An overview of what graphic design is and the varied professional opportunities it provides. Students will be inspired by great work and introduced to the most popular designer sites and understand work in the various industries that designers work in. The assessment work involves research of a chosen designer, that will open the eyes of the student to the amazing design everywhere around us.
Introduction
WHAT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN?
THE GRAPHIC DESIGN PROFESSION
Graphic Design: The Basics
FORMAL ELEMENTS
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Color is a fundamental medium for any designer. In this course, students explore how digital color works, discovering how to develop harmonious color schemes for art and design clients. Geometric relationships between colors on the color wheel are examined. Exercises give students practice in using hues, values, and intensities.
Students also gain a foundation in color psychology and the interpretation of color on screen and in print.
The art and science of typography is examined in this course, providing students with a foundation in letterforms and typefaces. Lectures focus on the structure and classifications of typefaces as well as methods for selecting and using type for display and composition.
Typography
NOMENCLATURE AND ANATOMY
CLASSIFICATIONS OF TYPE
DESIGNING WITH TYPE
SPACING
MIXING TYPEFACES
Creative direction and art direction are strategic approaches to developing the concept, messaging and visual language of design and media projects. They provide the framework from which design decisions can be made to ensure that all elements of the project are focused and consistent with the overall message. This course will enable you to explore design principles while trying out different approaches to develop the creative direction and art direction of a project.
Creativity and the Graphic Design Process
CREATIVE THINKING
CONCEPTUAL THINKING
PROBLEM SOLVING
FIVE PHASES OF THE GRAPHIC DESIGN PROCESS
- This course introduces you to the principles and practices for production of digital illustration and design, and covers the fundamental tools and techniques of bitmap software such as photo-retouching, colour correction, blending and combining images, using masks, applying filters and adding text to an image. students will get an overview of photography. They will learn the basic tools they need to shoot photography as a graphic designer, will learn how graphic designer’s work with professional photographers and will learn how to source online stock photography.
What makes any image work, in graphic design or photography? Composition, literally the assembly or construction of elements, is the artful arrangement that guides the viewer’s eye and unifies your work. In this online 2D design course, you’ll develop your compositional skills by analyzing everything from Grand Masters to Madison Avenue ads to tubes of toothpaste. Through a series of artistic projects, you’ll learn the principles of effective composition
Composition
PURPOSE OF COMPOSITION
THREE A’S: ACTION, ARRANGEMENT AND ARTICULATION
ARRANGEMENT
ARTICULATION
MODULARITY
THE GRID
WHAT IS COMPOSITION?
THREE BASIC ROUTES: TYPE-DRIVEN, IMAGEDRIVEN, AND VISUAL-VERBAL SYNERGY
COMPOSITIONAL STRATEGIES
Adobe Illustrator is a powerful and versatile tool for creating illustrations, logos, and graphics for print and the Web. You can learn to produce detailed and scalable art in this online Illustrator course. Working with an expert instructor, you’ll build a strong foundation, exploring selection tools, drawing tools, layers, the Pen tool (a lesson unto itself) as well as transformations/distortions, type tools, and modifying paths and shapes. Hands-on illustration projects include a robot, a CD cover, photo tracing, a postcard, a bus ad, and a visual identity
Whatever type of illustrative design project you face, the key to solving it successfully is going to be determined by the creative process you use. And in this course, you will go through a systematic creative process used every day in order to create ideas requiring an illustrative approach
Did you ever wonder how giant corporations such as CBS, BMW, and Sony establish their corporate images? And how important these company images are in promoting their respective franchises? Discover the answers in this online brand identity course. Explore through case studies the essential skills required to design logos, marketing materials, and advertising programs to establish and promote a corporate identity. You’ll be designing or redesigning company identities for both existing companies and newly established businesses.
Branding
WHAT IS BRANDING?
THE PURPOSE OF BRANDING
BRANDING PROCESS
CHARACTER OF BRANDED EXPERIENCES
Visual Identity
VISUAL IDENTITY: WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
DESIGNING VISUAL IDENTITY
WHAT IS A LOGO?
In today’s fluid design landscape, layout designers need the skills to move seamlessly between print and digital projects. Luckily, Adobe InDesign can handle it all. In this course, you will build a working knowledge of how to structure and layout both print and digital documents.
The course will impart a working knowledge of InDesign’s main capabilities, as well as valuable methods for cutting-edge digital publishing techniques. Projects give you training in a range of real world print/digital publishing projects, from brochures to catalogs, magazines to ePubs, and even an interactive folio for the iPad. This experience will leave you with an understanding of the software and a slew of great portfolio pieces.
Publication Design:
Covers and Interiors
THE PURPOSE OF COVER DESIGN
THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING A COVER
DESIGNING FOR A SERIES
DESIGNING THE INTERIORS OF EDITORIAL PUBLICATIONS
Corporate Communication: Brochures, Annual Reports, and More
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A BROCHURE?
ANNUAL REPORTS
Packaging designers play an essential role in the branding and commercial success of any product. This course gives graphic designers an introduction to the challenges of 3D package design, examining everything from the mechanics of assembling carton panels to the phenomenon of counter animation. Projects in a range of different client scenarios provide a unique and rewarding portfolio building opportunity.
Package Design
WHAT DOES PACKAGE DESIGN ENCOMPASS?
PACKAGE DESIGN PROCESS
SUSTAINABILITY
AUDIO PACKAGE DESIGN
3D PACKAGING VISUALIZATION
This course examines the relation of advertising to society, culture, history, and the economy. Using contemporary theories about visual communications, we learn to analyze the complex levels of meaning in both print advertisements and television commercials.
Advertising
THE PURPOSE OF ADVERTISING
Types of Ads
WHO CREATES ADVERTISING?
ADVERTISING DESIGN PROCESS
THE AD CAMPAIGN
THINKING CREATIVELY
COMMERCIALS
GUERRILLA ADVERTISING
To design today’s Web sites, you need a complete skillset. Clients expect you to be able to research, plan, build, design, and test a site, using contemporary technologies and design styles. In this online Web design course, you’ll learn a systematic professional approach to Web design, using site maps, wireframes, HTML/CSS layouts, comps, colour palettes, usability tests, and other tools and concepts to make sure your designs hit the mark. Four portfolio projects will challenge your Web design skills, helping you build an understanding of how to manage Web design projects in a professional context.
Web Design
INTRODUCTION: WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT FROM THE WEB?
WEB DESIGN—THE BIG PICTURE
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
WEB DESIGN WITH ADOBE DREAMWEAVER
