Design Basics Online Course

Design Basics Online Course

Learn Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign with your very first design project. Get to know Adobe’s industry-standard software and see how to use it to express your ideas. Through video-recorded classes and practical assignments, you learn the software at your own pace. This plug&play course is for anyone who wants to learn the basics of design, and is a good first step on the path to other design studies.

The course covers the core functionalities of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. As you develop your skills and confidence, you’ll also gain better insight into their respective strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics.

You’ll develop better workflow habits by choosing the right tool for the job and discover how the different applications can work together harmoniously. The course challenges you with a series of video tutorials and practical exercises as you create your first own design project.

This self-paced online course is perfect for people who are brand new to the world of design. Anyone whose ideas and ambitions are bigger than their current software skills. It can work as a foundation or as a first step for those who wish to take design courses at Berghs at a higher level. This course brings your skills up to a level where you can get the ideas that you have in your head, or in your sketchbook, onto the screen.

Please note that this course offers a foundation and is by no means exhaustive, mastering these programs fully may take many years of practice. To complete the course – and all its assignments – you need to have access to Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) 2020 or above. You can use Adobe’s free 7-day demo to start with. You should also have access to pens and paper that you love so you can sketch your own ideas away from a computer.

Photoshop:

• When (and when not) to use Photoshop
• Working with documents and getting your setup right
• Technical basics (color space, resolution, file formats)
• Working with confidence (saving, undoing, history, versioning)
• Working with existing images (layers, transparency)
• Working with channels with selections
• Discover layer effects and Plugins
• Transformation approaches
• Shaping layers and vectors
• Drawing and painting tools
• Typography in Photoshop
• How to import, export, and workflow artwork

Illustrator:

• When (and when not) to use Illustrator
• Working with documents, artboards, and workspaces
• Tech specs (colour space, resolution, file formats)
• Working with confidence (saving, undoing, history, versioning)
• Drawing and selection tools
• Working with colour, fills and strokes
• Keeping it neat (aligning and organising artwork)
• Working smart with layers and symbols
• Construction tools (pathfinder, compound and clipping paths)
• How transparency works
• Working with typography
• How to import, export, and workflow artwork

InDesign:

• When (and when not) to use InDesign
• Working with documents (for digital and print)
• Setting up workspaces for your project
• Tech specs for print and digital (colour space, resolution, file formats)
• Working with confidence (saving, undoing, history, versioning)
• Working with pages and master pages
• Time-saving typography tools and styles
• Importing and using existing artwork
• Working with frames, paths, and drawing
• Working smart with grids
• Creating interactive documents
• Packaging and exporting projects

For more information about tuition, please visit the website.

Students will receive a course certificate upon completion.

After the course, you have a basic knowledge that allows you to practice further on your own. Or you can push yourself and apply to other design courses at Berghs at a higher level, where basic software skills are a prerequisite.

For more information about course progression options, please visit the website.