Graphic Design Classes for High School Students in San Francisco, CA

Graphic design includes all the visual and textual elements found on websites, banners, and billboards, and in videos, advertisements, and books. Virtually anywhere you see modern-day visuals, text, or logos, some aspect of graphic design was involved in its creation.

Historically the realm of artists using standard drawing tools like pen and ink, graphic design today is largely accomplished with computer software. The Adobe Creative Suite includes multiple industry-standard graphic design tools like Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Sketch. These programs are essential to professionals like Graphic Designers, Digital Designers, and Visual Designers.

San Francisco high schoolers interested in graphic design or web design typically learn a variety of disciplines and software programs as they progress through their design training. To discover more about graphic design, check out pre-college courses and summer camps in the Bay area, many of which are specifically designed for secondary students.

Why High Schoolers Should Learn Graphic Design

With museums like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California Academy of Sciences, and Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco is a major center of the arts. Students with artistic talent can find numerous degree programs here, at schools like the San Francisco Art Institute and California College of the Arts, among others.

Graphic design students will also find degree programs at the University of San Francisco, Academy of Art University, and San Francisco State University, to name a few. To start building skills for a future graphic design career, high schoolers should look for pre-college courses at area course providers.

Of course, other students will look for graphic design training to qualify for summer or part-time jobs or internships. Many companies, and even colleges and universities, offer internships for design students. Adobe Creative Cloud programs like Photoshop and InDesign are important for many positions that require content creation.

Finally, mastering graphic design tools can help with college applications and resumes. Admissions officers and job recruiters love to see essential skills, and the majority of these popular software programs fit comfortably on a list that includes standard computer literacy tools.

In-Person Graphic Design Classes in San Francisco

At the present, there are no fully in-person graphic design classes for high schoolers in San Francisco. If you’re interested in learning graphic design tools, consider enrolling in a live online class you take from anywhere, San Francisco included. Students interested in only in-person coursework should check back on the San Francisco graphic design high school courses page for updates.

Virtual Graphic Design Classes

Some students seek out in-person courses, but many more today avail themselves of live online graphic design classes for high schoolers in San Francisco for their training. Virtual coursework offers a host of benefits: it’s hands-on and interactive like face-to-face classes, but you get to learn from the comfort of home and turn in your assignments remotely. Expert instructors can answer questions in real-time, and even control the screen, with permission.

Some schools offer live online training from various locations around the country, such as iD Tech and Sonic Training. Others are more area-specific, like Bay Area Video Coalition and Berkeley Boot Camps. It’s important to check course listings thoroughly, as most programs are currently offered online only.

NextGen Bootcamp, one of Noble Desktop’s partner companies, hosts a range of virtual graphic design and web design summer classes. Their Live Online Graphic Design Summer Course is a certificate program featuring Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, as well as graphic design fundamentals and principles.

A separate Live Online Web Design Summer Course covers how to lay out web pages with Adobe Sketch, along with marking up and styling content using HTML and CSS. Students also learn to upload files using FTP, and course graduates receive a verified Certificate of Completion.

If you’re looking to learn both graphic design and web design skills, you can get training through NextGen’s Live Online Graphic & Web Design Summer Program. This certificate combines the Graphic Design and Web Design courses in an immersive 107-hour experience. Contact NextGen Bootcamp to request an enrollment form.

How to Choose a Graphic Design Class

Selecting a graphic design course can be a challenge. With so many popular tools available—from Photoshop and Illustrator to InDesign and Sketch—you may not know which class to choose. To make things easier, remember it’s a smart idea to master any of these popular software programs. If you want to learn graphic design in preparation for a particular career, you’ll need to learn art principles as well as some web and/or graphic design fundamentals. The cost of a training program is crucial, as design coursework can range from $495 for a one-month digital design camp to $2,995 for a comprehensive graphic design certificate. Location, whether the class is in-person or virtual, and the level of difficulty are all important considerations, too. No matter which class you take, graphic design training can be both fun and informative: you’ll learn a great deal, and can enjoy the experience at the same time.