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Professional Academy Diploma in Graphic Design
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Choose Your Start Date
Browse our upcoming live online classes. Download your brochure to learn more.
Secure your place by paying in full or availing of our payment plan. For Part-time, on demand and on campus courses, pay in three equal interest-free instalments. For full-time Bootcamps enrol with a 50% deposit and the rest at the course start date. T&C's apply.
Why UCD Professional Academy?
- Valuable, trusted certification
- Industry expert lecturers
- Flexible learning options
Graphic Design Course Modules
This interactive and practical course will introduce you to graphic design’s golden triad: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. These powerful applications are used by the world’s top creatives, and you will learn how they help with creating logos and icons, retouching photography, and laying out complex documents. You will develop essential design skills and understand how to ensure your visual assets are consistent with brand guidelines and industry standards.
You will learn to use the latest AI features to quickly perform tasks such as removing backgrounds or adding effects. By the end of this course, you will be able to create a wide range of visual assets for both print and digital and ready to kickstart your creative career in design.
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1. Adobe Illustrator - The World Of Vectors
Become comfortable with the application’s layout and navigation. Create vector-based shapes using strokes and fills. Learn to organise assets and group and apply transformations.
- Difference between pixels and vectors
- Adobe application interfaces
- Organising your files
- Creating shapes
2. Adobe Illustrator - Let’s Get Creative
Understand how layers are used for creative element control. Learn to align and distribute objects. Create and save a brand colour folder for a website and explore gradient designs using colours.
- Layers and their use
- Creative manipulation of multiple objects
- Adding colours to the palette
- Adding gradients to shapes
3. Adobe Illustrator - Colours, Logos & Icons
Learn how to create and manage brand colours for print or digital output. Convert pixel-based images into fully editable vector shapes and use cutting tools to create a vector-based logo.
- Colour management for print
- Replicate a logo
- Create your own icons
- Source and edit multi-use infographics
4. Adobe Photoshop - The World Of Pixels
Learn to optimise images for digital and print output. Discover transformations and layers. Start using selection tools.
- Understanding file formats
- Perfecting images for print and web
- Transforming, resizing, rotating, distorting images
5. Adobe Photoshop - Creative Montage
Deepen your knowledge of selection tools and create a design poster with text design. Explore the wonders of Photoshop’s generative AI fill, adding and removing content from images using everyday language. Learn to create an image montage by using selections.
- Removing sections of an image
- AI generative fill
- Blending modes
- Creating striking montages with everyday photos
6. Adobe Photoshop - Photoshop Magic
Master Photoshop’s powerful repair brush tools and the famous clone tool. Discover the AI-powered content aware fill, which allows you to remove or fill areas of your image. Learn to create colours and gradients.
- Retouching photography
- Content aware fill
- Removing portions of a picture
- Repairing damaged sections of pictures
7. Adobe Photoshop - Behind The Mask
Learn to use masking techniques and smart objects. Discover how adjustment layers allow for non-destructive effects and apply levels to improve image colours.
- Smart objects for image protection
- Adding colour
- Reducing colour channels
- AI adjustment presets
- Enhancing images with filters
8. Adobe InDesign - The World Of Layout Design
Discover how to create vector shapes and outlines for displays. Start working with images for layout design and use layers for workflow creativity.
- Creating, resizing, and colouring shapes
- Stacking, grouping, and layers
- Image gallery overview
9. Adobe InDesign - Magazine Cover
Learn how to lay out a magazine cover for professional print, and how to optimise for digital distribution. Ensure the correct profiles and print registrations are applied.
- Creating a magazine cover
- Exporting files for publication
10. Adobe InDesign - Brand Guidelines & Colours
Learn to ensure correct colour applications across all your documents. Learn to create multiple text page documents and work on your brand guidelines document.
- Getting colour right
- Creating a brand guidelines PDF
- Text frame and linking
11. Adobe InDesign - Getting Interactive
Learn how to speed up workflow by using master pages. Add creative visuals to text pages using text wrap. Add videos, Google Maps, and animations to make an interactive PDF.
- Optimising work: creating recurring headers
- Applying macros
- Publishing online PDFs
12. A Day At The Office - Advertisement Project Design
Learn how to interpret a design brief and make a layout plan. Use Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign together in a final exercise and start putting your creative portfolio together.
- Real-world design planning
- Starting on your portfolio
What does a Graphic designer do?
A graphic designer creates visual assets to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers. This includes tasks such as designing logos, brochures, advertisements, websites, and other marketing materials.
Graphic designers must have a strong understanding of layout, typography, and colour theory, as well as be able to use a variety of design software. They work to communicate the desired message of a client or company through visual elements, and may also be involved in the development of brand guidelines and visual identities.
Download BrochureWhat our Alumni Say about Graphic Design
Access to thousands of journals, articles and papers. Free of charge.
Students taking part in this course will now have access to the EBSCO Online Library, free of charge, for the full duration of the course. Here you can browse thousands of relevant journals, articles and other reliable academic and commercial texts like the Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg Businessweek and Forbes Magazine, to supplement your learning and assignments.
Download BrochureWe've trained the employees of
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Relevant skills for your team, results for you.
Whether you’re interested in making your training budget work harder with volume discounts across our standard portfolio, or have bespoke training needs to be addressed, we’ll help you level up. Our team of upskilling experts are ready to take the pain out of meeting your training targets.
Talk to our expertsFrequently Asked Questions
Is this course right for me?
This hands-on course will give you the confidence to use Adobe applications to execute digital or print design. Your lecturer will demonstrate features live before you practise on your own computer, with sample files and exercises provided to help you learn. This course is about learning tools and embracing AI-assisted design rather than developing your creativity, so it would suit someone who is already interested in design. You will need a computer capable of running Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign to take this course and the relevant licences for these applications.
How will this course help with my career?
Every organisation needs visual assets to communicate, and this course gives professionals with design capabilities a distinct edge with potential employers. Gain a strong knowledge of Adobe’s mainstream design tools and demonstrate your ability to work collaboratively as well as produce the correct document formats required in each scenario. Gain confidence navigating industry requirements, managing colours, and leveraging the power of cutting-edge AI features. Design is also a rewarding career in its own right - either as a freelancer, in a dedicated in-house role, or at an agency. During this course, you’ll work on four projects to kick-start your all-important design portfolio.
What is the online learning experience like?
Our online experience is designed to be just as interactive, supportive, and inspiring as the UCD Professional Academy campus experience.
Online courses can be accessed from any computer or laptop with a fast broadband internet connection.
The following Adobe applications will need to be installed and licence activated prior to course commencement:
CORE APPLICATIONS:
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
SUPPORTING APPLICATIONS:
Adobe Bridge (File Manager application)
Adobe Acrobat (PDF generator/reader)
Minimum PC/Laptop requirements:
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10 (64bit)
RAM: 8 GB
HARD DISK: (at least) 4 GB of available space
Minimum Mac requirements:
OPERATING SYSTEM: macOS Mojave (version 10.14) or later
RAM: 8 GB
HARD DISK: (at least) 4 GB of available space.
Live lectures are delivered using Zoom. During these lectures, your teachers will use technology interactively to ensure an engaging learning experience. When appropriate, students will be encouraged to activate their microphones so that they can ask questions and communicate with other students.
What is the student experience like?
Student care is a high priority at UCD Professional Academy, which is why our Student Services team is on hand to support you throughout your time with us. They will respond to any queries you have, help you with any technical issues, and facilitate your learning experience at every point. All students are given access to our Student Portal, where you can see your timetable, access all your study materials, and manage your account.
How is this course assessed?
As part of the course, you will be asked to work on three in-course personal projects and one final master project. There are various choices available, and you may even create materials that have direct application at work or for your business, such as creating your own company logo. Each of these four projects, as well as a written essay of 1,000 words containing your thought process as you worked on the projects, will be assessed as evidence of your learning.
What are the benefits of a Professional Academy Diploma?
UCD Professional Academy Diplomas and Certificates are designed to give your career an advantage. Developed in conjunction with industry thought leaders our courses teach practical, applied skills to support you to achieve your career and business goals. Professional Academy Diplomas are suitable for career minded learners wishing to advance their professional skills and prospects rather than their academic credentials.
The Professional Academy is an independent wholly owned part of UCD designed to address the need for skills development in the workforce. Courses tend to be short, designed and delivered by industry practitioners, and are not part of nor do they lead to a traditional University award such as a degree or a masters. They are widely accepted by employers and many students are sponsored to study by their organisation.
For full details of UCD Professional Academy’s Certifications & Governance please visit https://www.ucd.ie/professionalacademy/governance/
How do I get my Professional Academy Diploma?
Your UCD Professional Academy Diploma will be issued electronically on a secure platform, with a link that you can share with employers and others wishing to verify your credentials. You can also add this certificate to your LinkedIn profile.
What payment options are available?
You can secure your spot on most of our Live Online, On-Campus, or On-Demand courses with a low 30% deposit. The remaining balance can be paid in two equal instalments (30 and 60 days later).
For full-time Bootcamp courses, you can secure your spot with a 50% deposit, with the remaining balance due prior to the start of your course.
Please note that standard terms and conditions apply, which you can review here: https://www.ucd.ie/professionalacademy/terms-and-conditions/