Study graphic design principles in layout, color, and typography. Courses combine creativity with technical skills using Adobe Creative Cloud.
Begin your journey as a professional graphic designer by learning the essential skills and tools used by industry experts. Gain hands-on experience in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, and create a stunning portfolio to showcase your talent to potential employers or clients.
Learn how to retouch and color correct photos, combine images, and create graphics in Photoshop. This course covers the basic and intermediate features of Photoshop such as color/contrast, photo retouching, layers, masks, filters, and saving files for web/video/print.
Learn how to design professional page layouts with text & graphics in Adobe InDesign. This course covers styling, importing, packaging, and advanced techniques like styles, master pages, and tables. Perfect for creating books, magazines, and ads.
Learn how to draw and edit vector graphics using Adobe Illustrator. This course covers the basics and advanced features, including the Pen tool, effects, layers, masks, and more. Perfect for creating logos, icons, and packaging.
Leverage the power of cutting-edge AI tools and features in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and other Adobe apps in this hands-on class.
Learn the fundamentals of graphic design as you get hands-on experience and produce real-world projects. Broaden your understanding of graphic design concepts, understand the elements of design, and expand your portfolio in this comprehensive graphic design course.
Master Photoshop from the ground up and prepare for the Adobe Certified Professional exam with expert-led training, hands-on projects, and personalized tutoring. This comprehensive program is ideal for aspiring designers, photographers, and creative professionals looking to earn industry-recognized certification.
Advance your layout and design expertise while preparing for the Adobe Certified Professional exam in this hands-on InDesign Certification Program. Through expert-led classes, personalized tutoring, and real-world projects, you'll gain the skills and confidence to create polished magazines, brochures, books, and more.
Build professional-level Illustrator skills and earn your Adobe Certified Professional credential through hands-on classes, private tutoring, and real-world projects. This certification program covers everything from vector drawing to logo design, giving you the tools to succeed on the exam.
Develop high-impact motion graphics and visual effects while preparing for the Adobe After Effects Certification exam through hands-on classes and private tutoring. This in-depth program covers beginner to advanced techniques, equipping you with the skills and credentials to stand out in animation and video production.
Master the art of video editing and earn your Adobe Premiere Pro certification through expert-led training and one-on-one tutoring. This comprehensive program prepares you for the certification exam while helping you build professional-level editing skills.
Graphic design is the art of using text, color, and graphics to convey a message or idea. The desire to communicate with others visually is the backbone of this interdisciplinary art and design field. Contemporary graphic design principles started to take shape alongside the rise of modern advertising in the 19th and 20th centuries and have continued to develop and innovate with the introduction of the internet and computer-aided design software. Today, graphic design is still heavily linked with advertising, marketing, and publishing while digital and web design have also gained prominence.
Those studying graphic design will learn important design theories as well as Adobe Creative Cloud software programs like Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. These programs allow graphic design professionals to create memorable and professional posters, brochures, book covers, product packaging, webpages, PDFs, and other promotional materials. Those interested in animation, UI/UX design, or motion graphics will often learn other design software in addition to these like After Effects, Animate, or Figma. Learning graphic design can be the start of a fulfilling career or a way to express yourself creatively.
Having a graphic design skill set will allow you to work on a variety of different types of projects. Once you learn the foundations of graphic design, you will be able to create promotional materials for yourself or other clients. It is common, for instance, for a graphic design professional to create a custom logo or font for a brand in Illustrator, add this custom logo over a retouched product photo in Photoshop, and then organize these elements together with other text, shapes, or images into a brochure, magazine spread, or social media post in InDesign.
Knowing graphic design is also the first step to working in motion graphics or web design. Someone wanting to create animations, visual effects, or other motion graphics for film, TV, or video games, will need a graphic design background. Additionally, Web Designers, UI Designers, and UX Designers all have graphic design training that they use to craft the aesthetics and look of webpages, digital assets, and applications while needing to remain attentive to how users navigate and access a website or app.
Not only can you use graphic design training in your current or future profession, but it can be useful in your life outside of work. Knowing graphic design can help you to create an engaging flyer for a neighborhood event or family get-together. Graphic design skills can also be useful for giving back to your community by volunteering with a local charity or non-profit to get the word out about an upcoming fundraising or awareness event.
Photoshop is Adobe’s image editing software. This industry-standard software is used by graphic design professionals and non-professionals who want to retouch, crop, or adjust the color and contrast of images. With Photoshop, you can also remove unwanted background elements or merge multiple layers of text and images together. Students will learn about Photoshop’s basic and advanced toolsets, as well as how it integrates with other software in Adobe Creative Cloud.
InDesign is Adobe’s industry-standard page layout software. Students in graphic design courses will learn how to manipulate text, graphics, objects, and color to create well-balanced and organized single- and multi-page documents, including brochures, magazine spreads, book layouts, and dynamic PDFs. InDesign is used widely in advertising and publishing and is also becoming popular as a way to create interactive PDFs for corporate business reports.
Adobe Illustrator is an industry-standard vector graphics software. Graphic design courses will teach students how to draw using the Pen tool and use other tools to create masks, layers, shapes, and 3D effects. Illustrator is necessary to learn as it allows graphic design professionals to create brand logos, fonts, social media banners, scalable product packaging designs, or patterns for clothing designs.
It is also common for some graphic design courses to teach elements of motion design and this is also a standard part of a university or college degree in design. Motion design involves creating animation, visual effects, or using 3D modeling so that you can design things like an end credits scroll, an animated logo, an infographic or explainer video, or a detailed setting, character, or sequence of actions for a TV series, film, or video game. Learning motion graphics often means not only learning graphic design principles but also learning how to use software like Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D, or Rive.
One of the core skills you’ll learn in a graphic design course is typography. Typography is arranging and styling text and other printed matter. Mastering typography will allow you to use type and text as another element of a design’s message or to convey a brand’s identity and vision. Typography is not only an essential compositional design element but working with text and type will be part of what you learn to do in InDesign and Illustrator.
Graphic design is not considered an especially difficult subject to learn. If you enjoy creative design and are willing to exert time and effort to learn and practice your graphic design skills, it should not pose too much difficulty for you. Most of the concepts and tools you will learn are also not considered too challenging, though learning advanced features of software programs or how the programs can work together in the design process can be more exacting.
The most challenging aspect of learning graphic design is developing your own creative voice and being able to exert your own creative vision to tackle different design challenges. Graphic design will often involve taking a vague idea of your own or a client's and turning it into a fully functional and aesthetic reality. It will take time, effort, and practice to be able to create successful graphic design projects after learning the foundational tools and principles. As a graphic design professional you will never stop learning as you will need to update your knowledge and skillsets to incorporate new trends or technological innovations.
You can learn the basic concepts and tools of graphic design in as little as a few days or weeks. With dedication and effort, it should not take long to learn about composition, color, typography, and industry-standard Adobe Creative Cloud software. It can take between three and six months to feel comfortable designing your own projects using your graphic design knowledge and many find it takes between six months to a full year, to be able to successfully design projects for yourself or a client. How long it actually takes you to learn graphic design will depend upon what kind of training you receive and how much effort you put into learning graphic design and practicing your skills.
Whether to learn graphic design in-person or online depends upon your learning goals and needs as well as the cost, curriculum, and schedule of a course. In-person training is still considered the best way to learn and retain information and skills. In-person graphic design training allows you to learn in a dedicated classroom and communal environment with other learners and you can receive individual attention and feedback from an expert instructor. It is, however, harder to find in-person graphic design courses outside of a university or college degree program and these classes can cost more and be difficult to attend for those with full-time jobs or busy schedules.
Live online graphic design training should offer a similar experience and curriculum to in-person training. Live online classes are instructor-led and allow you to interact with the instructor and other students virtually. This mode of training is more convenient, you can take the class from any location and classes are frequently scheduled on weekends, in the evening, or part-time. The main downside to live online classes is that some students find it harder to focus and stay engaged in the course material when learning online, as opposed to in a classroom.
Another option to consider is asynchronous online or on-demand classes. Instead of attending regularly scheduled classes, on-demand classes provide students with the course material and students can work through it at their own pace. When and where to study are entirely up to your needs and schedule when taking an on-demand class and this training format is often the most cost-effective option. However, you will need to be extremely self-motivated to complete an on-demand class as there are no external motivating factors like a live instructor, other students, or hard deadlines to keep you engaged. On-demand classes usually will not offer professional skill development and career support services like an in-person or live online class, bootcamp, or certificate program.
You can find articles, blogs, guides, and free graphic design seminars that will teach you the basics of graphic design. Adobe offers short classes and workshops for free and you can often access LinkedIn Learning at no cost through your local public library. Tutorial videos on YouTube are another popular way to learn about graphic design and important Adobe Creative Cloud software. A good place to start is Noble Desktop’s graphic design YouTube playlist, a playlist that has videos about getting started on a career pathway in graphic design, motion graphics, or UI/UX design and also has tutorial videos for software like Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Figma.
While free online resources are a great place to start, they will not provide comprehensive training, professional skill development, or support services that are necessary for pursuing a design career.
After learning the basics of graphic design, you can complement your new knowledge and skills by learning motion graphics or user experience (UX) design. Motion graphics will involve learning to use additional software like Adobe After Effects or Cinema 4D which will allow you to create animations, visual effects, and 3D models. Learning motion graphics opens up new career possibilities for those with a graphic design background to work as an Animator or Motion Graphics Designer. This skill set will allow you to work in the entertainment or game industry or you can create web animations and effects for websites and applications.
Graphic design training can also serve as the foundation for a career in UX design. UX Designers consider the user’s entire experience and engagement with a website, application, tablet, or mobile device. They need to design aesthetically memorable experiences that are fully functional and accessible to users. Learning UX design involves knowing basic web programming, designing and prototyping software like Adobe XD, Figma, and Sketch, and learning how to research and test the user experience.
Most industries use graphic design as almost all companies will need to consider how their company vision and goals are communicated visually. It is common for graphic design professionals to work in-house at larger companies in various industries or to work for design firms that take on clients from different industries. Most graphic design professionals work in advertising, though they also have a large presence in Baltimore’s key industries like tourism, manufacturing, and finance.
Advertising is important in a city like Baltimore which has a large, diverse population, is located near the nation’s capital, and has its own well-visited tourist attractions. Baltimore is the 27th largest media market in the US and advertisers focus on reaching this population through digital channels, TV spots, and billboards. The billboard market in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area is quite large as many locals drive or commute to and from work in this region of the country.
Most graphic design professionals are employed in advertising and marketing, either at design firms or in-house for specific companies and organizations. This allows these professionals to work on generating promotional materials, like brochures, brand logos, flyers, print and digital advertisements, and content for websites, social media, newsletters, and emails. Graphic design professionals can work on both print and digital promotional materials and in 2D or 3D formats, depending on their expertise.
Millions of people visit Baltimore every year and tourism is another sector that employs graphic design professionals. Baltimore has a thriving museum and entertainment culture and is home to the National Aquarium. Because Baltimore is a port city, many tourists visit not only the aquarium located in the Inner Harbor but also enjoy local seafood including oysters, clams, and the famous Maryland Blue Crab.
Tourism is a competitive industry with many businesses vying for the attention of potential consumers. This means that graphic design professionals have a large role to play in crafting a unique look and distinctive style for businesses that cater to tourists. This can involve creating promotional materials similar to what you would find in other industries but it can also mean designing brochures highlighting the fun or educational experiences in the city, designing magazine spreads on popular tourist outings, and crafting memorable and enticing websites or social media content to draw in potential visitors.
While manufacturing in Baltimore has struggled in the past, it is still one of the top industries in the city. Much of Baltimore’s workforce is involved in the production side of manufacturing and two of the top employers in the county are McCormick & Company and Stanley Black & Decker. Small business manufacturing can also get a boost from the Made in Baltimore program, which supports small, local, employer-owned businesses.
Graphic design professionals can work in manufacturing, either to create promotional materials for specific companies or to work on product packaging design. Packaging Designers use software like Illustrator to create precise and scalable designs that meet the requirements of their clients. Someone with graphic design experience can also use that to start their own small business selling creatively designed goods like artwork, cards, stickers, planners, and 3D printed objects locally and through online platforms like Etsy.
Finance is one of Baltimore’s top industries with many companies and organizations involved in investing, lending, and securities trading. Investment management firm T. Rowe Price is one of the largest individual employers in this sector of Baltimore’s economy. Baltimore is also a tech hub and its finance and tech industries overlap and work together to create innovations in the finance industry and maintain a reliable power grid for Baltimore’s securities sector.
Similar to other industries, graphic design professionals can work on brand identity and promotional materials for financial services and their related products. Companies in the finance industry usually want to portray themselves as trustworthy and professional and will need a look for their logo, font, and other branded material that signifies this. Someone with a graphic design background who moves into UI/UX design might also be tasked with working on website or application accessibility, as finance companies often need clean, professional, and functional websites and applications.
A Graphic Designer is the role most associated with graphic design training. These professionals create visual material to communicate an idea or message to a particular audience. They often work in industries like advertising, publishing, and entertainment to create brand logos, fonts, print and digital ads, book covers, album artwork, and other promotional materials.
A Graphic Designer in Baltimore earns $64,000 a year on average. The salary for this position can range from around $50,000 to $81,000 depending on experience and industry. Someone who starts as a Graphic Designer or even a Graphic Artist can work their way up to a position as a Creative Director or Art Director, which are senior or lead design roles.
A UI Designer has an educational background in both graphic design and computer science. These professionals design websites and application interfaces so that they have an engaging look and are user-friendly and accessible. Along with knowledge of important design concepts and software, a UI Designer needs to know how to wireframe webpages and do user testing of their designs.
In Baltimore, the average annual base pay for a UI Designer is $64,000, similar to the national average. What a UI Designer earns can vary based on skill level and experience and the salary range for those working in Baltimore is between $48,000 and $86,000 a year.
Someone working as a 3D Designer will use their knowledge of design and software to create 3D models, animations, and effects for a variety of purposes. These professionals often work in the entertainment industry or in web design to create characters, settings, or effects for video games, TV shows, or films or to create 3D animations and effects for websites. Someone with more advanced training in CAD software and industry-specific regulations can also work in architecture, engineering, or construction as a 3D Designer.
According to Indeed, the average salary is $81,000 for a 3D Designer in Baltimore, which is the same as the national average for this job. A 3D Designer might move into this role from a position as a 3D Artist or 3D Modeler, so the pay range starts higher than for other Designer roles. Someone in Baltimore can expect to earn between $74,000 and $89,000 as a 3D Designer.
An Art Director is a senior leadership position as these individuals are responsible for implementing the look and style of a project. While Creative Directors often conceive of a project’s aesthetics, Art Directors are the head of a larger team of professionals tasked with executing a Creative Director’s vision. They control which tools and design elements are used to manipulate typography, color, and graphics and work to ensure a project’s success. Art Directors often work in advertising, publishing, or entertainment.
Art Directors earn an average of $100,000 each year in Baltimore, according to Indeed. The pay range for those in this position has a larger spectrum because one’s pay depends on their skill level, years of experience, and industry demand. Entry-level Art Directors are making around $64,000 and this can go as high as $155,000 in the Baltimore area.
Noble Desktop offers top-rated in-person and live online graphic design training. All Noble Desktop classes include hands-on training, small class sizes, individualized instructor feedback, and a guarantee that you will learn the skills in the syllabus. Consider a bootcamp, if you’re looking to learn individual graphic design software quickly and comprehensively. Noble’s options include beginner-friendly bootcamps like the Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp, Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, and Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp which offer 18 hours of full-time or part-time instruction. For those looking to update their knowledge by learning the latest artificial intelligence innovations, consider the two-day AI for Graphic Design course which will teach you how to use Adobe AI tools and incorporate AI into your design process.
If you are looking for comprehensive, career-ready training, consider a certificate program. Certificate programs will teach you everything you need to launch a career in your chosen field and offer career support services including mentorship, portfolio development, and help navigating the job market. Noble Desktop offers a month-long Graphic Design Certificate which covers design theories and principles and software including Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. Students in the certificate program will be guided through developing their design portfolio and creating projects like a brand logo, product packaging, and other promotional materials. Noble Desktop also offers additional certificate programs such as a Digital Design Certificate and a UI Design Certificate which provide training in designing for web, tablet, and mobile devices and using prototyping software like Figma.
Ledet Training provides career-oriented training in Adobe software. Beginners should consider their three-day intensive Adobe Creative Cloud Print 501 and Web 501 classes which both have options to learn in-person in Washington, DC, or online. Their Print 501 class will provide instruction in Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Adobe Bridge and is a great introduction to these graphic design essentials. Their Web 501 course focuses on Photoshop, Animate, and Dreamweaver making it a better option for aspiring Web Designers.
For an online option in the DMV area, consider the University of Maryland Global Campus’s UI/UX Design Bootcamp. This is a nine-month self-paced bootcamp where students will learn core design principles and toolsets. Participants in this bootcamp will have access to UI practice exercises and work on capstone projects. This bootcamp also offers additional optional projects, 1-on-1 virtual meetings with a mentor, and optional career units to help participants navigate preparing for and finding a job.
Technology training provider Think BIG. Learn Smart also offers online graphic design courses. Their Print & Digital Design Smart Track offers live training through their online platform in a variety of necessary software and toolsets. Most of their courses are two- to four-days in length and they have introductory, advanced, and bootcamp options for Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. This provider also offers Adobe Certified Professional exam training and individual classes on important concepts like typography, creating infographics, and crafting documents to meet accessibility standards. As part of this track, Think BIG. Learn Smart has additional courses like Canva for Digital Design, Adobe Acrobat, and Power BI that can further enhance your graphic design skill set.
New Horizons is an IT training center that offers online courses in industry-standard Adobe Creative Cloud software. They have short introductory and advanced classes in software like Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro. New Horizons’ introductory and advanced course format will work well for those looking for graphic design training for professional or personal uses as well as more experienced individuals who need comprehensive training or training in advanced toolsets. For those seeking web development training, they also have additional classes in Adobe’s ColdFusion 10 and Dreamweaver and they have Captivate classes for anyone who wants to learn how to design e-learning platforms.
Someone looking to learn graphic design for UI/UX design should also consider the online courses offered by the tech training provider General Assembly. General Assembly offers a beginner-friendly Visual Design Short Course where participants will learn the basics of color, layout, typography, user experience design, and work with software including Figma and Sketch. This course is currently offered as an eight-week part-time class in the evenings.
Noble Desktop has corporate training options for employers looking to upskill or reskill their workforce in graphic design concepts or tools. For comprehensive graphic design training, consider Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate. Noble Desktop also offers individual classes, accelerated bootcamps, and intensive one-day workshops focused on software like Figma, Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. Classes can be taken in-person at their NYC facility, online from any location, or scheduled onsite at your location.
Discounted bulk enrollment vouchers are available for attendance in Noble Desktop’s public courses. Choosing this option allows employers to decide which courses to offer to their employees and allows employees to determine which classes best suit their schedules and training needs. To schedule a free consultation or learn more about Noble Desktop’s corporate training options, email corporate@nobledesktop.com.