Make It In Design Winter School 2023: A Review of the Course Curriculum and Learning Experience.

As a surface pattern designer, I am constantly seeking new ways to improve my craft and expand my skill set. That’s why I recently completed the Make It In Design Winter School and I wanted to write about my experience.

I am not an affiliate of Make It In Design (“MIID”) and I have not been paid for publishing this review. My opinions on the MIID platform are purely honest and objective, and I hope that sharing my experience can help you decide whether their Winter School course is suitable for your needs.

Why Make It In Design?

Make It In Design is an online platform and community for aspiring and established surface pattern designers looking to learn new skills, access industry resources and connect with like-minded creatives. The founders: Rachel Taylor and Beth Kempton are successful creative entrepreneurs, published writers and creative mentors.

In the post-pandemic world, there are a multitude of design courses available online and you may wonder why I decided to take this particular one. The following reasons led me to choose the Make It In Design course. 

Firstly, the courses are developed by individuals with extensive knowledge and insights into the design industry. This gave me the confidence that I was learning from professionals who had a deep understanding of the industry and could guide me in the right direction for success. 

Secondly, the content of the courses is up-to-date and relevant to modern design trends, which is essential in a field that is constantly evolving. 

The fact that they collaborate with a range of industry specialists from various design disciplines further solidified my decision to enrol. Finally, the community group access provided a unique and valuable opportunity for me to connect and learn from like-minded creatives. This added an important aspect to my learning experience and gave me a sense of belonging to a community of passionate designers.

Course Curriculum

The MIID Winter School ran for several weeks, the classroom opened on 27th January and it concluded on 3rd April with the announcement of the competition’s winners. Once I  purchased the course I received an email inviting me to log in to the MIID platform and access the Facebook group created specifically for the Winter School 2023 students.

I should note that the Winter School had three tracks: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Since it was my first course with MIID, I opted for the beginner level, which provided a solid foundation. I later learned that I could have purchased all three tracks simultaneously, but I’m unsure if MIID plans to continue offering this option. They are currently evaluating the model for these three tracks going forward.

The course curriculum included two design briefs for each track based on the trend reports curated by Victoria Brawn, co-founder of the trend consultancy, Porter & Brawn. She delivered trend reports in live video sessions (with recording available later for convenience). 

Additionally, I received a downloadable PDF including the brief description, inspirational photography, colour palette, keywords, motif ideas and further research resources. 

I faced some challenges with the briefs to start with. The themes were quite abstract and did not align with my creative style, making it difficult for me to come up with ideas. For example, the first brief, ‘Kaleidoscope’, encouraged the use of clashing colours and patterns, which was quite challenging for me. The second brief, ‘Earthworks’, was based on natural patterns and textures created by nature, which required me to use a brown colour palette. I am not able to share the trend reports, but here are the mood boards I created for these two briefs.

What helped me overcome my struggles was the fun creative challenge: „Embrace the accidental’ introduced in week two. Our task was to get our hands dirty with paint, scissors glue etc. and create our own painted papers with textures and colours and then put them together in a collage. Here are the collage pieces I created:

In addition to the design briefs and trend reports we also received several free mockup files and two technical lessons on creating pattern repeats – in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. 

I must also mention that there were prizes for the two design briefs, for the fun challenges and for two typography challenges promoting the Winter School course. The main prizes included: enrolment to Module 1 – Designing Your Way MIID course, fabric printed by Fashion Formula (with your design) and a place in a MIID Summer School 2023.

Sadly, I didn’t win any of the prizes but my designs were featured in the MIID blog. Here are the designs I created.

Learning Experience

The MIID online platform was easy to use, with neatly organised tabs that made navigation and access to course materials accessible from any device. Even though I was initially disappointed with the beginner track briefs, I ultimately appreciated the opportunity to explore new themes and techniques and have come away from learning much from the course.

One of the things that stood out to me the most about the course was the supportive community. It was great to see so many designers coming together to share their work, offer feedback, and encourage one another. It felt like a safe and inclusive space where everyone was welcome to learn and grow.

For this reason, I recently decided to subscribe to the MIID Live Hub, an online community with access to the latest design trends, industry insights and inspiration.

Conclusion

Overall, I  recommend the Make It In Design Winter School to any aspiring surface pattern designer. Whether you’re just starting or had worked in the field for years, this course can challenge you and take your skills to the next level. 

To learn more about MIID courses and their Live Hub membership click here.

Have you taken any of the Make It In Design courses? What is your opinion on their platform? I would love to hear from you! If you have any questions or suggestions, please pop them in the comment box below. Don’t forget, you can subscribe to my email list if you want to be informed when I publish a new article.