Aurea Institute

Skills not Scores.

Creative, critical, and employable, before they graduate.

A homeschool elective curriculum for grades 9–12 in design thinking, advertising, marketing, psychology, fine art, and social media — built backwards from college readiness and grounded in the science of being understood. Six tracks. Eight courses each. Start anywhere.

Enrolling September 2026
16 Week Elective 0.5 Credit
For Grades 9 through 12
Starting at $197

Design thinking
isn’t an elective.
It’s how smart people
solve hard problems.

Most curricula separate creative from academic, art from science, instinct from evidence. AUREA doesn’t. Every course treats design thinking as a core reasoning skill — the same way it’s used in the agencies, research labs, and boardrooms your student is headed toward.

Courses are one semester long, standalone, and can be taken in any order. Each earns 0.5 elective credit toward a homeschool transcript. Complete a full track and earn 4.0 elective credits. Start with what interests your student most — build from there.

How It Works

Free to Explore. Built to go deeper.

Watch free on YouTube

Every instructional video is free on the AUREA YouTube channel. Watch before you commit — no account needed.

Free – Youtube

Enroll on Online

Unlock quizzes, graded activities, rubrics, parent guides, and completion certificates for each course.

Paid – Teachable

Earn Credit and a Certificate

Each completed course earns 0.5 elective credit and a certificate of completion — ready for your homeschool transcript.

Included with Enrollment
How It Works

Six tracks. Meticulously thought out and curated.

Graphic Design

Visual literacy, typography, brand identity, and portfolio development — built on research that separates intentional design from decoration.

Explore this track →

Advertising

Campaign thinking, consumer psychology, creative strategy, and execution — from someone who’s directed campaigns for Dell, NVIDIA, and the U.S. Navy.

Explore this track →

Marketing

Brand strategy, audience research, messaging, and market positioning — the strategic side of communication, taught with the same research-first foundation.

Explore this track →

Psychology

How the brain works, how people learn, and how design and communication decisions shape behavior — grounded in PhD-level research.

Explore this track →

Fine Art

Drawing, composition, color theory, and artistic practice — taught through the lens of design thinking and creative problem-solving.

Explore this track →

Social Media

Content strategy, platform thinking, visual communication, and audience psychology — built for students who want to understand social media from the inside out.

Explore this track →
Graphic Design Track

Eight courses. Four years. One complete creative education.

Each course is one semester — 16 weeks, 0.5 elective credit, standalone. Take them in order or start where it makes sense for your student.

Grade 9
Fall Semester

Design Thinking I

Most students are taught to make things. This course teaches them to think before they make — building the problem-framing, empathy, and creative reasoning skills that separate designers who decorate from designers who solve.

Spring Semester

Design Thinking II

The first course introduced the mindset. This one puts it under pressure — taking students through more complex design challenges that require iteration, critique, and the ability to defend a decision with evidence, not just instinct.

Grade 10
Fall Semester

Visual Communication I

Design communicates before anyone reads a single word. This course teaches students how visual choices — composition, contrast, hierarchy, color — shape what an audience notices, feels, and remembers.

Spring Semester

Visual Communication II

Students move from understanding visual principles to applying them across real communication problems. By the end, they can look at any designed piece and tell you exactly why it works — or why it doesn’t.

Grade 11
Fall Semester

Brand Identity I

A brand is not a logo. This course introduces students to the strategic and visual systems that make audiences recognize, trust, and choose one thing over another — and puts them to work building one from the ground up.

Spring Semester

Brand Identity II

Students take everything they’ve learned about brand strategy and visual identity and apply it to a full brand system — research, naming, visual language, and presentation — ready for a portfolio.

Grade 12
Fall Semester

Portfolio & Professional Practice I

The work means nothing if it can’t be presented. This course teaches students how to curate, frame, and present their creative work the way college programs and industry professionals actually expect to see it.

Spring Semester

Design Thinking II

The capstone of the Graphic Design track. Students complete a final body of work, write their creative philosophy, and present a college-ready portfolio that demonstrates four years of intentional design thinking.

Pricing

Start with one course. Build from there.

All courses are standalone. Bundle pricing available for the Graphic Design track. Each course earns 0.5 elective credit toward your homeschool transcript.
Single Course

$197

16 Weeks
Standalone Course

0.5 Elective Credit

2-course bundle

$357

Save $37
Any 2 Courses

1.0 Elective Credit

Single Course

$677

Save $111

Half Track • 4 Courses

2.0 Elective Credits

FULL TRACK

$1,197

All 8 courses

Best Value

4.0 Elective Credits

Why Aurea

The research behind the curriculum.

Cognitive Science First

PhD research proves how information is designed changes what students can learn from it. AUREA builds that understanding from course one.

Backwards by Design

Every course is built backwards from where students need to be — college-ready, portfolio-equipped, able to defend their ideas in any room.

Creative meets Academic

Design thinking is a research skill. AUREA connects visual practice to psychology, strategy, and evidence-based reasoning from day one.

Who it’s for

Built for students who think differently.

The visual thinker

Students who learn by making

If your student sees connections in images before words, AUREA gives them the framework to turn that instinct into a discipline.

The analytical creative

Students who want to know why

If your student isn’t satisfied with “because it looks good,” AUREA gives them the research vocabulary to back up their decisions.

The college-bound student

Headed toward design, advertising, or psychology

AUREA builds the foundation college programs expect — and rarely teach before students arrive.

The homeschool parent

Parents who want more than a checkbox

A research-backed curriculum that treats your student as a whole thinker — not a test score waiting to happen.

“The students who struggle are not the ones who can not create. They are the ones who were never taught to think before they did.”

– Dr. Ashley Jo George, PhD –
join the waitlist

Design Thinking I enrollment is closed.

The first course in the Graphic Design track will reopen September 2026 on Teachable.
Watch free on YouTube first — then enroll to unlock everything. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when enrollment opens this coming Fall!