Web Design Classes for High School Students in Atlanta, GA

Web design is important today in virtually every field, from fashion to advertising. The skills and disciplines required for a web design career, however, often apply in other fields as well. Popular software like Photoshop and Sketch, and markup and styling tools HTML and CSS, can all be taught alongside other subjects, like JavaScript coding.

The primary elements of web design include visual design, coding, and how the website functions, known as user experience (UX). While some design students focus on UX design exclusively, others focus more on user interface (UI) design. Still others combine both disciplines as UX/UI Designers.

Design-centered classes at the high school level include a broad range of courses and bootcamps—from one-day WordPress seminars to five-week certificate programs. Your choice of course may depend upon your goals, but you can gain a great deal from studying web design in brief or in detail.

Why High Schoolers Should Learn Web Design

High school students should learn at least some tools applicable to web design, whether or not a design career is a future goal. Adobe Creative Cloud apps like InDesign, XD, and Photoshop, web builders like WordPress, and programming languages like JavaScript are all common tools for positions ranging from Marketing Consultant to Creative Director.

Atlanta, with its vibrant arts community, tech sector, and institutes of higher education, is always in need of more web design pros. Recent job listings include roles for Visual Designers, Digital Designers, and Web Graphic Designers, to name a few.

Although many high schoolers take some web design training for future careers, even more will learn some skills that help prepare for college courses. JavaScript and jQuery, Adobe XD or Sketch, Dreamweaver, and HTML/CSS are all relevant to design careers as well as other positions. Learning fundamentals in high school can make college courses in such subjects easier.

You might also decide to learn some of these prized skills for a summer job, part-time gig, or paid internship. Web design and development internships, in particular, typically require experience with tools like HTML and CSS, JavaScript, or WordPress.

Even if you don’t pursue any of those avenues, a skill set that includes design training is valuable on a college application or resume. Learning web design skills now can help you in the future.

In-Person Web Design Classes in Atlanta

While many people prefer to learn online, some prefer the traditional face-to-face experience of a classroom. High school students can find multiple in-person web design classes in Atlanta. However, it’s important to know that these may be open to the general public, as opposed to students only.

Georgia Tech offers a UX/UI Bootcamp over a 24-week period, which may be an appropriate web design program for recent high school grads. Emory University hosts HTML and CSS training through its Continuing Education program, another option for design students, as well as other web development students.

Many course providers host training nationally, and some offer numerous in-person web design courses in the Atlanta area. Ledet Training, General Assembly, and New Horizons all provide classes in topics like HTML and CSS, Adobe Dreamweaver, WordPress, and similar topics. Even Miami Ad School offers design training at its Atlanta location.

For other alternatives, including comprehensive summer camps, consider a fully live online program encompassing web design, graphic design, or both.

Virtual Web Design Classes

Atlanta high school students looking for live online web design courses will find multiple alternatives. Like in-person classes, virtual coursework offers live, interactive training with expert instructors. An extra advantage is learning from the comfort of home, submitting assignments remotely. With your permission, the instructor can see or even share your screen.

Noble Desktop partner company NextGen Bootcamp offers hands-on web development training for high schoolers. Their Web Design Summer Camp is an online live program that teaches students how to design websites with Adobe Sketch and use HTML and CSS for markup and styling.

Students who want additional graphic design training can benefit from NextGen’s combined Graphic & Web Design Summer Program. This six-week certificate includes Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, along with the design training encompassing HTML, CSS, and Sketch. Course graduates receive a verified Certificate of Completion.

How to Choose a Web Design Class

If you’re ready to choose a class that includes or features web design skills, you’ll have plenty of options. The challenge may be deciding which is the best one. Your ultimate goals may influence your decision, along with other factors like the length of the course, its level of difficulty, and whether it’s taught face-to-face or live online. Web design summer camps may be limited to teens ages 13-19, whereas some in-person classes may be open to the general public. Pricing is a factor for many families, and design-related coursework runs from $99 for a three-hour WordPress workshop to nearly $15,000 for a 12-week UX design program. Take all these questions into consideration when deciding, and always review the course description and syllabus thoroughly with your parents or adult guardians prior to enrollment.