The Agency Method · Grades 9–12

Entrepreneurship & Applied AI

Last week you learned to notice. Today you learn to see — and you build the thing every agency builds before it designs anything.

Week 02 · Inspiration & Design Thinking · Quarter 1

M | 9:29

Because of Your Faith

It Will Happen.

Wisdom · Integrity · Stewardship · Service · Diligence · Humility

Module 1 · Agency Culture & Foundations · Method: Understand → Inspiration

Week 02 — Learn to See.

We make: two deconstructions + your first mood board.

This week · no AI — craft first Tool · dribbble.com Sketchbooks · every class

"See that you make everythingaccording to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

Exodus 25:40 · Week 02

Stand-up · 5 min

The verse opens the hour. Moses didn't invent the tabernacle. He was shown the pattern first — then built to it, exactly. Backlog check: read ONE problem you captured this week, and which one you gave legs to. Today you go find your pattern.

Recap · What You Already Own

You don't take a product to market. You take a problem.

Solve real problems and you always have work. Customers, jobs, new things to build — they all come from problems, not from ideas you liked.

Medicine, not vitamins. Medicine is urgent — it fixes pain right now. A vitamin is nice-to-have and needs convincing. Aim at medicine.

One problem, many doors. The dog-walking problem opened walking, grooming, treats, training, gear — five ways to serve the same person. Your backlog works the same way.

Micro-lesson · 1 of 3 · The Loop

Observe. Understand. Solve.

Every piece of agency work runs this loop. Notice a real problem, understand it deeply, then — and only then — solve it. Jumping to Solve is how bad products get built.

Your sketchbook is Observe. It's already working — you proved that in stand-up.

Today is Understand. Before we solve anything, we study how great work is made — so your solution has something to stand on.

The line that matters"You can't direct anyone — or anything — past average until you know what excellent looks like."

Micro-lesson · 2 of 3 · Deconstruction

How to read a design.

01 · HierarchyWhat does your eye see first, second, third? That order was chosen.

02 · ColorColors carry feeling and meaning — and point at a person.

03 · TypeFonts have voices — loud, elegant, playful, serious. Which is speaking?

04 · SpacingCrowded feels cheap. Room to breathe feels considered.

05 · Negative SpaceWhat's left empty is a decision too — often the most confident one.

06 · AudienceEvery choice above points at someone. Who is this design for?

The line that matters"Every design decision is a decision. Once you can name them, you can make them."

The Bar · Taste, Out Loud

Two questions build taste.

Question 1Who is it for?

Read the color, type, and styling — then name the audience. Be specific: age, taste, what they care about. Designs aimed at different people make different choices.

Question 2Does it earn a premium?

Judge whether the craft justifies a higher price — and say why, using the lenses. "I like it" is not an answer. That's taste, out loud.

Micro-lesson · 3 of 3 · The Mood Board

The feeling of a thing, decided before you build it.

A mood board is a deliberate argument: "This is how our solution should feel to the person who has the problem." Every professional team builds one first — it's far cheaper to argue about a direction on a board than after everything is built.

A mood board is

9–12 images that share a feeling, not a subject

3–5 colors pulled from those images

1–2 type voices

3–5 adjectives it argues for

One north star — "like this"

A mood board is not

Logos you want to copy

A pile of cool pictures with nothing in common

Decoration — every image earns its spot

The testHand your board to someone who's never heard your idea. If they can guess your three adjectives, it works. If they can't, it's a pile.

The Tool · Three B's dribbble.com

Where designers post their best work. The fastest place on the internet to build taste. A single post is called a shot.

SEARCH 01The world, not the logoDog-walking problem? Search pet brand, dog app, vet packaging — the world your problem lives in.

SEARCH 02The feelingSearch how you want it to feel: warm minimal, bold retro, premium packaging, playful brand.

SEARCH 03Filter by colorSee one palette at a time — the fastest way to learn what colors actually do.

SEARCH 04Popular vs NewPopular shows you the bar. New finds things nobody has copied yet.

The Tool · Save & Organize — This Is the Part That Matters

Collections beat screenshots in a camera roll.

01Save the shotEvery shot has a bookmark icon → Save to Collection. Free account required — permission first, every time.

02Name it for the feeling"Dog Walking · Warm & Trustworthy" beats "cool stuff." The name is the argument.

03One collection per directionTwo feelings = two collections. Never mix — mixed boards make muddy design.

04Like fast, sort laterThe heart is a quick bin while you scroll. Collections are the real organizing tool.

05Open the shotDesigners often post extra images and the exact colors they used. Free homework.

06Screenshot everythingYour board needs images you can arrange — and links rot. Keep a folder on your device.

Same method works on Behance · Awwwards · Motion Sites — and on real shelves, posters and packaging

Build Sprint · Deconstruction Reps

30:00

Pick a design from the wall — or one that stopped you on Dribbble
All six lenses — one sheet or sketchbook spread per design
The two questions — who is it for · does it earn a premium
Steal one decision — name something you could use on your own problem
Trade with a neighbor — argue from the lenses, not from "I like it"

Share-out · 10 min

One cheer. One sharpen.

The protocolRead a design aloud

All six lenses, start to finish. The class names one strong read (the cheer) and one lens to push further (the sharpen).

The logPortfolio entry

Deconstruction sheets photographed into the portfolio before anyone leaves the hour.

Proctored Studio · Hours 2–3 · Build the Board

Name the feeling. Then go find it.

First · 15 minThree adjectives

Pick one problem from your backlog. Decide how the solution should FEEL — three words, and they have to be choices. "Good" is not a choice.

Then · 45 minCollect 9–12

Dribbble collection named for the feeling. Every image gets one line on why it's there — a lens word, not "it's cool."

Then · 30 minPull it apart

3–5 colors · 1–2 type voices · circle your north star: the one piece you'd point at and say "like this."

Last · 20 minLay out the spread

Left page the brain dump, right page the board, and the summary line across the top: "For [who], this will feel [three words] — because…"

Week 02 · Complete

You saw it. Now you can name it.

Keep collecting all week — the board is never really finished. Next week: AI, Responsibly + Own Your Future — the tool that changes everything, and how to stay in charge of it.

Own It — I am the proof.