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.
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.
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.
Launched in 1987, Adobe Illustrator was originally intended to be a companion product to Photoshop. However, it has since evolved into a design program that can be used with or without Photoshop and the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. Through 3+ decades of development, Illustrator has become the industry standard for vector graphic creation as well as other illustration needs.
Graphic Designers and other creative professionals use Illustrator for vector-based designs. Vectors are images created from lines and shapes, which means that they are infinitely scalable across projects of different sizes. This sets them apart from pixels, which sometimes lose quality when resizing, especially when attempting to enlarge an image past its original size. With vectors, designs are exactly the same whether they are printed on a business card or a billboard!
Learning Illustrator is a must for any aspiring creative. This application can be used in a variety of design jobs and integrates easily into other Adobe Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop and InDesign, which is helpful if you are working with cross-program designs.
Graphic Design and Branding
Illustrator is a key tool for Long Island’s graphic design and branding industry, used to create logos, icons, vector graphics, and other brand assets. Agencies such as Tribeca Creative and Allied Marketing Group rely on Illustrator to develop consistent visual identities for their clients. Designers skilled in Illustrator can create scalable, high-quality graphics that look great in both print and digital formats, helping companies maintain a professional and recognizable brand presence.
Advertising and Marketing
Advertising and marketing firms on Long Island use Illustrator to design compelling promotional materials, including posters, flyers, social media graphics, and infographics. Companies like Havas Health & You and Media Logic incorporate Illustrator into their creative workflow to craft eye-catching visuals that attract and engage audiences. Mastery of Illustrator allows marketing teams to translate campaign concepts into polished graphics that support effective communication and drive results.
Publishing and Digital Media
Illustrator is also widely used in publishing and digital media on Long Island, particularly for creating illustrations, diagrams, and editorial graphics. Publications such as Newsday and digital media companies like Long Island Press leverage Illustrator to enhance articles, reports, and interactive content. Illustrator enables artists and designers to produce detailed and precise illustrations that elevate the storytelling and visual appeal of both print and online media.
Graphic, Web, and Print Designers often use Adobe Illustrator, as do Design Directors, User Experience (UX) Researchers, and other creative positions. On Long Island and nearby NYC, the average salary for these Illustrator careers falls between $70,000 and $125,000—though you’ll need to build up your experience and portfolio for the top-tier jobs. Keep in mind that Illustrator is only one of many skills you’ll need to land most of these positions; Graphic Designers, for example, would also need knowledge in Photoshop and InDesign, as well as fundamental design principles.
There are numerous Long Island and NYC career opportunities you can pursue with Illustrator and related design experience. There are over 5,500 tech companies and startups in the area, where design jobs are often in good supply. You can also find design roles at local digital marketing agencies, or even on the marketing team at a company you admire. Design skills are incredibly versatile since nearly any business can benefit from artistic marketing and branding collateral.
Noble Desktop offers several Illustrator courses through its Manhattan location. The state-of-the-art facility is located on Madison Avenue, under a mile from Penn Station, which is convenient if you’re planning to take the LIRR to class.
Noble’s in-person courses and certificates offer a fully immersive experience. Students attend classes in a hands-on environment with all of the equipment and software necessary for learning key design skills like Illustrator. With classes held in small groups, you can always get help from expert instructors who will make your learning a priority. If you don’t want to commute, all of Noble’s classes are also offered in a live online format.
From short workshops to immersive certificates, Noble’s curriculum contains plenty of Illustrator courses to choose from. You might choose a quick one-day introductory class to get an overview of the program, or there is also an 18-hour Illustrator Bootcamp that delves more deeply into its capabilities. In the bootcamp, you’ll learn to use Illustrator’s many digital drawing, painting, and tracing tools to create multiple types of vector graphics for projects like logos, icons, and product packaging. For a broader scope, you might choose to learn Illustrator as part of a longer training program; it is included in both the Graphic Design Certificate and Visual Design Certificate.
Artistic teens looking to build skills in Illustrator and/or graphic design can do so through NextGen Bootcamp, a Noble subsidiary located in the same Manhattan facility. NextGen offers students aged 13-21 the chance to learn a new skill in a focused environment with an 8:1 student/teacher ratio, which ensures that each learner gets the help they need to succeed.
NextGen’s live online Illustrator courses for high school students are part of a broader graphic design curriculum. The program teaches Illustrator in conjunction with other widely-used apps within the Adobe Creative Cloud, like Photoshop and InDesign. Learning these skills early will provide younger students with a stepping stone toward a lucrative design career that they can pursue more quickly after graduating.
Because Adobe Illustrator is a versatile program that can be used to create a variety of business documents, many types of companies could benefit from their staff being familiar with the program. Providing corporate Illustrator training can empower employees to create and edit designs for company logos, marketing collateral, invoices, and contracts.
Through Noble Desktop’s onsite or virtual corporate Illustrator training, you can ensure that your staff is well-versed in Illustrator and other design programs. Private onsite training can be held either at your office or Noble’s Manhattan location, using existing Noble curriculum or a brand new agenda created to fit your business needs. There are also virtual training options or group vouchers for discounted Noble courses. For more information on these fully flexible Illustrator training options, email corporate@nobledesktop.com.
Long Island’s professional community is thriving with opportunities for individuals looking to build skills in technology, design, business, and data. The area is anchored by business centers in Melville and Hauppauge and maintains a strong connection to New York City’s industries. In many of these industries, they hire Illustrator professionals to bring bold and creative ideas to life. Illustrator gives you the ability to create vector graphics, logos, and illustrations that can scale without losing their quality. Through Noble Desktop’s network of expert instructors, students in Long Island can attain high-quality training led by professionals who understand the local landscape and industry demands. These instructors bring decades of experience and teach in a way that meshes industry knowledge with a commitment to practical instruction.
Noble Desktop has state-of-the-art facilities conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan at 185 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. The campus is centrally located, featuring modern and well-equipped classrooms with access to both PC and Mac desktops. Students benefit from high-speed internet connections and full-time IT support. Moreover, the central location makes it easy to fit your training into your busy schedule. From Long Island, it’s an easy trip to the Noble Desktop facility, accessible by public transportation, from Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, and several subway lines. If you take the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station, it’s a short walk to the building.
As a longtime government contractor and instructor, Linda Haynes-Jackson has accrued over 35 years of professional experience delivering training to federal agencies and corporate clients across Long Island and the nation. She delivers training in Customer Service and Section 508 Compliance and across various Microsoft applications, including Excel, Power BI, Power Pivot, Access, Outlook, Word, Teams, and PowerPoint. In the classroom, Linda is well-regarded for her energetic and lively nature, which is clear through her numerous awards for instructional excellence. Moreover, she has taught a wide range of students, from beginners to advanced users, as well as those with specific accommodations. She holds a Bachelor's from Temple University, a Master’s of Arts from Villanova University, and a Doctorate from NYU.
Garfield is an accomplished software trainer based in New York City, with over 16 years of experience spanning data analytics, corporate training, and professional development. He began his career as a Data Analyst for a Wall Street real estate investment firm before shifting focus to shaping learning programs and instructing. He is known as a creative thinker and brings humor to the classroom, making students feel comfortable and engaged. Since launching his training career, he has collaborated with a range of high-profile clients, including Adobe, Amazon, and HBO, and has helped teams translate technical knowledge into real-world insights.
Dan Rodney is a seasoned Web Developer and Designer with over 20 years of experience creating websites as well as courses at Noble Desktop. He’s passionate about the innovations that connect design with tech, and as such, has been a driving force behind AI integration into a variety of creative and business situations. He enjoys building custom InDesign scripts, such as Make Book Jacket and Proper Fraction Pro, and is consistently exploring new ways to integrate AI and animation into his work. His combined passion for and expertise in tech and design position him as an instructor who knows how to help others stay ahead of the curve while acquiring real-world, practical skills.
Brian is an experienced New York-based instructor, curriculum developer, and Web Developer with a strong reputation for his professionalism in both teaching and technology. Before joining Noble Desktop, Brian served as a Director for a coding bootcamp, where he oversaw the design and instruction within the program. In addition, he worked as an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Westchester County College. Overall, Brian is an active member of the tech community, also working on app development. His app, Artmink, uses AI to provide appraisals of art and antiques from user-submitted images. He currently teaches courses in JavaScript, Python, web development, machine learning, AI, and Python for data science.