Strategic Design Career Accelerator

4.8 (42)

·

5 Weeks

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Cohort-based Course

From business strategy, communicating the value of design to career growth planning. Learn to become a high performing strategic designer

Course alumni from:

Google
DoorDash
LinkedIn
Visa Inc.
Atlassian

Course overview

The one holistic course to become the most business savvy designer in the room

🌎 MAR cohort timezone - AEST / PST / EST

🌎 JUN cohort timezone - EU / APAC


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⭐️9.7/10 Rating ⭐️ 3 cohorts annually ⭐️ 20 students per cohort ⭐️ Unlimited 1-1 support

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🥲 Do you feel lack of confidence to contribute to business strategy as a designer?

🥲 Perhaps you've hit the 'design skill ceiling" and unsure how to take your career to the next level.

🥲 You might feel powerless when communicating design solutions to business partners and wonder what it takes to become an high performing strategic partner to the business.


I've created this course to help you overcome these exact challenges.👆🏼


Designers with the most success in our industry are business-aware.


If you think narrowly and talk about "design and design only" without factoring in business growth and understanding how to share the value of design, your impact will stay shallow.


From an alumni Lead Designer's review: "This is by far, one of the best course I've taken about combining business with design."


Tap into the real live MBA strategies and success frameworks I've used to grow my own multi 6 figure business, as well as helping companies to secure millions in funding.


This course will give you the skills, frameworks, scripts and adaptable knowledge necessary to influence design in your company and change the way you show up as a designer forever.


The choice is yours:

👉🏽 Continue as an average performer, or seize this unique learning opportunity to become a high-performing strategic design partner.


If you can commit to put in the work for 4 weeks, approximately 4-6 hours/week, the outcome will surprise you.


P.S. Reimburse the cost of this course if your company offer Learning and Development budget. Otherwise, seek accounting advise regarding related to your role should be tax deductible.

Who is this course for

01

Growth Designers


Infuse strategic business thinking into your process, lead and inspire your team through trends, strategy and execution.

02

Senior Designers


You've mastered craft-focused skills and ready to level up to become the most business savvy designer in the room.

03

Start-up / Freelance Designer


Gain confidence in business decision-making, become an invincible design partner to drive business growth

04

NOT for Junior Designers


This course is best suited for anyone with any least 3 years industry experience or a career transitioner.

What you’ll get out of this course

Develop business acumen and become a savvy strategic partner

Gain new perspectives into business landscapes and increase your ability to make decision within and beyond the business eco-system. Becoming empowered to make strategic decisions and communicate business value through design.

Influence strategic decisions by connecting design to business growth

The art of how to influence effectively. Apply proven frameworks and process to align strategic goals, lead cross-functional collaboration, and increase design influence with new found business confidence.

Turn research insights into compelling product opportunities, learn to communicate the value of design

Learn to apply minimum viable research frameworks to guide your designs and measure success. Connect business goals with the value of design. Become a persuasive storyteller with proven frameworks to follow.

Holistic career planning, craft your impact story to pitch for promotion

Life is so much more than "work". The art to create the dream career path is by aligning it with your true life vision. You'll learn to set effective goals for professional development, walk away with a plan to execute and evaluate towards your end goal.

Instructor 1-1 support when you need

Any questions or challenges during the course, Instructor is only one message away to provide any support you need to maximise your learning experience.

This course includes

9 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

44 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

8 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

Feb 28—Mar 2

    Feb

    27

    Course Kick off + Meet & Greet 👋🏽

    Thu 2/2711:00 PM—12:00 AM (UTC)

    Course Introduction 🙌🏽

    3 items

Week 2

Mar 3—Mar 9

    Mar

    7

    Module 1 - Mastering Business Acumen

    Fri 3/711:00 PM—12:00 AM (UTC)

    Module 1: Mastering Business Acumen

    12 items

Week 3

Mar 10—Mar 16

    Mar

    10

    Learning review - Module 1

    Mon 3/109:30 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

    Mar

    14

    Module 2: Design Impact: Connecting Design with Business Transformation

    Fri 3/1411:00 PM—12:30 AM (UTC)

    Design Impact: Connecting Design With Business Transformation

    12 items

Week 4

Mar 17—Mar 23

    Mar

    17

    Learning review - Module 2

    Mon 3/179:30 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

    Mar

    21

    Module 3 - Design Rationales, Design ROI & Business Storytelling

    Fri 3/2111:00 PM—12:00 AM (UTC)

    Module 3 - Design Rationales, Design ROI & Business Storytelling

    11 items

Week 5

Mar 24—Mar 30

    Mar

    24

    Learning review - Module 3

    Mon 3/249:30 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

    Mar

    28

    Module 4 - Strategic Design Career Planning

    Fri 3/2811:00 PM—12:00 AM (UTC)

    Module 4 - Strategic Design Career Planning

    10 items

Week 6

Mar 31—Apr 1

    Mar

    30

    Course Review + Graduation 👩🏽‍🎓

    Sun 3/309:30 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

Post-course

4.8 (42 ratings)

What students are saying

What's it like to learn from Jacalin?

        This is by far, one of the best courses I've taken about combining business and design. I've spent a lot of time and money in so many courses and this one has it all, plus the amazing experience of Jacalin! She is one of the most intelligent, knowledgeable and approachable persons I know. Highly recommend the course!
Paulina Galindo 🇺🇸

Paulina Galindo 🇺🇸

Lead Product Designer | DoorDash | Ex-Linkedin
        Jac, you made this course fun and enjoyable to attend. I personally valued your holistic approach to what you taught and provided valuable information not just for our design careers but for life.
Nikki Beckman 🇺🇸

Nikki Beckman 🇺🇸

Product Designer | Paramount | CBS Sports
        Jac's approach to measuring design value and communicating with stakeholders is inspiring. She has taught me to analyse challenges beyond design. One quote from her that has shifted how I solve problems since the beginning of my career is "A great designer always thinks like a business designer".
Man Hin Ma 🇦🇺

Man Hin Ma 🇦🇺

Senior Product Designer | Zip | ex-Eucalyptus
        I loved learning from Jac. She was an absolute legend - making sure our class was always engaged and went out of her way to make the class time productive, fun and of course very relevant. Jac also kept the learning pace at a good rate. Can’t thank her enough for such a valuable learning experience!!
Aneka Reid 🇦🇺

Aneka Reid 🇦🇺

UX Manager | My Muscle Chef
        I see Jacalin as a role model for designers - always learning, curious and passionate. She generously shared her knowledge, resources and inspiration to help me grow into a more impactful designer.
Michelle Ou  🇦🇺

Michelle Ou  🇦🇺

Human-Centred Designer | Inclusive Design Practitioner | Design Mentor
        This course provides meaningful content for UX Designers wanting to elevate their practice and move into a senior role. During this course, Jacalin has mentored me on strategic thinking with real world applications that allow me to build influence within my organisation. I feel much better positioned now to deliver measurable design outcomes.
Reece Turnbull 🇦🇺

Reece Turnbull 🇦🇺

Senior UX Designer
Free resource

From Designer to Strategic Partner: 3 Ways to Elevate Your Impact

In this focused webinar, learn the mindset shifts and practical steps to move beyond craft and align your design work with business outcomes.


Break through common mental blockers and discover what it really takes to become an influential business partner – not just a designer.


Featuring Jac's personal journey and practical insights.


Unlock this 18-min power session 👇🏼

(limited access)

Watch now:

Meet your instructor

Jacalin Ding

Jacalin Ding

Principal Product Design Leader // Entrepreneur // Mentor // Speaker

Jacalin Ding is a seasoned product design leader and business strategist with over 15 years of experience in building and leading design teams and products. She has collaborated with startups, enterprises, and agencies across New York, Vancouver, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney.


As a strategic business designer, Jacalin has worked directly with CEOs and founders, helping to raise millions in funding for their businesses. She has also successfully built a side business that generates multiple six figures in annual revenue.


Since 2018, Jacalin's courses have empowered over 10,000 designers to connect design with business success. She has coached designers from leading companies including Google, DoorDash, LinkedIn, Visa and Atlassian.



A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

Strategic Design Career Accelerator

Cohort 5 - Mar 2025

$980

Dates

Feb 27—Apr 1, 2025

Payment Deadline

Feb 28, 2025

Cohort 6 - Jun 2025

$980

Dates

May 29—June 29, 2025

Payment Deadline

May 29, 2025

Cohort 7 - Oct 2025

$980

Dates

Oct 16—Nov 17, 2025

Payment Deadline

Oct 16, 2025
Get reimbursed

Course schedule

2 live sessions + 4-5 hours self study

  • Weekly Live Classes

    See cohort timezones

    1-1.5hr

    Weekly module learning

    Q&A

    Collaborations


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    MAR Cohort: AEST 10am / PDT 6pm / EDT 9pm

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    JUN Cohort: EU 8am / AEST 6pm / APAC pm

  • Q&A, Learning Reflection

    See cohort timezones

    1hr

    Weekly assignment learning review

    Q&A


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    MAR Cohort: AEST 8.30am / PDT 1.30pm / EDT 4.30pm

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    JUN Cohort: EU 8am / AEST 6pm / APAC pm

Frequently Asked Questions

Stay in the loop

Sign up to be the first to know about course updates.

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

Strategic Design Career Accelerator

Cohort 5 - Mar 2025

$980

Dates

Feb 27—Apr 1, 2025

Payment Deadline

Feb 28, 2025

Cohort 6 - Jun 2025

$980

Dates

May 29—June 29, 2025

Payment Deadline

May 29, 2025

Cohort 7 - Oct 2025

$980

Dates

Oct 16—Nov 17, 2025

Payment Deadline

Oct 16, 2025
Get reimbursed

$980

4.8 (42)

·

5 Weeks