand and Logo Design: 13 lessons covering the design process from client intake through final files, including a 41-minute Illustrator Foundations lesson.
• Marketing for Designers: 10 lessons covering email, SEO, Instagram, Pinterest, and Manychat.
• Portfolio Building Projects: five client projects across creative business niches.
• Bonuses: tools and templates for pricing, client workflows, brand strategy, and design presentations.

Portfolio projects for creative businesses

The portfolio module covers five projects with different design deliverables: an identity for a boutique wedding planner, an Instagram carousel series for a business coach, a portrait photographer homepage, an identity for a floral designer, and an identity for a retail candle boutique.

Bonus tools and templates

The bonus materials include a pricing calculator, ClickUp client-workflow templates, and canned client emails. For the design process, there are editable Illustrator logo and presentation files, a brand strategy workbook, a style guide template, and a premium font guide.

The downloadable course materials include videos, documents, and PDFs.

Who the course is designed for

Brand Design Academy is aimed at aspiring and early-career designers who want to serve creative businesses. It also addresses the needs of freelancers who already have design skills but want to develop their pricing, workflow, and portfolio systems.

The course can also suit self-taught designers transitioning into client design from photography, virtual assistance, or marketing. Its identity work takes place in Adobe Illustrator rather than relying on Canva alone.

About Davey and Krista

Krista Jones has 15 years of design experience, has been named Showit Designer of the Year, and is a co-founder of Rising Tide Society, which was later acquired by HoneyBook. She is also among Showit’s top template designers.

Davey Jones has more than 15 years of experience in brand and web strategy. He is CEO of Formilytics, the company behind BDOW!, formerly known as Sumo, and hosts the Brands That Book podcast, which has more than 120 episodes. The husband-and-wife team is based in Lexington, Virginia, and publishes the DesignEdit newsletter.

Frequently asked questions

What does Brand Design Academy cover?

The course covers studio operations, design fundamentals, brand and logo design, marketing, and portfolio projects. A sixth module contains bonus resources.

Who is Brand Design Academy for?

It is designed for aspiring and early-career brand designers serving creative businesses, including self-taught designers moving into client design from photography, virtual assistance, or marketing.

Do I need Adobe Illustrator?

A working Illustrator installation is assumed for the brand and logo design module and the editable Illustrator bonus files. The module includes a 41-minute foundations lesson.

Do I need to use Showit?

No. The brand design principles are platform-agnostic, while the identity design work uses Illustrator.

What materials are included?

The course includes videos, documents, PDFs, portfolio projects, and bonus resources such as a pricing calculator, workflow templates, client emails, and editable Illustrator files.