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Sell the Idea: Storytelling for design

4.8 (12)

·

2 Weeks

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Cohort-based Course

Make your ideas memorable and get buy-in. Learn how to pitch and present your work for maximum impact.

Course alumni

BBC
frog
Dyson
Metalab
Wieden+Kennedy

Course overview

Ideas with unmistakable potential

Ever struggled to get someone to see what you see?

It's not the idea; it's the way it's sold. Even the best ideas in the world can fall at the first hurdle — when they are communicated to the people needed to bring them to life. Whether that's a design manager, an executive, a $10m client or an investor. Keeping an idea alive at this moment is the real challenge. This course will arm you with three principles to do just that.


'Storytelling' is a designer's superpower, but usually unactionable

You've probably been told to "just use storytelling." Like everyone else, you likely found that vague and unhelpful. And yet, it's the most important skill to have if you want to accelerate your work and career. This course simplifies storytelling into a single element that you can easily use to your advantage.


If you dislike pitching, you're not alone

Presenting your work can feel exposing. Most people don't want to do it or fear it. That can wreak havoc on how an idea is expressed. The good news is this isn't a skill reserved for an elite few; you just need a simple method of preparation so you can confidently walk into the room, whatever the stakes.


The three principles in this course:


1) Inciting Incident

The only part of storytelling you need to make your idea compelling and memorable.


2) Context

Our ideas need to be fully understood. This exercise, when neglected, causes the majority of unfulfilled ideas.


3) The Surgeon

Effective selling that avoids caricatures and theatrics.


Plus:


• Live Q&As and discussions

• 3x real-world pitch examples

• Hands-on projects

• Collaboratively solve a pitch brief

• Hard-fought lessons about what not to do


Join teams from some of the world's best design and creative companies, including:


• Metalab

• Ticketmaster

• BBC

• Huge Inc

• Accenture

• Dyson

• Lululemon

• Frog

• Wieden + Kennedy

• Publicis Groupe

• Dentsu

Who this course is for

01

Design, product and strategy professionals in agencies or in-house teams who need to sell their work to clients or managers.

02

Founders of startups from the stages of Pre-Seed to Series A who are going through growth or venture capital fundraising.

03

Cross-functional teams who are required to conduct frequent internal ‘upwards selling’ to VP-level execs or the C-suite.

Masterfully delivered pitches

No more vague theory

Make storytelling actionable. One practical tool so you can use it to your advantage.

Avoid the common pitfalls of pitching ideas

A simple method to ensure your idea isn't misunderstood.

Learn from real-world pitch examples

See the principles in action. Learn from client, VC and high-profile talent pitches.

Live workshopping of briefs

Hands-on putting the principles to use as a community.

This course includes

3 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

21 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

2 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Dec 2—Dec 8

    Introduction

    4 items

    Principle 1: Inciting Incident

    7 items

    Principle 2: Context

    5 items

    Dec

    6

    Week 1 Q&A

    Fri 12/65:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)

Week 2

Dec 9—Dec 13

    Principle 3: The Surgeon

    4 items

    Dec

    12

    3x real-world pitch examples (client, VC, high-profile talent)

    Thu 12/127:00 PM—8:00 PM (UTC)

    Project: Briefs

    1 item

    Dec

    13

    Collaborative working session + Q&A

    Fri 12/135:00 PM—6:30 PM (UTC)

    Conclusion

    1 item

Post-course

    One final lesson

    1 item

4.8 (12 ratings)

What students are saying

Meet your instructor

Ian Wharton

Ian Wharton

20 years of design and innovation as the creator of award-winning and internationally bestselling digital products.


Ian has been honoured by the Apple Design Award, the Royal Television Society, and the Art Director’s Club in New York. He is the Founder of VC-backed healthtech company Aide Health, Founding Partner of digital product studio Zolmo and published author of Spark for the Fire: How Youthful Thinking Unlocks Creativity. He previously served as part of the design leadership for agencies in WPP and Publicis Groupe.


Ian has spoken at 30+ conferences worldwide, including Semi Permanent, Cannes Lions, and Thinking Digital. He has written for Fast Company, Sifted, The Guardian and Creative Review.


He is also an advisory board member of D&AD Shift and a member of the Board of Governors at Arts University Bournemouth, one of the top creative institutions in the UK.


More here: ianwharton.com

Trusted by the world's best teams

        Ian brings decades of experience, having worked across several senior positions in creative and start-up businesses. His materials are easy to follow and impactful, and he brings a wealth of real-world examples to the course. Ultimately, if you want your teams to be able to sell their work harder, put them through Sell the Idea.”
Simon Cox

Simon Cox

Global MD of Strategy, Huge Inc
        This course was exactly attuned to the level of learning that our already high-function team needed to push our understanding of storytelling methods further and apply them in our day-to-day. Every design team deserves to have this in their toolkit!
Michael Wanelmaier

Michael Wanelmaier

Previously Head of Design, Metalab
        Ian provided actionable insights we can immediately apply to make our ideas more compelling and impactful. This session is a must for any company looking to enhance their team's ability to communicate and sell ideas effectively. Highly recommended!”
Dan Whitehead

Dan Whitehead

Brand Creative Director, Frog
        Ian delivers a rejuvenating perspective on inventive thinking and conceptualisation. His commercial insight instructs creatives on the optimal strategies for presenting their ideas. An inspiring speaker that the global Ticketmaster Product and Design teams thoroughly enjoyed.
Troy Suda

Troy Suda

Chief Product Officer, Ticketmaster
        I would strongly advocate for anyone who is interested in improving this part of their skillset (not just designers) to go through this course. These are hard-won insights.”
Kevin Johnston

Kevin Johnston

Product Design Director, Future Platforms
        “Sell the Idea was a great course for our creative, social media, and marketing teams and proved super valuable for everyone involved. Creatives left with practical takeaways, while stakeholders gained insight into our pitching process. We've already been applying these learnings to our work."
Christopher Poots

Christopher Poots

Creative Director, N26
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Sell the Idea: Storytelling for design

Course schedule

2-4 hours per week

  • 💡 Go at your own pace

    Work through the 21 lessons (18 video) in your own time.

  • 👉 Apply the principles with projects

    Hands-on ways to apply your learnings.

  • 🙋‍♀️ Live Q&A at the end of Week 1

    1 hour

    I'll answer all of your questions about the course and my pitching and management experience over 20 years.

  • ⚡️ 3x pitch examples delivered live

    1 hour

    In one live session, I'll show you a real-world client, VC and high-profile talent pitch, and share the mistakes I've made so you can learn from them.

  • 👏 Live group session in Week 2

    1.5 hours

    Working together, we'll deconstruct and tackle two fictitious briefs. We'll apply the principles and see how they form a foundation for any pitch no matter the stakes, or the odds.

Reviews from course alumni

Reviews from course alumni
Free resource

Make 'storytelling' more actionable.

Using three beloved feature films, this free lesson covers the definitions of the Inciting Incident — the only part of narrative structure you need to use when selling an idea, whatever the stakes. It covers:


➤ What is it?

➤ Why is it so crucial?

➤ How do we use it to our advantage?

Get the free video lesson 👇

Frequently Asked Questions

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Sell the Idea: Storytelling for design