Last Updated on November, 2024
“Creativity gives us hope – helps us innovate and imagine. It’s how we change the world”- CreativeLive.We humans are all creative individuals. Some embrace, explore, integrate into the lifestyle, and even make a successful career out of it. And others are yet to discover it.
All creatives: thriving, existing, aspiring, and yet to discover– need a sense of guidance to keep them on track and empower them–CreativeLive is one such online learning platform for creatives.
Unlike other online learning platforms, creativeLive is quite different. This Creativelive review will explore everything you need to know about the platform–from courses and instructors to pricing details to my verdict on whether it’s worth it.
Let’s jump right in and get lost in creativity!
Features
Effectiveness
Price
Contents
- About CreativeLive
- CreativeLive Instructors
- Creative Live Classes
- Inside a CreativeLive Class
- Most Popular CreativeLive Classes
- CreativeLive Audience: Who is CreativeLive for?
- Accessing CreativeLive
- How Much Does CreativeLive Cost?
- CreativeLive User Testimonials
- Creative Live: Pros & Cons
- Can CreativeLive Help With My Career?
- CreativeLive Alternatives
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CreativeLive Review Wrap-Up: Is CreativeLive Worth it?
About CreativeLive
As the name suggests, CreativeLive is for all the Creative minds out there.
CreativeLive is an online learning platform offering creative online classes to unleash and nurture entrepreneurs’ and creative individuals’ creative skills and confidence, supporting career growth.
The mission of this platform is to make high-quality online learning content available to all creative individuals, helping them explore the world of creativity.
This one-of-a-kind online learning platform was founded in 2009 by photographer and artists Chase Jarvis and Craig Swanson, an entrepreneur.
The founders breathed life into CreativeLive with the idea of creating workshops to inspire and support people to develop or unleash existing creative skills.
And over the decade, CreativeLive has witnessed much success by attracting investors like Red Bull and Starbucks. It has now become a strong community of 10+ million students worldwide.
CreativeLive offers over 2000 classes featuring an impactful panel of 650+ world-class instructors.
With a focus on creativity and creative industries, Creative Live offers courses covering interesting domains like art, photo, lifestyle, design, entrepreneurship, music, and more.
CreativeLive believes anyone can become a creator if they step out of their comfort zone and reach for success. To cultivate this attitude of success and reach full potential, CreativeLive encourages independent thinking and exploration.
CreativeLive Instructors
CreativeLive has assembled a 650+ strong team of instructors who are leading experts in their fields to ensure students learn from the world’s best.
CreativeLive instructors come from reputed backgrounds like NY Times best-selling authors, award winners (Grammy, Pulitzer, Oscar), legendary entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. Their background speaks volumes.
So when CreativeLive instructors are not teaching, they are on the grind, breaking barriers and reaching new limits– winning more awards and accolades, innovating and implementing ideas and products, leading major publications, and advocating for various causes.
Some of the hotshot names of the instructors include:
Creative Live Classes
CreativeLive has 2000+ creative courses in its catalog covering various creative topics. The platform is always evolving, and so is the addition of new courses every month, expanding the course catalog.
To access the course catalog, there is an option on the homepage called ‘Classes.’ Below classes, you get direct access to all the courses available on the platform.
You can hit the search bar or apply filters like Streaming Now, Best Sellers, Top Rated, Featured, and New Classes to find a particular course.
Also, for further convenience, Creativelive offers a categorized course catalog. Currently, it is categorized into five areas.
These categories are referred to as ‘channels’ in the CreativeLive platform. Each one of these channels holds a curated collection of online courses covering topics and skills relevant to each channel.
The category and subcategory structure helps narrow the search for a preferred course. Listed below are the five channels and examples of a few topics covered under each;
But, if you are yet to determine which courses interest you the most, here are some tips to navigate the CreativeLive course catalog better:
Inside a CreativeLive Class
The instructors themselves are a major hit of the platform. So, you can imagine the quality of the content these instructors deliver. Yes, they are top notch too.
As discussed above, you can find a variety of video courses on the platform, from design to business to photography courses.
Unlike classes in other virtual learning platforms, CreativeLive classes are fashioned to be highly interactive and engaging.
Every CreativeLive’s classes feature quality videos with high production value. And all the courses are structured to be followed at your own pace. Like in a typical classroom setup, every Creativelive class happens with a live audience.
Unlike other platforms, Creative Live offers these classes through live streaming and studio recorded sessions (recording locations change from music studios to kitchen tables to living rooms based on the topic).
Students who are part of the live audience of the studio recording or those who catch the live streaming sessions of the CreativeLive’s courses can interact with the instructors and the online creative community to raise questions, share ideas and actively participate.
Students watching recorded sessions do not get to interact. However, most questions would likely have already been brought up by the students who had live access to the class.
The live virtual classroom setup is an excellent way of keeping the class lively rather than watching video after video, where the instructors communicate with cameras. And not many questions from students’ perspectives are raised.
Most courses start with an introductory lecture, giving insight into the class. This will give students a mental picture of the rest of the course, allowing them to set their goals and gauge if the course is what they are looking for.
This is then followed by the instructors sharing their background and expertise. Then, a Q&A session involving the studio live and live stream audiences will occur.
The students may even be prompted to perform certain exercises, and a live student may demonstrate. This usually keeps the class more engaging, like a workshop.
Based on the class setup, you would have already understood the teaching style will vary from instructor to instructor and subject to subject.
But learning through CreativeLive is consistently kept interactive. Instructors use proven teaching principles and techniques to ensure easy grasping and knowledge retention.
Most Popular CreativeLive Classes
CreativeLive has a host of popular courses. But to keep things easier and balanced, below is the currently most popular Creativelive course list under each channel.
Photo and Video
Fundamentals of Photography – Taught by John Greengo, the course has over 142K students enrolled, with 99% of them recommending it. The course covers 107 lessons over a running time of 24.5 hours.
Adobe Photoshop CC: The Complete Guide – There are over 150k students, and 99% of them recommend this course. Ben Wilmore teaches it and covers 21 video lessons.
Art and Design
Designing Your Life: How to Build A Well-Lived, Joyful Life – Stanford Professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans teach thinking principles to help design a more meaningful life.
Workflow, Time Management, and Productivity For Creatives – This class has seen over 99k students, and 88% of the students recommend this class.
This class teaches how proper organization allows workflow and time management to enhance efficiency and productivity.
Music and Audio
Studio Pass: Periphery – This class is for all creative music, instrument, and sound-mixing professionals and enthusiasts. 94% of the 35K+ students who took this class liked it.
Power Your Podcast With Storytelling – This is an interesting class for all storytellers. Here, you can learn what makes a good story, production techniques to create an outstanding sensory experience that captures the audience, and more.
Craft and Maker
Design Surface Patterns From Scratch – This course is for artistic creatives to learn digital pattern creation from sketches, drawings, and doodles. 100% of students who saw this class recommend it.
Color Fundamentals – This class explores color principles and the best ways to apply them. The class is suitable for art students to understand how colors work to make better color decisions.
Money and Life
How to Break the Habit of Self-Doubt and Build Real Confidence – This is a super popular course in CreativeLive with over 165K students, and 99% of them recommend it.
From eliminating self-doubt to building confidence, this class can help transform you as a person and help you live a fulfilling life.
The Power of Body Language – This course takes a deep dive into understanding the impression your verbal and non-verbal language is giving to become the most memorable person in a room, even without communication.
Tips to Picking the Perfect CreativeLive Course
If you already know the category or the particular class you want to take, then a search through the search bar will take you there.
But, if you are yet to determine which courses interest you the most, here are some tips to navigate the CreativeLive course catalog better:
CreativeLive Audience: Who is CreativeLive for?
Everyone harbors a creative personality within them. Some are fortunate to have discovered it because of their overwhelming creative nature, and some have yet to figure it out.
So, all individuals who are naturally creative or want to unleash their creative side can find something on the CreativeLive platform.
Some of the people who will enjoy the CreativeLive platform include:
Accessing CreativeLive
CreativeLive is accessible via website browsing through any digital device like smartphones, desktops, and laptops.
CreativeLive is also available on apps supporting iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Roku TV to bring creative learning to your fingertips. The iOS app is supposed to be outstanding.
Unfortunately, the lack of an Android app can make for an awful user experience for all Android users.
Opening a CreativeLive Account
Registering with CreativeLive is completely free.
It is an easy process, but here are the steps:
Once you are in, you can start navigating the platform and access several free courses at your own pace. You can take your time to understand how the platform works.
You can watch CreativeLive ‘On Air Now’ as live broadcasts (more on this later), where many free classes on topics like life, photography, money, audio, and music are streamed.
A super popular free class on CreativeLive is the 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis. In this class, Chase Jarvis interviews multiple genius business minds, including Richard Branson, Mark Cuban, Tim Ferris, Rene Brown, and Jared Leto.
How Much Does CreativeLive Cost?
Technically, many classes on Creativelive are offered for free. But only if you catch it on live streaming– the ‘ON AIR NOW’ option (more on it follows) under classes on the header.
If you don’t catch it on live stream or watch it on live stream and later want a copy or want to view the course again, that’s where the Creative Live cost comes into play.
If you want a copy, you can purchase individual courses, or if you want to view courses, you can go for subscription plans.
Individual Class Purchasing
Creativelive learners can purchase individual courses starting from $29 and going up to $199.
The courses are on sale multiple times during the year, offered at massively discounted prices. It may be a marketing strategy, but who wouldn’t want to buy a course at a bargain price and have lifetime access to it?
CreativeLive Bundle and Save
CreativeLive also offers an option of ‘Bundle and Save.’ This is where similar courses under a particular subject area are bundled and offered at a bargain rate.
This not only allows learners to save, but it also creates a learning path initiative to inspire continuous learning.
Subscription Plans
CreativeLive has two subscription plans:
Both subscription plans include the following:
The annual plan is more valuable if you plan to take more than one course. You’ll only be paying around $11 monthly for a year-long access to the entire platform.
Gifting a CreativeLive Subscription
CreativeLive also offers the option of gifting subscription plans to friends and family. This is a thoughtful feature because there is no gift better than knowledge.
The prices are the same as the subscription plans discussed above. A monthly plan is $29, and an annual plan is $129.
CreativeLive for Teams
CreativeLive for Teams offers curated plans for businesses and organizations. This allows employees to upskill and become more creative, communicative, and resilient at work– and, of course, in life, too.
Currently, CreativeLive offers two plans:
CreativeLive Refund Policy
In case of an individual course purchase, users are given a grace period of 30 days to request a refund. However, a monthly or annual plan purchase comes only with a 7-day request period.
To request a refund, you can write to Creative Live through email- [email protected]
Note: After the 7-day window, you cannot request a refund on subscription plans. Instead, you can cancel your subscription to avoid auto-renewal during the next billing year.
CreativeLive Classes for Free?
CreativeLive does not explicitly offer free courses. But there are a few photography courses for free. Filtering these out is not easy. And then there’s also the 30 days of Genius with Chase Jarvis which I mentioned previously.
However, CreativeLive offers an interesting option called ‘ON AIR NOW.’ This is where classes are live-streamed.
This option allows learners to access classes for FREE– creativelive free live classes and on-air events. Of course, given that it’s free, the platform decides what topics to air and when. But according to the website, you can “watch free classes 24/7”.
Classes from all five categories of CreativeLive are live-streamed here. If you click on that option, you can see the classes currently running on live stream and the schedule of the upcoming classes.
Classes are scheduled for the next 30+ days. Each class listed on the schedule has an option to RSVP. If you RSVP, you will receive a reminder when the class is live. You can also adjust the reminder to your time zone.
CreativeLive User Testimonials
To give a sense of completeness to this creativelive review, I decided to share what other students have said about creativelive.
For any product or service, user reviews say a lot about customers’ overall experience. The same applies here. Reading general reviews of the platform for particular courses will give insight into past student experiences.
This can help gauge your experience and decide if the platform or course suits you. Most reviews are positive and highlight the teaching quality and interactive experience the classes deliver.
Users say:
Great content for creatives
Amazing content at reasonable prices
A great place to learn
….and more to describe the platform.
However, some users have also complained about the refund policy and bad customer service. But these reviews date back a few years. Surely, CreativeLive is now upgraded to ensure the ultimate user experience.
Overall, learners are satisfied and highly recommend the CreativeLive platform.
Creative Live: Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
Can CreativeLive Help With My Career?
CreativeLive is an excellent online learning platform for all creative professionals looking to learn new skills or hone existing skills.
If you aim to learn a new creative skill as an enthusiast, then Creative Live can give you the relevant creative knowledge to set you on the right path.
As a creative individual looking to cultivate an impressive portfolio to attract potential employers and clients, competency and knowledge are more valuable than certifications for recognition.
For those who understand that, a creative live course will help you become more communicative, creative, innovative, a better problem solver, emotionally intelligent, and an active team member. These are all qualities valued by employers and clients.
So, based on how you portray the knowledge you acquired from your creative live learning, you can help your career grow and reach new heights.
CreativeLive Alternatives
If you are on the edge about CreativeLive, below are a few other online learning platforms worth considering;
Masterclass
Masterclass is an interesting alternative that provides knowledge on an educational basis. The course catalog is small, but the courses hold high production value to retain and keep classes engaging.
The instructor panel is the main selling point of Masterclass. The instructors include A-list celebrities, VIPs, and industry leaders sharing their expertise.
Masterclass subscription plans start at $120 annually, billed at $10 monthly. You can check out their course catalog and explore a few class trailers, to feel the difference.
Skillshare is another online learning platform with a massive course catalog exceeding 34,000. Just like the course offerings, it covers every topic and skill. The courses are categorized into three main branches: Creative, Build, and Thrive.
Skillshare is an affordable alternative to CreativeLive. Subscriptions are priced at $180 annually or $32 per month.
Udemy
Udemy is also an online learning platform like Skillshare. It is like a marketplace where you can choose courses from a gigantic catalog of 213,000 courses. These courses cover marketing, music, business, development, design, and more.
Udemy allows only individual course purchases. The quality of the course varies based on the course creators. And is accordingly priced.
However, it is likely that you will end up paying more than $12, which is the monthly fee of the CreativeLive annual subscription, if you are to pick a decent course from Udemy.
Other Online Learning Platform reviews:
Frequently Asked Questions
CreativeLive Review Wrap-Up: Is CreativeLive Worth it?
Knowing if your time and money invested in the CreativeLive platform learning is worth it is a reasonable consideration that all of us should make.
And here’s answering that lingering doubt!
Yes, CreativeLive is worth investing in, given that you make it work for yourself. This student-oriented learning platform is centered around creative niches like arts, sound, music, photography, and more.
With courses taught by experts and world-class instructors, the student has to find and maintain the drive that inspires them to stay creative and grow as creatives.
Hopefully, this Creativelive review answered all your questions about the platform. Also, don’t forget that you can try the CreativeLive platform for free and learn from ‘on-air’ live classes to understand if it will fit you well.
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