Managing Design Teams Course

Managing Design Teams

Managing a graphic design or creative team is a complex, rewarding role that blends leadership, creativity, and strategic thinking. This workshop provides practical training for new and experienced design leaders alike to excel in that role. In engaging in-person or live online sessions, you’ll explore how to transition from doing the design work to leading the designers. The course covers proven techniques for communicating with creative teams, setting clear goals and roles, and providing constructive feedback to nurture talent. You’ll delve into methods for streamlining design processes without stifling creativity, ensuring projects stay on track and meet high quality standards.

Questions about this class? Interested in a private or customized training? Call to speak with a training consultant: 781-376-6044.

Ways to attend this Graphic Design Course

  • Live Online classes from your office or home as a regularly scheduled small group class.
  • Live, in-person regularly scheduled Graphic Design classes in Boston or Philadelphia with a live instructor in the same classroom.
  • Private training customized to your specific needs delivered in-person or online. Call 781-376-6044 or complete the Private Graphic Design Training form for more information.
  • Corporate Graphic Design Training for your group or team.

What You Will Learn in this Managing Design Teams Course

  • Lead vs. Do: How to transition from being an individual designer to an effective team leader, adopting the mindset and skills needed to move from executing design work to directing and empowering others.
  • Team Management Best Practices: Techniques for managing and growing a creative team, including hiring the right people, coaching and mentoring designers, and creating an environment where your team can excel.
  • Communication & Feedback Skills: How to communicate clearly with your team and stakeholders, and build a constructive feedback culture. You’ll practice methods to encourage open dialogue and critique that improve collaboration and creativity.
  • Handling Challenges: Strategies to navigate common challenges in design team leadership, such as resolving creative conflicts, managing tight deadlines or project changes, and scaling your team’s processes as it grows.
  • Creative Culture Building: Ways to foster an innovative, inclusive team culture where members are motivated, feel valued, and are comfortable taking creative risks. Learn to embrace failure as learning, celebrate wins, and keep your team inspired.
  • Strategic Alignment: How to advocate for design’s value and speak the language of business. You’ll learn to present design ideas to executives, align projects with business goals, and become a stronger voice for design in your organization.
A student in a graphic design class.
All Graphic Design classes include

free retakes of courses Free retake

Curriculum provided Detailed curriculum

Live instructor Live instructor

flexible rescheduling Flexible rescheduling

flexible rescheduling Certificate of Completion

small class Small class sizes

course recording Course recording

Why the Design Leadership Course is Useful

  • Successful Project Delivery: Effective design management ensures projects are completed on schedule and within budget while meeting stakeholder expectations. Learn to reduce delays and deliver more consistent results for clients and stakeholders.
  • High-Quality Results: You will learn to implement standard processes that lead to more consistent, high-quality creative output. This means better work that meets or exceeds client expectations every time.
  • Improved Team Morale & Retention: By creating a positive, well-structured team environment, you’ll increase job satisfaction and motivation on your team, keeping your best talent on board longer. Happier designers produce better work and contribute more enthusiastically.
  • Greater Innovation & Impact: A strong design leader can drive more innovation and align creative efforts with business goals. Mastering leadership skills enables you to contribute to driving innovation and delivering exceptional design experiences that are key to organizational success. Learn how your team’s work can have a bigger impact on your organization and audience.
  • Career Advancement: This course helps keep you on the path of being a design leader who inspires, strategizes, and drives impact.

There are currently no evening classes scheduled for this course.

Please call 800-851-9237 or 781-376-6044 to schedule a course

or contact AGI to request course dates.

Managing Design Teams Course Outline

  • Understandign Creative Leadership Roles: Find out how managing a creative team differs from general management, with unique challenges that require careful navigation. Discuss the critical impact of effective design team management on delivering projects on time and meeting stakeholder expectations.
  • Leadership Mindset & Skills: Learn the mindset shifts needed to transition from being a designer to a team leader. Explore different leadership styles, negotiation techniques, and the role of emotional intelligence in leading design teams.
  • Building & Developing Your Team: Strategies for hiring and onboarding the right talent, and defining clear roles and responsibilities. Discover best practices for coaching and mentoring designers to help them grow, creating an environment where designers thrive and contribute their best work.
  • Effective Communication & Feedback: Techniques for clear communication in creative teams and fostering a culture of constructive feedback. Learn how open communication fosters collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving within the team. Practice giving and receiving design critiques in a productive, positive manner.
  • Managing Creative Workflows: Best practices for project management in a design context: balancing deadlines and budgets with creative exploration. Learn to streamline design workflows to improve efficiency, while maintaining high quality through consistent standards and review processes.
  • Fostering Creative Team Culture: Find out how to inspire and motivate creative professionals beyond just managing tasks. Create a supportive, inclusive team culture that encourages innovation and tolerates smart risk-taking. Gain techniques for handling creative differences or conflicts constructively, and keeping morale high.
  • Aligning Design with Business Strategy: Discover methods to communicate and advocate for the value of design to clients, executives, and other departments. Learn how to present design ideas to non-design stakeholders and connect your team’s work to broader business goals. 
  • Developing an Action Plan: Outline how you will apply leadership and management techniques back on the job. Discuss resources for continued learning and growth as a creative leader.

Graphic Design course instructors

AGI instructors are Graphic Design professionals and skilled teachers. You'll learn from a live Graphic Design professional that brings years of experience that will help you learn Graphic Design quickly and easily.

Jennifer S.
Jennifer S.

MS, Human Factors Information Design

BA, Commercial Art

UXQB Certfied

Adjunct Professor, Boston University

Grace
Grace

MS, Information Design

BA, Digital Communications

Adjunct Professor, St. Olaf

Greg
Greg

BA, Advertising Design

Adobe Certified Instructor

Author, multiple Adobe Creative Cloud books

Custom and private Graphic Design classes

This Graphic Design course is available as a private class. Curriculum can be customized for your specific needs. Graphic Design classes can be delivered at your location, online, or in our classrooms. For more information, call 781-376-6044 to speak with a training consultant or contact us.

We recommend that you have the the relevant software before starting this class.

You will receive a comprehensive course manual for this class developed by the Adobe Certified Instructors at AGI. AGI instructors have created many of the official training guides and books for Adobe Systems.

Available Delivery Methods For This Class

CLASSROOM
LIVE ONLINE
PRIVATE
MY LOCATION