AlabamaCreates

12-Week Curriculum Overview · Brand & Interactive Tracks

A milestone-based arc for building AI-native brand and interactive directors through real client work. Brand and Interactive run alongside each other on the same timeline, locking strategy together and shipping integrated deliverables. Two 6-week project cycles, bookended by in-person experiences.

Opens Sat Jul 18, 2026 2 project cycles · 6 weeks each 2 client engagements Brand + Interactive + Motion Closes Sat Oct 17, 2026

The 12-Week Arc

At a glance
Phase Dates Client Focus
Pre-Work Before Sat Jul 18, 2026 None "What to Expect" overview, software setup, hardware setup. The cohort arrives ready to execute on Saturday.
Boot Camp (In-Person) Sat Jul 18, 2026 · 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM · House Eleven Mock Client (internal) Studio formation, process and standards in discipline tracks, mock client experience
Cycle 1: Calibration Mon Jul 20 – Sun Aug 30, 2026 · Weeks 1–6 Nonprofit (no fee) Discovery > Strategy Lock > Divergence > Convergence > Production > Delivery
Midpoint In-Person Experience Sat Aug 29, 2026 · Birmingham None Single-day cohort regroup, reflection, and recalibration. Momentum reset entering Cycle 2.
Cycle 2: Studio Mon Aug 31 – Sun Oct 11, 2026 · Weeks 7–12 Paying Client Discovery > Strategy Lock > Divergence > Convergence > Production > Delivery
Closing Weekend & Public Showcase Sat Oct 17, 2026 · Public showcase None Monetization, positioning, public showcase, 90–180 day plan

How Brand and Interactive Move Together

Brand is the upstream anchor. Strategy locks at the Friday Office Hours of Week 2 and Week 8. Interactive uses the locked positioning as the brief for experience strategy and visual design. Both tracks ship inside the same 6-phase cycle and converge in one integrated client delivery at the end of each cycle.

Weekly Cadence

The week has the same shape across all 12 weeks. Three touchpoints — one studio-internal, one async, one with a mentor. Heavy synchronous load is reserved for Presentation Weeks (Wks 4 and 10) and Delivery Weeks (Wks 6 and 12).

DayTouchpointWhat it is
MondayStudio ConvergenceStudios meet amongst themselves. Focus on alignment, accountability, and production planning. No mentor required.
WednesdayVideo Update1-minute async progress update from each cohort member. Doubles as accountability and storytelling/documentation.
FridayOffice Hours15-minute mentor check-in, as needed, for up to 8 cohort members. Review progress, blockers, and quality. Wk 2 and Wk 8 office hours double as the strategy lock.

Mentor commitment: roughly 8 hours total at Boot Camp on Sat Jul 18, plus weekly Friday office hours as needed across the program.

Three Group Formats Across the Program

The cohort rotates between three group formats. Each format has a distinct purpose in how work is taught, judged, and produced.

Format 1

Full Group

12 students + 3 teachers

The full cohort gathers for alignment, framing, and key moments across the program. Used at the open and close of each in-person day, and at major program-level transitions.

Format 2

Discipline Tracks

3 groups of 4 (Brand, Motion, Interactive)

Each discipline forms its own group of four for skill-building, tooling, and evaluation against track-specific standards. This is where craft is taught and judged.

Format 3

Studios

4 groups of 3 (1 Brand, 1 Motion, 1 Interactive)

Studios are the integrated delivery teams. They are fixed for the full 12 weeks so each studio builds the chemistry and collaboration that real client work requires.

Pre-Work · Before Sat Jul 18, 2026

"What to Expect," Software, Hardware

A pre-work package goes out before the Opening Experience so the cohort arrives ready to execute on Saturday morning. Setup is done before the day, not during it.
Pre-Work Package Sent in advance of Sat Jul 18
Three deliverables go to every cohort member ahead of opening day. The bar is that nobody loses Saturday morning to installation issues or unanswered questions about how the program runs.
  • "What to Expect" overview: the 12-week arc, the three group formats, the studio model, weekly rhythm, and what success looks like at the end of each cycle.
  • Required software setup: track-specific tool installation and account creation. Brand cohort installs Claude with Branding-Skills plus access to Figma, Khroma, and FontJoy. Interactive cohort installs Claude Code, Figma, GitHub, and a Netlify or Vercel account.
  • Required hardware setup: each cohort member receives the program's hardware kit and confirms it is operational. Brand kit includes the MacBook Pro and the Epson WorkForce ES-50 mobile scanner described in the Brand Hardware Guide.
Goal: Saturday morning opens with relationships and process, not setup.
Opening Experience · Sat Jul 18, 2026 · 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM · House Eleven

Studio Formation + Process + Standards + Mock Client

A single in-person day at House Eleven. The cohort arrives having completed pre-work, so the day moves directly into team formation, discipline-track teaching on process and standards, and a mock client experience that introduces how studios actually work together.
Morning · Hour 1 · 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Orientation + Studio Formation (Full Group → Studios)
Establish relationships and begin forming team identity early. Studios meet for the first time today and stay together for the full 12 weeks.
  • Full group intro (15 min).
  • Break into studios for the first time (15 min).
  • Studio icebreaker (30 min).
Morning · Hour 2 · 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Process + Tools (Discipline Tracks)
Frame how work moves from idea to delivery. Each track learns the Client Cycle Structure and gets hands on the tools they will use across both project cycles.
  • Transition into discipline tracks (5 min).
  • Teach the Client Cycle Structure across the 5-layer process (55 min).
  • Introduce track-specific tooling.
  • Introduce Claude in each track and frame how AI fits into the cycle.
Morning · Hour 3 · 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Standards (Discipline Tracks)
Align on taste, quality bar, and decision-making framework. Each track teaches its own first principles for judging the work.
  • 10 min break.
  • Teach first principles inside each discipline track (50 min).

Lunch Break · 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Afternoon · Hour 1 · 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Mock Client Experience, Part 1 (Discipline Tracks)
A shared mock client is introduced. Each participant works from their discipline lens. Each studio member is working on a different piece of the same client without realizing it initially.
  • Stay in discipline tracks from the morning.
  • Introduce the shared mock client brief inside each track.
  • Each participant begins working on the piece of the client that fits their discipline.
Afternoon · Hour 2 · 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Mock Client Experience, Part 2 (Discipline Tracks)
Continue building. The objective is to reinforce both process and execution under light pressure, and to confirm tool proficiency across each track before real client work starts on Monday.
  • Continue building on the same mock client brief.
  • Confirm tool proficiency across each track.
  • Track leads coach on standards in real time, not after the fact.
Afternoon · Hour 3 · 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Studio Integration + Close (Studios → Full Group)
Bring everything back to the studio level and solidify identity and cohesion. The reveal that the three discipline pieces were on the same client connects the day's work to the studio model that runs the next 12 weeks.
  • 15 min break.
  • Break into studios and debrief the day (15 min).
  • Each studio defines its Studio Name (15 min).
  • Full group closing and dismissal (15 min).
Optional: Informal happy hour at 6:00 PM.
Cycle 1 · Calibration · Weeks 1–6 · Mon Jul 20 – Sun Aug 30, 2026

Nonprofit Client · No Fee

First engagement. Orientation leads are heavily involved. Nothing ships to the client without their review.
Week 1 · Mon Jul 20 – Sun Jul 26 Client Discovery + Independent Research
No kickoff meeting. The client receives the Discovery Workbook on Monday and returns it by end of week. Cohort runs independent research in parallel. By Sunday, both the completed workbook and the cohort's research are in hand.
Brand
  • Send the Discovery Workbook to the client on Monday with a clear return-by date.
  • Independent research: client's category, competitors, market context.
  • Competitive brand audit — visual and verbal presence of category competitors.
  • By Sunday: completed workbook in hand alongside the research dossier.
Interactive
  • Independent research on audience behavior, digital touchpoints, and devices.
  • Audit the competitive digital landscape. Gather 3–5 reference websites.
  • Once the workbook lands, Claude extracts experience signals from it.
  • By Sunday: completed workbook in hand alongside the research dossier.
Cross-team: No client meeting this week. Both tracks build their research dossiers in parallel. End-of-week state: completed Discovery Workbook from the client + independent research, ready for Week 2 strategic decisions.
Week 2 · Mon Jul 27 – Sun Aug 2 Strategic Positioning · Strategy Lock
Monday Studio Convergence: team reviews the completed workbook and Week 1 research together and decides strategic positioning. Wednesday video update captures direction. Friday Office Hours (Fri Jul 31) doubles as the strategy lock with the mentor.
Brand
  • Monday Studio Convergence: review workbook + research. Identify surprises, contradictions, gaps.
  • Decide unique positioning. Answer the three core questions in writing.
  • Claude builds the Strategy & Positioning presentation from your decisions.
  • Friday Office Hours: present strategy to the mentor. Lock the positioning before any visual work.
Interactive
  • Monday Studio Convergence: review workbook + research alongside Brand.
  • Answer the three experience questions: who, feel, action.
  • Map information architecture and build low-fidelity wireframes (desktop + mobile). Cycle 1 scope: 1–3 pages.
  • Friday Office Hours: present experience strategy and wireframes to the mentor. Lock IA.
Cross-team: Strategic decisions are made together at the Monday Studio Convergence from a shared evidence base. Brand strategy locks first at Friday Office Hours. Locked positioning is shared with Interactive and Motion immediately so downstream design can begin Monday.
Week 3 · Mon Aug 3 – Sun Aug 9 Exploration (Divergence)
Volume over precision in both tracks. Standard cadence: Mon Studio Convergence, Wed Video Update, Fri Office Hours.
Brand
  • Explore color directions in Khroma.
  • Explore typography pairings in Fontjoy.
  • Explore logo concepts with Gemini. Multiple distinct directions.
  • AI Check-in #1: prompt specificity and direction.
Interactive
  • Receive the brand identity system as it emerges from Brand.
  • Generate 3–5 distinctly different Figma directions for the home view.
  • Build early-stage component assets in Figma.
  • Claude stress-tests each direction against the experience strategy.
Cross-team: Studio shares divergent directions inside the Monday Studio Convergence. Wednesday video updates capture the range across the cohort.
Week 4 · Mon Aug 10 – Sun Aug 16 Presentation Week · Convergence
Mon Studio Convergence. Wed Mentor Presentation: full studios convene over Zoom and present work and strategic direction to Ben/Tyden. Fri Client Presentation: studios present work directly to clients. Friday Office Hours required.
Brand
  • Refine the logo suite (primary, secondary, icon, lockups).
  • Lock color palette and typography standards.
  • Claude generates baseline brand deliverables (cards, letterhead, social, slides).
  • Wednesday: present work and direction to Ben/Tyden over Zoom.
  • Friday: present work directly to the client.
Interactive
  • Narrow to the strongest Figma direction. Build full-fidelity design.
  • Document interaction states (default, hover, active, disabled).
  • Wednesday: present design and strategic direction to Ben/Tyden over Zoom.
  • Friday: present to the client. Set up GitHub + Netlify/Vercel. Begin Claude Code build.
Cross-team: Two presentations, one studio voice. Wednesday mentor presentation is the internal QC moment. Friday client presentation is the studio's first live present-back of the cycle.
Week 5 · Mon Aug 17 – Sun Aug 23 Final Convergence
Standard cadence: Mon Studio Convergence, Wed Video Update, Fri Office Hours. Studios incorporate client feedback from Wk 4 and finalize work for delivery in Wk 6.
Brand
  • Refine collateral templates beyond the AI-generated baseline.
  • Build the Brand Guidelines document and social media framework.
  • Friday Office Hours: walk the mentor through final state ahead of delivery.
  • Pre-delivery rehearsal inside the studio.
Interactive
  • Complete the build across all pages and breakpoints.
  • Integrate motion assets. Run systematic QA pass (Figma vs. live site).
  • Close gaps with Claude Code. Friday Office Hours: walk the mentor through final state.
  • Pre-delivery rehearsal on staging URL.
Cross-team: Joint pre-delivery rehearsal inside the studio at end of week. Brand, Motion, and Interactive present as one integrated system.
Week 6 · Mon Aug 24 – Sun Aug 30 Final Delivery
Mon Studio Convergence. Wed Video Update. Fri Office Hours. One integrated final client delivery this week. Production deploy. Client feedback captured. Internal debrief and individual reflection.
Brand
  • Present the brand system to the client (lead observes).
  • Generate brand file package with Claude (logo variants, formats, color specs).
  • Hand off the organized package and walk client through it.
  • Capture client feedback. Post-delivery debrief and individual reflection.
Interactive
  • Deploy the live site to production.
  • Present live site to the client (lead observes).
  • Hand off site, repo, deployment credentials, and content update guide.
  • QA report. Debrief. Individual reflection.
Cross-team: One integrated presentation. The team presents as one vision. Midpoint in-person experience on Sat Aug 29.

Midpoint In-Person Experience · Sat Aug 29, 2026 · Birmingham

Single-day cohort regroup. Reflection and recalibration. Momentum reset entering Cycle 2. Cycle 2 Discovery Workbook goes out to the client on Mon Aug 31.

Cycle 2 · Studio · Weeks 7–12 · Mon Aug 31 – Sun Oct 11, 2026

Paying Client · Revenue Share Active

Same six-phase shape as Cycle 1, higher standard. Orientation leads shift to oversight and coaching. Cohort members run the room.
Week 7 · Mon Aug 31 – Sun Sep 6 Client Discovery + Independent Research
No kickoff meeting. Discovery Workbook sent to client on Monday and returned by end of week. Cohort runs sharper, faster research than Cycle 1.
Brand
  • Send the Discovery Workbook to the client on Monday with a return-by date.
  • Independent research on the client's category, competitors, and market context.
  • Sharper competitive brand audit — faster than Cycle 1.
  • Once the workbook lands, Claude review with more specific prompts.
Interactive
  • Independent Claude research session on audience and category patterns.
  • Sharper competitive digital audit. Reference site gathering with intent.
  • Once the workbook lands, extract experience signals against the client's specific industry.
  • By Sunday: completed workbook + tighter research dossier.
Cross-team: Same shape as Cycle 1, faster. The cohort drives both research and the eventual Monday strategic positioning meeting in Week 8 without lead facilitation.
Week 8 · Mon Sep 7 – Sun Sep 13 Strategic Positioning · Strategy Lock
Monday Studio Convergence: team reviews the completed workbook and Week 7 research together and decides strategic positioning. Wednesday video update. Friday Office Hours (Fri Sep 11) doubles as the strategy lock with the mentor.
Brand
  • Monday Studio Convergence: review workbook + research. Faster synthesis than Cycle 1.
  • First principles self-audit (value, difference, loss) before presenting.
  • Decide gaps and unique positioning. Sharper than Cycle 1.
  • Friday Office Hours: present strategy. Lock.
Interactive
  • Monday Studio Convergence alongside Brand.
  • Independent experience strategy with written rationale.
  • Sharper IA and tighter wireframes across desktop, tablet, mobile. Cycle 2 scope: 2–4 pages.
  • Friday Office Hours: present and lock IA.
Cross-team: Strategic decisions are made together at the Monday Studio Convergence from the shared workbook + research evidence base. Brand locks first at Friday Office Hours; Interactive locks immediately after. Whole-team turnaround visibly faster than Cycle 1.
Week 9 · Mon Sep 14 – Sun Sep 20 Exploration (Divergence)
Higher-standard divergence in both tracks. Standard cadence: Mon Studio Convergence, Wed Video Update, Fri Office Hours.
Brand
  • Khroma color exploration with strategy-led intent.
  • Fontjoy typography pairings.
  • Gemini logo concepts. More precise prompts than Cycle 1.
Interactive
  • 3–4 distinct Figma directions at production-grade fidelity.
  • Build proper Figma component assets that survive into Convergence.
  • Claude stress-tests each direction with tighter prompts.
Cross-team: Studios share divergent directions inside the Monday Studio Convergence. Wednesday video updates capture range across the cohort.
Week 10 · Mon Sep 21 – Sun Sep 27 Presentation Week · Convergence
Mon Studio Convergence. Wed Mentor Presentation: full studios convene over Zoom and present work and strategic direction to Ben/Tyden. Fri Client Presentation: studios present work directly to clients. Friday Office Hours required.
Brand
  • Refine the logo suite at portfolio standard.
  • Lock color palette and typography.
  • Claude generates baseline deliverables; push past defaults sooner.
  • Wednesday: present work and direction to Ben/Tyden over Zoom.
  • Friday: present directly to the client.
Interactive
  • Narrow to strongest direction. Full-fidelity Figma with all interaction states.
  • Lock design. Set up project. Begin independent Claude Code build.
  • Wednesday: present design and direction to Ben/Tyden over Zoom.
  • Friday: present to the client on a staging URL where possible.
Cross-team: Cohort owns both presentations. Brand director is responsible for coherence across the team's converged direction.
Week 11 · Mon Sep 28 – Sun Oct 4 Final Convergence
Standard cadence: Mon Studio Convergence, Wed Video Update, Fri Office Hours. Studios incorporate client feedback from Wk 10 and finalize work for delivery in Wk 12.
Brand
  • Refine collateral and social framework beyond baseline.
  • Build full Brand Guidelines document at professional grade.
  • Friday Office Hours: walk the mentor through final state ahead of delivery.
  • Pre-delivery rehearsal inside the studio.
Interactive
  • Complete the build with full responsive implementation.
  • Integrate motion assets. Independent QA pass.
  • Friday Office Hours: walk the mentor through final state.
  • Pre-delivery rehearsal on staging URL.
Cross-team: Joint pre-delivery rehearsal inside the studio. Anticipate the hard client questions before they are asked.
Week 12 · Mon Oct 5 – Sun Oct 11 Final Delivery
Mon Studio Convergence. Wed Video Update. Fri Office Hours. Final client delivery this week. Cohort owns the room. Lead observes. Showcase preparation begins for Sat Oct 17.
Brand
  • Present the full brand system to the client. Own the room.
  • Generate the brand file package with Claude.
  • Package and hand off all deliverables.
  • Post-delivery debrief and individual reflection.
Interactive
  • Deploy to production. Present the live site to the client.
  • Hand off site, repo, deployment credentials, content update guide.
  • Post-delivery debrief with harder questions than Cycle 1.
  • Individual reflection comparing Cycle 1 to Cycle 2.
Cross-team: Showcase preparation begins. Two engagements, the growth in cohort thinking from Week 1 to Week 12 — this becomes the public showcase narrative.
Closing Experience (In-Person) · Sat Oct 17, 2026

Monetization, Positioning, and Public Showcase

Shift from craft to monetization, positioning, and execution post-program. Public showcase of the cohort's two engagements.
Morning Public Showcase
  • Public showcase across all teams: two engagements each, brand and interactive presented together.
  • Cohort presents to invited audience: clients, future partners, community.
  • Final individual reflection captured on camera for the program content engine.
Afternoon Monetization & Positioning
  • Packaging skills into services: what does each cohort member sell, and to whom.
  • Pricing and client acquisition fundamentals.
  • Positioning options: solo operator, micro-studio, agency partnership.
  • Goal-setting for the next 90–180 days.
  • Each participant leaves with a clear "what happens next" plan.

Ongoing Program Layer

Weekly vlogs (required)

Across all 12 weeks, every cohort member produces a required weekly vlog. The vlogs serve three functions at once: internal progress reporting, accountability mechanism, and content engine to showcase the program publicly.

Core Skills

What each track is really teaching

Brand: strategic thinking that produces a defensible visual system. By Week 12, every visual decision is traceable to positioning, and every positioning decision is defensible against the competitive landscape.

Interactive: QA as the defining practice. The entire value proposition of building with AI depends on the director's ability to evaluate output and systematically close the gap between what they designed and what got built. By Week 12, the lead finds nothing the director did not already catch.

Key Philosophy Shift

Opening to closing

Opening (July) sets craft and standard. Closing (October) sets monetization, direction, and public showcase. The 12 weeks in between are where the work happens.

AlabamaCreates · 12-Week Curriculum Overview · Brand & Interactive Tracks · v2.1