"Do you see a someone skilled in their work? They will work for kings, not unimportant people." -Proverbs 22:29 The new course is live, on how to align stakeholders and get approval is live. First, take the course. If you haven't already, the new methodology course is up in the classroom now. This is the work I've spent years refining at DARKSQUARE — the process that took us from burning around $50K per project on reworks down to under $10K, and that's helped clients see real revenue impact after launch (one rebrand: a 33% sales lift in the 12 months post-relaunch). The full method — stakeholder discovery through Pinterest sourcing through moodboard validation through the presentation that closes the brief in the meeting — is all there. Block 90 minutes between now and Monday and watch it through. You don't need to memorize it, but the conversation on Monday lands harder when the lessons are fresh. T hen come Monday. Once a every new and full moon, we get on a call — live, open, no script — for support, collaboration, and creativity around the work. This first one rises with the course launch, and there's a reason it's timed that way. Why come. The methodology in the course is the result of years of refinement. But the way it gets sharper from here is conversation — with the people running it on their own projects, with their own clients, hitting their own obstacles. Every time I run this for a new audience I learn something. A client situation I hadn't seen. A friction point that needs a better answer. A use case that opens a door I hadn't walked through. That's how the next course gets built. You get a direct seat at that table. You also get something most creative work doesn't offer: a room full of people who think this way. Most of us are running alone, on our own clients, with our own deadlines, fielding our own moments of am I the only one seeing this? A live, open conversation with thoughtful creatives who care about doing this well — and who are willing to share what's working and ask what isn't — is rare. The full moon is the right time for it.

The new course is live: How to Get Client Approval, Eliminate Reworks, and Grow Your Business After weeks of recording, the full methodology course is published. This is the work I've spent years refining at DARKSQUARE — the process that took us from burning around $50K per project on reworks down to under $10K, and that's helped clients see real revenue impact after launch. (One rebrand: a 33% sales lift in the 12 months post-relaunch.) What's in it: - Stakeholder discovery, and harmonizing what the team actually agrees on (and where they don't) - The Pinterest method for sourcing 100+ swatches that are actually useful - Building two to three tightly cropped moodboards that test something real - Validating those moodboards with Constellations - The stakeholder presentation that closes discovery and gets a creative brief approved in the meeting Each lesson is a video with a written companion you can scroll back to. The capstone includes two real case studies — one large-scale rebrand with 22 stakeholders, one with two founders — showing how the method scales both directions. I want your feedback. This community gets sharper every time someone pushes back, asks a clarifying question, or names something I missed. Three things I'd love to hear from you as you go through the lessons: - What was the most useful idea you took away? - Where did you push back, or where did something not translate cleanly to your work? - What did I miss? What would you want me to cover in the next course? Drop a comment under any lesson, or reply to this post. The people who comment now help shape what the next course looks like — that's not a slogan, it's literally how I decide what to build next. Go take a look. The capstone lesson in particular — How to Prevent Rework With Moodboards — is where the full case for the method lives.

We're running a series on typical painful designer feedback we get from clients often. So far, we've done: - "Make it pop" - "Make it edgy" - "Make it elevated" This one is "Jazz it up". https://gen.constellations.app/constellations/survey/e1f704ee-jazz-it-up/cskool I'm trying to wrap up the next lesson on different strategies for creating tests to post early to mid next week. Check back for updates and show me what you think jazz it up means if you have a moment. And if you've got a good "jazz it up or make it pop" story, share it below. It's always fun to commiserate over these pain points, but also hopefully collaborate to navigate them more effectively.