In this live online summer course, high school and college students will learn the fundamentals of user-centered app and website design. After learning the fundamental concepts for good UX and UI design, students will create their own clickable prototypes to test.
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Graphic design is at the heart of visual representation for nearly every industry today, from ads to websites. Whether you have artistic talent or simply enjoy working with images, logos, or video technology, a graphic design career can be rewarding and lucrative.
Traditionally, graphic design involved mockups for advertising like that seen in print media or on billboards. In the digital age, graphic design has migrated to software, and three of the most important design tools come from Adobe: Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. These programs have grown into mainstays of the graphic design world, from photo editing to page layouts and typography. Though not directly related to graphic design, video editing and motion graphics are also increasingly important to technology professionals who use design principles for everything from social media to website animation.
As a high school student, you may be thinking of a career in design work. Graphic design and web design are two of the most well-known areas of design study, but there are others. Students with strong technical skills might be interested in a career as a user interface (UI) designer, which involves working with user experience (UX) designers on web pages and applications. Those with entrepreneurial aspirations might consider working as a freelance graphic designer.
If you’re thinking of studying graphic design, there are many good reasons to do so. The most obvious is a future design career, where you have numerous options. A graphic design student may become a visual designer, digital designer, or even a design director supervising a team. Whatever the motivation, students with a solid graphic design background have excellent prospects.
Other students may want to strengthen their design skills to prepare for internships, summer jobs, or part-time jobs. Many firms hire graphic designers on a part-time or remote basis, and even large companies sometimes need design interns during the summer. Although some of these positions require no experience, they may require prior knowledge of Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign.
Still, other students study graphic design to add to their list of skills for college applications, while some learn design software as part of their college prep. After all, there can be considerable overlap among the tools needed for careers in graphic design, video editing, motion graphics, and other disciplines. The skills you learn in a graphic design class can be applied in multiple positions across virtually every industry.
Students interested in an arts education, like a BFA, will want to prepare for the college application by building a competitive design portfolio to showcase their skills and talents. Learning these graphic design skills is a good way to improve your resume and to dedicate the time necessary to perfect the designs that you will include as part of your application materials.
One of the main appeals of learning graphic design skills is that students will learn to use various design tools and applications. Graphic designers work on everything from books and magazines to product packaging and branded merchandise to major Hollywood films. If you are interested in a creative career, learning graphic design basics is an excellent first step to long-term success. Students should be aware of the kinds of skills that they will likely learn when they enroll in a graphic design summer training program. The major programs that most schools teach are the 2D graphic creative design programs offered through the Adobe Creative Cloud.
Adobe Photoshop is the most commonly used photo manipulation software available, so much so that we use “photoshop” as a verb to describe manipulating an image. Students enrolled in a graphic design training program will learn to use Photoshop to create and manipulate pixel-based images in various contexts. Photoshop can make significant alterations to photos (such as removing background objects or completely editing objects into the finished product) or minor but impactful changes, such as altering color gradients or cleaning up edges. One of the main reasons Photoshop is so popular is that it can be used to make incredibly small alterations in an image, sometimes down to the pixel. Learning Photoshop is an essential skill for anyone who wants to work in print media. It is also an important part of web design.
Illustrator is a 2D image drawing tool that allows users to create vibrant and evocative vector-graphic illustrations. Vector graphics differ from pixel graphics in that they are constructed out of lines, points, arcs, and shapes, which makes them easy to resize to fit any canvas or object. This makes Illustrator designs ideal for any situation that calls for them to be resized for different purposes, such as brand logos, images, or product packaging. Unlike Photoshop images, which lose their definition once resized, Illustrator designs can be created once and applied to hundreds of different-sized contexts. This also makes Illustrator designs vital for creating digital graphic design assets since users will be viewing web applications on different devices, browsers, and monitors. Learning Illustrator is especially useful if you are hoping to learn it alongside traditional drawing skills since Illustrator aims to replicate the process of traditional 2D drawing.
InDesign is a page layout design application used in almost every facet of print media. It allows users to produce the page designs they will populate with text, graphics, and occasionally assets created in Photoshop and Illustrator. Though most commonly associated with magazines and newspapers, InDesign is used in the book publishing and print advertising industries, and it is used to create posters, infographics, brochures, and even business cards. InDesign is an incredibly versatile tool, and anyone hoping to create completed digital and print compositions will want to learn the basics of InDesign. InDesign is also used in web design, as it allows for creating layouts that are usable in both print and digital settings.
Mass communication often occurs in the digital world, so the work of web-focused graphic designers is becoming more essential. Before a web page or user interface can be programmed, it needs to be designed by creative professionals brought in to ensure that it looks appealing and communicates information effectively. These professionals use web design applications like Figma to build wireframe layouts and working prototypes for testing and preparing user interface layouts before they are ready to be programmed using HTML/CSS. Figma is designed with collaboration in mind, meaning that students will learn how to work together to build digital layouts and web interfaces. Learning web design won’t require coding skills, but knowing HTML/CSS and JavaScript can expand the canvas upon which you can create your graphic designs.
Some web design programs will also cover user experience design basics. Unlike traditional print graphic designs, web design projects will be interactive, as users will interact with them in real-time. This means that a good web design practitioner accounts for how a web design feels and looks. UX design training will have students learn how to use tools like Figma to create working prototypes of their interfaces that users can test to gauge their user-friendliness and accessibility. UX design is a vital part of any graphic designer's skill set if they hope to work in a digital space that involves user interaction and responsive feedback.
An important thing to remember is that creating a successful graphic design is more than just knowing how to use a Creative Cloud application. Students will need to have the creative eye necessary to make thoughtful and provocative design decisions and will need to spend the time and energy required to practice their craft and refine their work again and again. In a graphic design summer program, high school students receive focused instruction on theories of graphic design, such as composition and color theory. In addition, the classroom is an ideal place for students to work on sample projects and receive feedback on their work from experts in the field of graphic design.
Many students prefer to learn online, but others benefit from in-person training when studying a visual subject like graphic design. Some schools have online-only design programs, but others may offer in-person and virtual training.
Noble Desktop has created an online search tool to help you compare graphic design classes for students, whether hosted near you or remotely. Although some in-person design programs are area-specific, some schools have multiple locations around the country. Digital Media Academy, for example, hosts in-person graphic design courses in cities like Boston, Chicago, and Vancouver. Universities such as UCLA provide in-person training for high schoolers as part of a pre-college program in areas like graphic design or film.
Students in New York City can benefit from NextGen Bootcamp, which offers multiple graphic design courses. Its Graphic Design Summer Program provides training in the top three Adobe graphics tools, Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. At the same time, a separate Graphic & Web Design Summer Program combines the big three with training in HTML and CSS coding. Students interested primarily in web design can get graphics training as part of the NextGen Web Design Summer Program, which emphasizes Adobe Sketch and HTML and CSS training for high school students. Check course listings thoroughly to find the right program for you!
Virtual live graphic design summer courses for high schoolers may be the best alternative for students with busy schedules, even in the summer. Online learning allows you to attend lessons and complete assignments from the comfort of your home. Many classes are available during the late morning and early afternoon hours, and you can build your design skills while learning industry-standard tools.
The Live Online Graphic Design Summer Program from NextGen Bootcamp offers an interactive approach to design software like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator and is ideal for high school students. Graduates receive a digital certificate of completion and can retake the course for up to a year at no additional cost.
Want to learn how to design and code web pages? Check out the NextGen Live Online Web Design Summer Program. You’ll create with Adobe Sketch, gain development skills like HTML and CSS, and learn everything from formatting pages to uploading to websites via FTP in a comprehensive 50-hour summer course.
If you prefer a combination of web design and graphics training, consider enrolling in the NextGen Graphic & Web Design Summer Program Live Online. This portfolio-centered class is for teens ages 13-19 and emphasizes Adobe design apps and coding HTML and CSS. Topics include Photoshop, Grid, and Flexbox, to name a few.
When you choose a graphic design class, several factors may be important to the process. Consider whether you want to learn web design tools alongside your graphics training, as some courses include both. If you attend an online course, you may need to obtain software programs, whereas the required software may be available for student use with in-person classes. Tuition is another critical consideration since graphic design courses can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. The age range for a class can work in your favor even if you’re not yet a teen, as some programs are open to students ages 11-17, for example. Whatever design class you choose, the skills and experience you gain can provide a solid foundation that benefits you in college, your career, or even as an enjoyable hobby.
Upskill or reskill your workforce with our industry-leading corporate and onsite Graphic Design training programs. Conduct the training onsite at your location or live online from anywhere. You can also purchase vouchers for our public enrollment Graphic Design courses.
