Mor Cohen is a veteran of the design and online industry. She has put in over 20 years, starting with desktop publishing. At one time, Mor even did computer-aided designs for kitchens and bathrooms.
Mor got her start during the “IPO Golden Era,” creating pitch decks for companies looking to raise venture capital.
“Mor started out as a graphic designer during the “IPO Golden Era”, so to speak, and did a lot of pitch decks for clients who were trying to raise venture capital. Early on in her career, she realized that her value didn’t come from the number of pages or slides she designed, but in her ability to solve a problem for her clients.” Source: Rezzz.com
Now she creates pitch decks online (websites) for companies needing beautiful website designs. Additionally, she launched a course earlier this year, teaching the basics of design principles to developers to improve their skills.
She is passionate about business and her customers. She isn’t just a designer, she’s a business owner, and she values all the skills used to run a successful company.
These days Mor works as a course creator, designer, and loves working with the GeneratePress theme, where she helps contribute to the site-library.
Today, we are fortunate that Mor agreed to answer my questions to help you learn a little bit more about her, her course, and her understanding of business.
In this interview, you will learn:
- That Mor believes design is a learned skill
- Design skills are essential for those who have a digital presence
- Mor’s biggest challenge launching the DesignClass course
- How she used imagination to help her optimize her course
- The one thing that helps her to continue her teaching
How did the idea for the DesignClass Course come about?
I created it is because I used to do a lot of white label work for web devs, agencies, and digital marketers, and they all, without exception, struggled immensely with the design phase of the projects they were working on for clients. Most of the conversations that I would have with them revolved around them, not knowing what they were doing as far as the design process, how overwhelming it is for them.
“While working as a branding and web designer, clients kept expressing the same frustrations and struggles: confusion, frustration and lack of design inspiration, spending way too much time on trying different layouts, second-guessing every font pairings and color combinations, being embarrassed to show their own sites to clients and lacking the confidence to charge higher fees.”
Agency Highway Podcast
So they were feeling amateurish and inexperienced, and they felt like they don’t know how to get started each and every project and create beautiful sites. And the worst part is that it trickled down to their level of confidence and them feeling secure in their ability to do and deliver great digital solutions to their clients. So I decided to jump in and help people by creating a course that will teach people design concepts, tools, and processes, to demystify the design process, banish the overwhelm by providing a system that they can follow quite easily and get their design mojo and gain confidence in their design ability.
My students tell me that after completing the course, how much more confident and secure they are in their abilities, and how they can now book more work and how they hey now feel like they can charge more for their work.
What will people be surprised to find out about the DesignClass Course?
People will be very surprised to find that design isn’t magic. It’s is a learned skill – 100%. Unless one is planning on being featured on Awwwards, mastering the essential and important principles of good design, is totally possible even if they think that they are talentless.
Not every project requires or even need a professional designer. Good design is essentially a combination of tools, processes, and specific techniques, working together. It can and should be learned.
What is one thing you hope to accomplish with the DesignClass Course in the next few years?
I would like to reach as many people who need help with their design knowledge, as possible. Digital marketers, web developers, entrepreneurs, and business owners – everyone who has any form of digital presence, such as a website, social media channels, courses, etc. – should have access to the principles, tools and resources I teach in my DesignClass course, so they can create better brands, and present themselves as premium brands.
What was the biggest challenge of launching the DesignClass Course?
I was extremely lucky to have had a lot of people who were willing to pre-purchase the course to allow me to spend as much time as needed to create a professional and knowledge-packed course.
The main challenge was making sure that I provide my students with exceptional value, easy workflows, tools, and processes, and make sure the course is built on solid foundations.
How did you overcome any challenges of launching the DesignClass Course? What did you learn?
I learned to think like my students. Imagine the challenges and struggles that they face daily in their work. I learned to simplify complex chunks of information and break them into digestible yet detailed bits to make sure that everyone gets the most out of the course.
What is your why? Why do you get up each day? What does design allow you to do?
I love to see people succeed. In our ecosystems, there are so many changes, developments, and immense competition. I’d like to continue to help people stand out from the crowd with the knowledge and tools that I can teach them. Their success is definitely my success.
Wrapping it up
Mor Cohen is a veteran in our industry, and she has learned how to teach design principles helping other developers solve problems for clients. Mor believes that anyone can be a designer, and she set out to help others improve their design skills.
Mor has been interviewed for several podcasts and blogs and is well respected in our community, including Smart Web Creators, The Kim Doyal Show, Agency Highway, and Jason Resnicks’ Live in the Feast.
