Cohestra is a small school for designers built around one conviction: nobody improves from watching lectures. People improve when someone who knows what they’re looking at examines their actual work — and says what they see.
2019
TEACHING SINCE
3
COURSES, ALL AUTHORED BY MARA
19,000+
WRITTEN HOMEWORK REVIEWS
87%
FINISH THE COURSE THEY START
TRUSTED BY
Mara created courses at Cohestra. She led teams at agencies, reviewed portfolios, and ran the critique that became our 20-minute format. She still takes client work.
COURSES AUTHORED
YEARS LEADING TEAMS
PORTFOLIOS REVIEWED
Curator, Brand Strategist
Focused on positioning and brand systems. Breaks work down to its core: what is working, what is vague, and the smallest change with the biggest impact.
Curator, Design Director
Focused on creative process and critique. Champions clarity over polish, and decisions that can be explained, not just shown.
A lecture gives principles; critique reveals where you missed what a trained eye sees. That gap is the curriculum. Everything else is repetition.
No one is born knowing why some layouts feel right. Designers called “naturally tasteful” study more work, more carefully, for longer. We compress that practice.
Formats relying on bravery fail; on a normal Tuesday, nobody is brave. Our critique format makes honesty cheaper than politeness: silent looks, fixed turns, and a mandatory decision at the end.
Critiques end with presenters noting actions to take. We train designers to handle feedback and make decisions, as that’s essential for their role.
Cohorts of 12–24, never more. A curator can hold about twenty students; beyond that, feedback becomes a template. We prefer a waitlist.
Whether you’re building your first portfolio or leading international teams, the right guidance changes how you think—and what you’re capable of creating.