Study the fundamentals of graphic design through composition, color, and typography. Learn how to craft compelling visual messages using Adobe Creative Cloud tools.
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 all around us. It’s used in video games, advertisements, commercials, store signs, product packaging, websites, books, and company logos. This form of design helps companies connect with customers, sell products, establish a brand identity, and impart essential information. This type of communication relies on shapes, colors, forms, words, textures, and images to create a visual image capable of conveying meaning or persuading audience members. Graphic Designers strive to emotionally connect with audience members and influence their perceptions. Also known as communication design, graphic design involves bringing visual elements and concepts to life, often with the help of software like Adobe Illustrator. Graphic Designers rely on one or multiple essential design principles when approaching a new project, including movement, proportion, contrast, balance, and rhythm.
Because of the huge role graphic design plays in creating the online and print content we encounter on a daily basis, there are very few limits to the kinds of visual content you can create with graphic design training. Graphic Designers are employed by both small and large organizations to create memorable and evocative digital and print assets. In marketing, graphic design skills are used to create content for advertisements, flyers, posters, catalogs, or billboards. Some Graphic Designers are hired to assist with marketing campaigns, whereas others are involved with creating front-facing website content for their employer. Graphic design skills are also used in product packaging to ensure that the packaging that’s created will help distinguish the product from its competitors. Graphic Designers can also apply their skills to motion graphics-related projects, including creating video games, animations, banners, or trailers.
The field of graphic design extends beyond professional uses; even non-professionals rely on graphic design skills for many daily uses. Those who sell their products on marketplaces like Etsy rely on graphic design concepts to establish their brand identity and draw new customers to their stores. In the food service industry, restaurant owners apply graphic design when making menus. Design concepts also play a role in helping small business owners design user-friendly websites. Even those involved in political campaigns turn to graphic design to create campaign materials.
Although the content you’ll encounter in a graphic design class depends on the provider, the course scope, and the level of difficulty of the program, several core graphic design skills are commonly taught in these classes. The following sections briefly explore topics like basic design skills, as well as training in core Adobe CC apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, to give you a better idea of what to expect from your studies.
Graphic design courses, particularly those that cater to beginners, typically provide an overview of fundamental design concepts and theories so learners can place their training in a larger context. Coursework often teaches students core concepts like typography, design theory, color theory, and composition. These skills serve as a backbone for working with specific Adobe CC applications.
During graphic design study, instruction is often provided in editing and retouching photographs using Photoshop. This software application helps users design, edit, or enhance images like illustrations or artwork. Photoshop is also a popular tool for Graphic Designers, Photographers, and other professionals to create visuals that set their brand apart from others.
Another common tool in graphic design is Adobe Illustrator. Graphic Designers use this tool to create vector images and graphics that consist of points, lines, curves, and shapes, each of which is based on a mathematical formula instead of pixels. This allows Graphic Designers to maintain image quality, even when scaling an image up or down. In graphic design courses, students explore how Illustrator can be used to create icons, posters, patterns, symbols, and logos.
Another core skill you’re likely to encounter during graphic design training in San Francisco is how to use InDesign. This application is popular for creating page layouts for use in print or digital media. InDesign users create assets like posters, slideshows, picture book layouts, or stationery using this app. It is an industry-standard product for publishing design and also has applications in marketing and graphic design.
Graphic design coursework is available both in-person and online. Each of these training options has its unique benefits. For extroverted learners who thrive in the traditional classroom environment, in-person coursework is a great learning option. Students complete their training in a designated facility with the most up-to-date graphic design software already installed on computers. In addition to having the opportunity to learn from an expert instructor with industry experience in graphic design, participants receive the support of other learners in their cohort, which can add an additional sense of community. In-person classes do require that students commute to and from class for course meetings, which means that learners need to live near a designated training center in or near San Francisco and have reliable transportation.
Those who prefer studying remotely can complete live online graphic classes. Similar to in-person study, live online coursework is taught by an instructor connected in real-time. Coursework takes place in a teleconferencing platform like Zoom, where students not only have the opportunity to ask questions as they arise, but they can also share their screen with the instructor (with permission) for additional support. Since these classes take place in real-time, those interested in learning graphic design through live online study still need to commit to attending regularly scheduled class meetings. This may be challenging for those who have busy work or personal schedules.
The most flexible way to study graphic design is through on-demand content. In this training format, lessons, videos, and other materials are pre-recorded and placed online. Students can complete coursework at any time, from any location. They can also dictate their own learning pace, opting to pause or rewind as necessary. In terms of cost, on-demand coursework is often the most affordable since it’s pre-recorded. However, it’s important to keep in mind that no instructor is present. This can make it challenging for some learners to find answers to questions.
San Francisco’s vibrant economy has many prominent sectors in which graphic design skills are integral. The following sections will take a look at how graphic design is used in sectors like social media, clean technology, and nonprofits.
San Francisco is located approximately 40 miles from Silicon Valley, making it a prime location for those who work in fields like IT or social media. Many prominent social media companies and startups were or currently are headquartered in San Francisco, including Reddit, X (formerly known as Twitter), ContentMap, and Connect The Dots. Graphic design plays a huge role in social media by helping organizations develop and visually depict their brand identity and content over social media channels. These professionals work with brand fonts, colors, and images to create a recognizable identity for the organization. They also create shareable, visually engaging content that reinforces the brand’s values and tone.
San Francisco’s clean technology industry ranks sixth in North America for venture investment. This emerging sector comprises services, products, and processes like wind power, fuel cells, hybrid electric vehicles, and advanced water filtration initiatives. Those with graphic design skills put them to use in clean technology by creating visual elements that highlight the positive aspects of sustainable energy, inspire action, and educate audience members about technological advances.
The greater San Francisco metro area has nearly 31,000 nonprofit organizations, which employ 541,000 residents and create $229 billion in yearly revenue. Within the city’s nonprofit sector, Graphic Designers create print and digital materials like solicitation letters and flyers that include the organization’s logo and brand-relevant design features. These materials may be used to advertise upcoming campaigns, share nonprofit stories, or convey gratitude to supporters. Graphic Designers also help those who work in nonprofits create educational materials that promote social change and convey important social issues.
If you’d like to put your graphic design training to work in San Francisco, many creative professional options are available. The following sections will take a closer look at career paths as a Designer, Graphic Designer, and Visual Designer, as well as the basic job requirements and salary ranges for each role.
Graphic Designers work with design elements like color, space, form, shape, and size to create designs that are functional and visually pleasing. These professionals perform daily tasks like creating mood boards, creating and iterating on prototypes, troubleshooting with teammates, creating graphic illustrations in Adobe Illustrator, and performing research. Graphic Designers in San Francisco can expect to make approximately $106,000-$110,000 a year. This salary rate is 81% above the national average.
Visual Designers are creative professionals who create and develop layouts, artwork, and concepts for use on digital projects across platforms. These individuals often work alongside Web Designers, Product Managers, or UI Developers, depending on their industry of employment. The daily tasks of a Visual Designer vary based on their industry of focus; some create advertisements, overlays, or icons, whereas others work on digital page designs, website visuals, games, movies, or applications. The average salary for a Visual Designer who’s employed in San Francisco is $72,000-$74,000 a year.
Designers are hired to develop a product’s functionality and overall appearance before it is finalized. This process involves using physical or digital prototypes or mockups. Designers serve many specific roles depending on their specialization, including game design, print design, and digital design. Designers regularly perform tasks like collaborating with clients or managers, implementing edits to their designs, and working with digital design tools like Adobe CC applications. The average salary for a Designer in San Francisco is $102,000-$104,000 a year, which is 41% above the national average in this profession.
Noble Desktop offers an 84-hour Graphic Design Certificate that is a great learning option if you’d like to pursue a career as a Graphic Designer. During this intensive program, you’ll work with core design concepts, including composition, typography, and color. Coursework covers how to use InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. You’ll have the opportunity to create projects like social media graphics, logos, album art, and advertisements, which can be included in your professional portfolio. Tuition includes a free course retake for one full year and six 1-on-1 mentoring sessions. This class is taught in-person in New York City and live online.
Noble also offers a Digital Design Certificate that will prepare you for a career as a Digital Designer. In this rigorous, 138-hour class, you’ll learn about graphic design, visual design, and motion graphics. You will also have the opportunity to use core Adobe apps like Premiere Pro, XD, After Effects, Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. By course completion, you’ll graduate with several portfolio-quality pieces you can share with clients or potential employers. Eight 1-on-1 mentoring sessions and a free course retake are included with tuition. This certificate class is available live online and in-person in NYC.
In addition, there are a variety of bootcamps and shorter courses to choose from, depending on your goals and wants. For instance, there are individual bootcamps for Adobe Creative Cloud graphic design applications like Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. These are 18-hour courses each. If you need an even shorter option, you can explore the six-hour options, like Photoshop in a Day. On the other hand, perhaps you’re aiming for certification in these apps. You could explore Noble’s Photoshop Certification Program, InDesign Certification Program, or Illustrator Certification Program. Each aims to help students ace the corresponding exam and become proficient in the software.
If the employees at your workplace would benefit from learning more about graphic design, Noble Desktop can help. Noble offers corporate and onsite graphic design training in graphic design as a comprehensive field, as well as specifically with applications including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Training is also available in Figma and Lightroom. Noble can come directly to your office in San Francisco for training, or your employees can complete classes remotely using a live online conferencing platform. If you’d like to train multiple people at your workplace with graphic design, discounted bulk vouchers are available for Noble’s regular classes. You can also work with Noble to customize content to ensure your employees get the most out of their studies and can complete their training around other commitments, such as full-time employment. If you’re interested in learning more about Noble’s exciting corporate training options, please feel free to contact Noble at corporate@nobledesktop.com.
If you’re searching for professional opportunities in fields related to tech, design, business, and data, look no further than San Francisco. The city is a global hub for innovative technologies, startups, and financial institutions, with some big-name companies like Google and Wells Fargo calling the Bay Area home. In a place like San Francisco, graphic design skills can take you far in industries where marketing, branding, and digital media are vital to success. By learning how to create visually engaging content through imagery, typography, and layout, you can make a big impact across companies in the Bay Area. Through Noble Desktop’s quality instructors, you’ll be able to start your career in one of these fields quicker than you think. Their combined decades of experience give professionals and aspiring experts the skills that they’ll need to excel in a real-world setting without having to sacrifice hands-on learning. It’s an ideal place to find training that teaches technical skills and practical applications to serve you well in the job search and beyond.
As an experienced educator, researcher, and conference speaker, Dr. Deanne Larson brings her industry experience to the classroom, often teaching classes related to data, AI, Python, and project management. Her professional career is exceptional, beginning with her earning three doctorates in Computer Science (AI), International Management, and Management, as well as a Master’s in Business Analytics. Beyond academia. Dr. Larson has also worked in the field of data science and analytics for over 20 years, serving as an advisor to Fortune 500 companies, global enterprises, and FinTech startups through her firm, Larson & Associates, LLC. Her work spans AI-driven strategies, fraud detection machine learning models, and data governance solutions in cloud and blockchain environments. Her extensive training and career accomplishments give her the credibility to impart her knowledge to her students.