32-lesson course · about 10 hours

Hand Manus real creative work. Keep the idea, the critique and the release.

For Creative directors, art directors, design leads and brand leaders

Everything for Creative directors

Set up Manus safely for brand work. Brief it on long jobs, then run four studio workflows: a questioned brief, a reference register, three style routes and a concept deck in your template.

Try lesson 1 freeSee what you’ll learn

What you’ll be able to do

By the end, you can…

Know whether Manus fits the jobDecide if a piece of creative work suits Manus, based on what it can access, its plans, its credit rules and its limits as of October 2026. Know what to check on manus.im/pricing before you commit, because Manus gives no reliable cost estimate before a task runs.
A safe workspace for each brandSet up one Project per brand with a master instruction and the guidelines as knowledge files. Give connectors the least access that works and leave Skip confirmations off. Write a list of what your studio never uploads or connects, such as NDA campaigns, client logins, your main email and tools that publish or take payments.
Briefs that hold up over a long taskWrite a long-task brief with a goal, context, sources, limits, phases, stop-and-ask checkpoints and an output format. Use Plan Mode and Branch to steer the work without burning credits on re-runs.
Four creative workflows, start to finishQuestion a client brief and map the category with Wide Research. Build a reference register that gives every reference a job and a usage status. Develop three style routes held to one fixed element. Build a concept deck in your agency's .pptx template, and audit the brand's public touchpoints.
Recurring jobs that gather and flag, never approveSet up a scheduled task, such as a weekly category scan, whose remit only lets it gather, prepare and flag. Share the results with reviewers through Team access or free Guest seats.
A check you would signBefore anyone relies on the output, replay the session, verify the source table, open every file, and run a voice and distinctness check. Treat rights, likeness and approval status as unproven until a named person confirms them.

How it works

A tutor that meets you where you are

  1. Lessons that adapt to your levelEach of the 32 lessons is a hands-on tutorial you follow with Manus open. You get the goal, what you need first, numbered steps, copy-paste prompts written for creative work, a worked example and a checkpoint. The lessons adjust to what you already know, so you don't repeat what you've already got.
  2. An AI tutor you can ask anythingWhen a step doesn't match your screen, a connector scope is unclear, or you want your brief critiqued, ask the tutor. You can type or speak. It works from the course material and your level.
  3. Quizzes and flashcards for each lessonShort quizzes and flashcards tied to each lesson help the settings, the checkpoints and the checking routine stick, so you can use them under deadline.
  4. Progress tracking and a certificateTrack your progress across the nine modules and earn a certificate of completion when you finish.

Curriculum

The curriculum

Nine modules take you from deciding whether Manus fits your work, through safe setup and briefing, to four hands-on studio projects, scheduled tasks and a final checking routine. Every lesson ends with something you've made and checked.

Module 1Does Manus Fit Your Creative Work?4 lessons

  1. 1What Manus Does, and Where It Fits a Studio
    • Explain in plain terms what happens when Manus runs a task in its sandbox
    • Sort a list of studio jobs into ones to hand Manus, ones to share and ones to keep
    • Name the two ways to lose the Knight and Droga voices describe
  2. 2Who Runs Manus Now, and Where You Can Use It
    • State Manus's current ownership status accurately as of October 2026
    • Check at sign-up whether Manus is offered in your region and that you meet the age requirement
    • Explain why you keep your own copies of every deliverable
  3. 3Plans, Credits and the Missing Cost Preview
    • Choose a plan for a given piece of creative work from its features and limits
    • Explain why no credit estimate before a task can be trusted
    • List what to confirm on manus.im/pricing before committing
  4. 4Your First Task: A Two-Page Category Brief
    • Create an account and add a backup sign-in method
    • Run a small public-research task in the right mode
    • Review the output, its sources and its files before judging it

Module 2Setting Up Safely for Brand Work5 lessons

  1. 5One Project per Brand: Master Instruction and Guidelines
    • Create a Project and write a master instruction for a brand
    • Upload guidelines as knowledge files and explain when changes take effect
    • Approve or reject a Project update Manus suggests
  2. 6Connectors at the Least Access That Works
    • Connect an app with read-only scope where offered
    • Choose which connectors a given creative job actually needs
    • Disconnect or switch the account on a connector
  3. 7Browser, Computer and Email Settings to Check
    • Turn off or review saved logins in Settings > Cloud Browser
    • Choose Allow Once or Always Allow for local commands correctly
    • Explain why Skip confirmations stays off for anything that reaches clients, the public or money
  4. 8What Never Goes Into Manus
    • Write a do-not-upload and do-not-connect list for your studio
    • Spot the risk in connecting a main email account to a web-browsing task
    • Decide what to strip from a brief before it is uploaded
  5. 9When Client Work Belongs on a Team Plan
    • Explain the training-use difference between Free/Pro and Team
    • Decide whether a given client job may run on an individual plan
    • List what to ask procurement or legal before moving client work in

Module 3Briefing a Long Task4 lessons

  1. 10The Five-Part Prompt, Written Like a Treatment
    • Write a five-part prompt for a creative research or concept task
    • Rewrite a vague first output request into a focused deliverable
  2. 11The Long-Task Brief With Stop-and-Ask Checkpoints
    • Complete the long-task brief template for a real creative job
    • Write checkpoints that stop Manus before it logs in, contacts, publishes or deletes
    • Ask for a source table and an assumptions list in every output
  3. 12Plan Mode and Phased Delivery
    • Turn on Plan Mode on web or mobile
    • Edit a Manus plan to remove a step that breaks your limits
    • Decide when a task needs Plan Mode
  4. 13Branch and Credit-Aware Prompting
    • Branch a session to make two deliverables from one context
    • Apply four credit-saving habits to a brief

Module 4Project 1: Question the Brief and Map the Category3 lessons

  1. 14Question the Client Brief Before Answering It
    • Write a prompt that interrogates a brief instead of answering it
    • Sort brief lines into evidence, hope and missing
    • Draft three questions to take back to the client
  2. 15Category Conventions With Wide Research
    • Phrase a category scan as a list of comparable items with fixed fields
    • Check a sample of rows against the live sources
    • Identify the category's clichés and white space from the table
  3. 16A One-Page Brief That Separates Evidence From Hope
    • Produce a one-page creative brief with every reason to believe sourced
    • Name what the work must not look like, by brand
    • Run a voice check on the proposition

Module 5Project 2: A Reference Register That Explains Itself3 lessons

  1. 17Give Every Reference a Job
    • Write a one-line job for each reference (the light, the worn fabric)
    • Cut references that don't serve a job
  2. 18Build the Register: Origin, Date and Usage Status
    • Produce a reference register as a spreadsheet with fixed columns
    • Verify origins on a sample of entries
  3. 19Treat Every Discovered Asset as Uncleared
    • Explain why a found asset or a correct file name proves nothing about rights
    • Route an uncertain asset to the right person

Module 6Project 3: Three Style Routes and the Thing That Can't Bend4 lessons

  1. 20Three Routes in Words, One Thing That Can't Bend
    • Write three routes that differ in idea, not only in styling
    • Name the fixed element for each route
  2. 21Generate a Small Frame Set, Labeled as Exploration
    • Generate a limited frame set within the brief's exclusions
    • Label and file every frame as exploration
  3. 22Critique Against the Fixed Element
    • Write critique that names what broke the idea and what stays
    • Issue one bounded revision, then decide
  4. 23The Voice and Distinctness Check
    • Run a voice check and a could-a-rival-own-this test on a route
    • Record the human and machine contributions

Module 7Project 4: Concept Deck, Brand Audit and Prototype3 lessons

  1. 24A Concept Deck in Your Agency Template
    • Import a .pptx template and generate a deck in it
    • Open every slide and correct it before sharing
  2. 25Brand Consistency Audit of Public Touchpoints
    • Run an audit with a findings table citing guideline sections
    • Produce a prioritized fix list
  3. 26Optional: Figma Frames to a Clickable Prototype
    • Brief a prototype build from Figma frames in Plan Mode
    • Get a deviation list for the design team

Module 8Scheduled Tasks and Team Use3 lessons

  1. 27Write a Remit That Gathers and Flags, Never Approves
    • Write a remit for a weekly category scan
    • List the actions the remit forbids
  2. 28Set Up, Test and Manage the Automation
    • Create a schedule attached to the brand Project
    • Run a test and review the update history
  3. 29Share With Reviewers: Team Access and Guests
    • Share a task with Team access and add a Guest reviewer
    • Clean a task before inviting collaborators

Module 9Checking the Work Before Anyone Relies on It3 lessons

  1. 30Replay, Source Tables and Opening Every File
    • Replay a session and note unasked actions
    • Verify a sample of a source table and every file
  2. 31Version, Approval and Rights Status Stay Unproven
    • Spot superseded or uncleared material in a deliverable
    • Record who confirmed each status and when
  3. 32Authorship Basics and a Check You Would Sign
    • Explain the Copyright Office's human-authorship position in plain terms
    • Complete a sign-off checklist for one deliverable

Who it’s for

Made for you if…

Made for: Creative directors, art directors, design leads and brand leaders

Creative directors at agencies and studios

You want routes explored and decks drafted faster, without the idea getting flattened, a client's confidential work leaking, or an agent sending something before you've seen it.

Art directors and design leads

You gather references, develop style frames and turn Figma work into something stakeholders can click. You need a register that records where each reference came from and its usage status, and frames that stay labeled as exploration.

In-house brand leaders

You answer for consistency across every touchpoint. You want an audit that cites guideline sections, a weekly category scan that only flags, and clear rules for when brand work belongs on a Team plan.

Questions

Good to know

Do I need to code?

No. Everything is done through Manus's own interface with written briefs and prompts. Building custom MCP servers, the Manus API and Manus Flex model keys are not covered.

Which Manus plan do I need?

The Free plan is enough for the early lessons. Wide Research, slides and website deployment need Pro, which the help center listed from $20 a month as of October 2026. Prices and plans change, so check manus.im/pricing before you subscribe. The course shows you what to confirm there.

Can I use real client work in the exercises?

Use a sample, public or anonymized brief and guidelines you're allowed to put into a third-party AI tool, not unreleased client work under NDA. The course explains why client work belongs on a Team plan, or on terms your organization has reviewed, and what to ask procurement or legal first.

Is Manus still part of Meta?

No. Manus formally resumed independent operations on September 1, 2026. The course covers what changed in 2026, including why you should keep your own copies of every deliverable.

Is Manus available where I live?

Manus publishes no official list of supported countries. Access from mainland China has been blocked since mid-2025. Confirm at sign-up that Manus is offered in your region. You also need to be 18 or older. The course does not cover ways around regional limits or the terms of service.

Does the course teach Midjourney, Photoshop or video editing?

No. Frames are generated inside Manus as labeled exploration. Hands-on Midjourney or Higgsfield production and finishing craft in Photoshop, InDesign or video editing are not covered.

Will I get legal advice on copyright or likeness?

No. You'll learn the basics of the US Copyright Office's position on human authorship, and you'll treat rights, likeness and labeling as questions for legal review. The course doesn't give legal advice for specific markets.

Does this cover proactive agents like Dots or Claude Duet?

No. Dots, Claude Duet and the multi-team campaign Factory are taught in the full Creative Director track. This course focuses on Manus.

Manus for Creative Directors: 32 hands-on lessons from setup to sign-off

$97

One payment · lifetime access

  • 32 self-paced lessons in 9 modules, each a tutorial you follow with Manus open
  • Four studio projects: questioned brief, reference register, style routes, concept deck and brand audit
  • Copy-paste briefs and prompts, including a long-task brief with stop-and-ask checkpoints
  • Safe-setup steps for Projects, connectors, Cloud Browser, My Computer and scheduled tasks
  • An AI tutor you can type or talk to, plus quizzes and flashcards for each lesson
  • Progress tracking and a certificate of completion

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Refunds: Full refund if you ask before you open your first lesson. Once you’ve started, purchases aren’t refundable, except where the law gives you that right.

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