Explore graphic design courses that teach composition, branding, and Adobe workflows. You’ll learn to combine creativity and technique across visual projects.
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 can refer to an artistic practice, an academic discipline, and a profession, all centered on visual communication. Graphic Designers transmit messages and meanings through visual elements—text, images, and animation—to achieve specific purposes like communication and persuasion. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary field, incorporating skills from fine arts, design, psychology, and marketing. Many Graphic Designers add computer programming and animation to their repertoire. Their creations may appear in printed or digital media and incorporate multiple forms of visual art, from typography, illustration, and printing to digital publishing and computer-generated animation. Often, graphic design describes the selection and arrangement of visual elements as a whole, as opposed to their individual creative techniques. Still, aesthetic and compositional choices within artistic elements can reflect a Designer’s plan for their use. Graphic Designers create printed goods, brand logos, product labeling and packaging, product designs, advertising, decorations, websites, video game visuals, or program interfaces for computer or mobile device applications, among many other services.
The principles of graphic design have probably been known and refined for as long as humans have practiced graphic arts, having been found in manuscripts from ancient China, Egypt, and Greece. However, the first recorded usage of “graphic design” as a named discipline dates from 1908, from an article about technical education for printers in San Francisco. A technical school in California offered the first course in “Graphic Design and Lettering” in 1918. By the 1920s, graphic design was an established field of study with distinct terminology, practices, and purposes. Graphic design progressed alongside the rise of the Industrial Revolution, as it became more possible to separate ‘design’ as a concept distinct from manual artistry. Joint increases in printing technologies, packaging, branding, and advertising greatly increased the demand for skilled Graphic Designers. Manufacturers and other businesses rapidly understood the value of creating a distinct, intentional impression on customers through the appearance of their products, advertising materials, and overall brand identity. Graphic design followed art, media, advertising, and business as they moved into digital formats and social media. Now, graphic design refers as much to virtual products as printed media, if not more.
The skill set of graphic design is useful any time you need to create an intentional impression with visual media. You will find everyday applications of graphic design in printed materials like cards, signs, flyers, or brochures. Your understanding of graphic design can guide your choice of words, font, text placement, color, graphics, image placement, orientation, boundary lines, and spacing. These elements, individually and as a whole, contribute to a viewer’s impression, interpretation, and comprehension of the designed object. Graphic design training improves your ability to create your desired reactions and awareness through thoughtful selection and placement of visual elements. The study of graphic design also includes training in visual fine art techniques and digital art and publishing tools, improving your ability to create and assemble imagery as desired.
If you already create visual art, your compositions will be improved, becoming more intentional and effective, by incorporating the principles of good graphic design. This is true even within a single image, but more so across a set of related creations. For example, painting benefits from a better understanding of shape, color, spacing, negative space, and symbolism. Animation similarly benefits from consideration of color, visual style, and scene structure, adding elements of motion and timing to this decision process. Webpage design builds upon the same rules as for static and moving images, but then adds concerns like consistent style and functionality across multiple pages, varied layouts depending on the intent of each page, link text and placement, and awareness of your website’s users: their needs, expectations, and ability to navigate the whole structure.
Graphic design’s focus on understanding viewers and shaping images to evoke different thoughts and emotions makes it a core part of marketing, especially advertising. Graphic design ability is especially valuable if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner. You could potentially spare the cost of a contracted Designer or at least evaluate designs with a skilled eye and deliver clearer revision requests. A skilled Graphic Designer can create a meaningful, effective brand logo, eye-catching advertisements for a product or business, pleasing and informative product packaging, or a website that maximally attracts, helps, and retains customers. Outside of advertising, you might create signage for an event or a retail store, compose brochures to publicize a volunteer organization’s purpose and activities, or contribute to the layout of textbooks, user manuals, or digital applications. Graphic design particularly complements technical writing by selecting or creating informative images and guiding their best placement. Graphic design also intersects with technical design when it directs the form and placement of interactive elements. In architecture or interior design, graphic design elements include surface colors and patterns, lighting, signage, and the locations and appearance of doors or switches. Graphic Designers also help software programmers create effective interface structures for applications by suggesting types, shapes, locations, and formats for components.
Although traditional printing has declined in favor of digital printing and media, it remains an active art form and a useful training ground for graphic design. The principles developed through physical printing have remained valid for new image formats. Though you may not need to use older technologies directly, you should still understand their origins, purposes, and ideas. In particular, typography is the selection and arrangement of letters, once accomplished with metal type or stencils, now embodied and multiplied by digital fonts and text art. The size, color, and arrangement of text can convey as much information and evoke as much emotion as the words themselves. Similarly, you will learn printing principles like shape, spacing, contrast, and balance, which will apply regardless of any specific graphic implementation. Finally, print design teaches you to consider every project as a unified whole that must cohere to produce the right overall impression while still addressing the details of each component.
The majority of work now done by Graphic Designers is accomplished with digital tools, either directly by coding or through an interface program. Your training in graphic design might be centered on specific illustration and publishing software such as the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of programs (including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign), the Affinity suite (including Photo, Publisher, and Designer), Procreate, GIMP, and Canva. These programs and many others help designers visualize and build their creations, from single composed images to animations to interactive designs like webpages and user interfaces. Digital design also includes the visual and control elements in program interfaces and the visual parts of a user’s experience throughout a website or application. Depending on your specialization within graphic design, you may learn programming languages and techniques that underlie digital graphic elements such as the sprites, animations, and visual styles of video games. You may also study languages like Python, which help to automate tasks within or across design programs.
Graphic design intersects with the wider field of artistic design, and through it, relates to fields like architecture, interior design, fashion design, art direction, and film. Design theory refers to the concepts and practices these fields share in common. As part of graphic design training, you will study how individual design principles operate, how they interact with one another, and how they are used to fulfill a Designer’s goals. Color theory, for example, discusses how color is created, how it is perceived, and how colors interact to create harmony or contrast. You will also learn how an image’s components may be arranged in space to create different impressions and easier understanding, through the use of lines, shapes, textures, and balance. Elements can be selectively emphasized not only through color and positioning but also relative size, orientation, intensity, and motion. Underlying much of visual design theory are principles of human perception and cognition, which explain how images direct attention, evoke emotion, and convey information.
Even with the assistance of digital design tools, Graphic Designers still need a degree of competence in visual artistry. You will need to learn the same concepts of proportion, shape, perspective, alignment, contrast, and composition that guide illustrators, painters, printers, and sculptors. Though you may not directly need any of these specific artistic talents, learning one or more arts will benefit your understanding and competence in graphic design. Visual art also incorporates color theory, sometimes in forms different from those used in design. Graphic design incorporating animated elements benefits from an understanding of the underlying principles of animation: how a sequence of images creates the illusion of motion.
Graphic design is distinguished from other kinds of art and design by its explicit use to convey formal messages and create specific intellectual and emotional impressions. This tailored conveyance is a function of communication, the field that addresses the transmission of information through all media. Successful communication involves elements of social science, particularly social and cognitive psychology, but also language and culture. You need to know how viewers will perceive and interpret individual design elements, plus how they will receive complete designs, before conceiving a design. Communication applied to graphic design informs consistent, meaningful branding, creation, and maintenance of a visual marketing campaign, and detecting and repairing an unsuccessful design or campaign. Working in graphic design, you will also need good communication skills to effectively elicit employers’ requirements, implement these needs in your designs, and understand and incorporate their feedback.
In most cases, employers seeking graphic design services expect the Designer to perform the creative work of making or selecting elements and assembling them into a full design. Your guidance for a design job will include instructions or required elements, but the bulk of its conception will come from your creative mind. Studying and practicing exercises to build creativity helps you both when generating novel ideas and when selecting an appropriate subset of ideas from that output. Graphic design classes will teach you principled processes for this creative work, called ideation. Different ideation methods use different terms and techniques, but generally follow three stages: generation (techniques like brainstorming, doodling, or question-and-answer), selection (eliminating unhelpful or unusable ideas and highlighting better ideas), and development (building and testing ideas to see if they work). By practicing each of these steps through different approaches and in different design tasks, you will improve not only your originality and variety but also your efficiency, taking less time to generate a coherent, effective design.
Graphic design is a broad and intersectional field, incorporating a wide swath of subordinate skills. Even if a Graphic Designer specializes in a single type of work, such as print media or web design, they still need to study all the same background fields, like design theory, art theory, and communications. A student can become aware of these concepts and begin practicing them after a few lessons, but enough comprehensive study to create consistent, effective design products can take multiple courses to gain and longer experience to master. Introductory classes are gateways to help students become familiar with each subordinate field and aware of what topics they will need to study further. Modern graphic design also requires competence with multiple tools. A student might quickly learn and produce many design products with a single tool, such as Adobe Photoshop, but any tool is limited. Creating different types of design products will require varied competence, and some design projects require integration across multiple tools. A graphic design class can build expertise in a single application or introduce students to multiple applications, but it rarely creates mastery across all the tools a Designer will need. Again, students should expect to learn and practice many tools before considering themselves a design professional.
According to many working Graphic Designers, the most challenging part of their field is the need for continual learning. No individual can easily master all the fundamentals of good graphic design. Even accomplished experts are aware of their weak areas and strive to learn more, whether that means basic art skills like sketching or color composition, or more complex talents like effective writing. Graphic design tools are also constantly emerging and evolving, requiring designers to learn new programs and refresh their skills with older ones to stay competitive.
You can learn the basic concepts of graphic design and become familiar with a graphic design tool like Photoshop in a single class of several hours, which you might complete over several sessions or a full day of attendance. For some students, this is sufficient experience to create basic designs, especially if they have prior artistic training. However, one class cannot prepare you for a graphic design career. To build greater comfort, competence, and variety of skills, you will need multiple such classes, which will take a few weeks to several months of focused study. As a graphic design student, you should be prepared to learn multiple tool skills, in addition to practicing the core elements of design across a variety of exercises and projects, and building a diverse portfolio. At a minimum, experts recommend six months to a year of study before working as a Graphic Designer and several years of active work and study to achieve full mastery.
The traditional form of class delivery, in-person learning, requires you to travel to a classroom location but enables you to study directly with an instructor. For graphic design study, physical presence is particularly helpful when it grants access to necessary resources: computer hardware and software, printing and art supplies, and texts and sample designs. An in-person study also allows direct discussion with an instructor, which can help you learn more quickly by addressing your problems and questions faster, giving faster feedback on designs, and simplifying communication. However, the additional time and expense of travel can be an obstacle for students, and classes must be scheduled according to each instructor’s availability. You are also limited to the classes and instructors available in your area.
In live online classes, you join live class sessions via a digital video conferencing program like Zoom. These classes combine the convenience of virtual attendance with the immediacy of live instruction. You get most of the same advantages of live classes: the ability to ask timely questions, direct instructor feedback, and collaboration with other students. Virtual classes, though, allow you to attend and study from any location—assuming electricity and internet access—eliminating the problems of travel. This portability allows you to take classes from any available instructor across the world, also yielding a wider variety of class formats and schedules. Plus, you can use your own hardware and might benefit from studying directly on the computer you will use for design work. Virtual classes do lack the hands-on materials of in-person classroom study, but many online classes include software access and supplemental digital or printed study materials. The main disadvantage of virtual study is the lack of physical presence, which can slow class presentations and prevent direct handling of physical materials. Some students also find virtual attendance difficult due to technical or learning challenges.
Asynchronous or self-paced classes present material through pre-recorded video lessons accessed online. These lessons are supported by written materials and exercises, and sometimes include access to necessary software. This class format shares many of the advantages of live online study, particularly the convenience of studying from any location, using your own hardware, without any need for travel. Asynchronous classes offer even greater convenience than live classes, as you can study at any time you choose, pausing or spacing out lessons as needed. Also, like other online classes, you can choose any instructor or course that is available, enjoying a greater variety. Still, asynchronous classes are limited to whatever courses and materials instructors have already recorded, which may give them less variety and currency than live online classes. The main advantage of this class format is also its major disadvantage: you lose the immediate presence and responses of a live instructor. Instead, many asynchronous classes offer instructor assistance via email or chat, ideally as live chat with instructors and other students.
You will certainly gain several technical skills while studying graphic design, such as proficiency with popular graphics programs like Adobe Photoshop or Canva and artistic skills like typography and composition. However, many technical skills are considered optional and are not as often taught directly, yet they can yield significant benefits to your graphic design career. For example, less frequently taught programs include 3D modeling software like SketchUp, which can be useful when creating designs with depth or multiple components arranged in space. If you want to include animated elements and media among your design offerings, you should study animation theory, motion graphics, and digital animation, along with programs like Adobe Animate or Visme. If you would like to design websites or applications, you should also study the techniques of user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design, along with prototyping software like Figma. User interfaces include the graphic and control components that users interact with to input commands and information to a program and receive their resulting outputs. User experience refers to the overall user impression and understanding of a program, largely generated by the overall coherence, appeal, and informational value of its visible components. UI/UX design has become a professional field in itself, but it builds upon and complements general graphic design.
In addition to the ‘hard’ technical skills of graphic design, you will learn several broader ‘soft’ skills that contribute to your work, like creative techniques and communication methods. Additional soft skills are useful to professional Graphic Designers, but may need to be studied separately. Designers are often working on multiple projects simultaneously; learning techniques for time management and work organization can keep you from falling behind. Larger projects require the collaboration of multiple designers; organizational, collaborative, and communication skills avoid confusion and delays. Disagreements, design conflicts, and errors can ruin a project’s progress; learning how to resolve problems and catch and fix mistakes through proofing will overcome these obstacles. Finally, further study in marketing and sales can benefit any Graphic Designer by helping them anticipate client needs, create designs that better serve client needs and attract customers, and market their own services in a competitive industry.
The best-known industry that employs Graphic Designers is advertising, followed closely by sales and marketing. Graphic Designers may work for marketing departments within companies or as consultants who guide those operations or create marketing materials for businesses. In Washington, DC, advertising and marketing also promote volunteer services, ideas, and political positions, as often or more often than commercial products or services. Less publicly known, but perhaps the greater employers of Graphic Designers, are software and web design companies. These digital creators need designers to shape everything their users see. While software and web developers can be entrepreneurs creating new apps and services, they are more often employed as contractors to build programs and sites for other entities. Many government services now operate online through apps and websites, and Graphic Designers may be hired directly by these entities or employed as part of a software or web design firm to create digital governmental tools. Finally, Graphic Designers may be employed as part of a creative team producing entertainment and media products, creating elements of illustration and imagery, or overseeing the visual style of a production.
Graphic Designers, in partnership with advertising experts, create every form of visual advertising media, including billboards, subway signs, magazine ads, T-shirts, stickers, TV and streaming video commercials, and web ads. Anywhere that a business visibly promotes its goods or services, Graphic Designers select the images and text used and their properties and arrangement. Designers often work as part of an agency contracted to create advertising for clients, but some are hired directly by a company’s advertising department. Some Graphic Designers work internally for a business, creating signage, displays, and other graphics for its retail sites.
Other subjects can be advertised, as well. Political consultants, candidates, and campaigns need advertising, and Graphic Designers create their signage, promotional merchandise, websites, commercials, and visual signature: a consistent theme and impression for a campaign. Government programs also need advertising to spread information and encourage participation. A Graphic Designer might create advertising to make citizens aware of a census, a new service program, or a public hazard.
Advertising is part of marketing, but marketing includes the entire process of promotion, customer appeal, and retention that ensures a business’s success. Graphic design contributes to sales and marketing at several points, including product design and packaging, branding and sales campaigns, and the appearance of documents like webpages and forms. Graphic Designers create the visual signature of a company or product, which is a significant part of their brand identity. A meaningful and appealing logo, color scheme, and style can make a significant difference in a business’s fortune. Good product design not only makes a product more appealing; it also improves its usability. Input from Graphic Designers can make the controls, instructions, and outputs for a physical product clearer and simpler. Marketing can also apply to public relations for a company, brand, product, or person; graphic design plays a part to make clients look their best and avoid negative perceptions.
In software design, Graphic Designers are primarily employed to create user interfaces (UIs), the form and arrangement of a program’s control and informational elements, plus the framing elements that give each program its distinct appearance. Software companies in D.C., like SAIC, hire Graphic Designers for many reasons. Graphic Designers influence the form of icons, frames, menus, dials, sliders, and many more options, depending on a program’s functions. UI design may involve only a single screen’s composition or may require the unified design of multiple screens. Mobile applications consist of multiple small interlinked frames and forms rather than the traditional windowed design of desktop programs. Graphic Designers must also consider how their interfaces, along with any transitions and animations, affect a program’s user experience (UX), the overall utility, and ‘feel’ of that software. Designers often work in collaboration with software engineers who implement their designs based on prototypes. The more complete and clear a prototype is, the easier it is to program correctly.
Graphic design shapes the appearance and functionality of websites, whether those sites are produced by an amateur or crafted by a professional. Each webpage is a designed product containing structured text and images, and a website of multiple pages benefits from a consistent design plan. Web Designers are expected to produce an appealing, effective product, whether they are contracted by an employer or hired directly. In addition to commercial clients like technology creators, retailers, financial institutions, and media services, Web Designers also work for governmental entities, non-profit organizations, and political campaigns, all of which are clearly very common in D.C. Graphic Designers specializing in web design can benefit from additional expertise like internet architecture, web programming, and search engine optimization (SEO). Even so, many Web Designers focus primarily on design and use software interfaces like InVision and Adobe Dreamweaver to simplify and streamline their implementation process. Other Web Designers work in collaboration with programmers when building complex websites.
Graphic Designers support the creation of visual media for information and entertainment, including print media like newspapers, books, magazines, and comics; video media like television, film, and animation; and digital forms of all the above, plus unique forms like video games. Publishers need graphic design to choose and assemble the components of printed products, giving each item a unique and appropriate visual style. Media outlets like The Washington Post rely on Graphic Designers to create page layouts, informational graphics, and a consistent style for both branding and reader convenience. Television programs and films need titles, credits, animation sequences, and on-screen graphics. Animated media, being entirely creations of visual art, especially benefit from a Graphic Designer’s expertise. Video games need specialized Graphic Designers to create game interfaces, character designs, sprites, environments, and title and menu screens, plus other elements depending on the type of game.
The most direct title for this field, Graphic Designer, tends to cover professionals creating graphic layouts for advertising, marketing, media, and print and digital publishing. This title is typically used for positions not requiring other specialized expertise, like marketing or software engineering. Individual Graphic Designers, either as freelancers or as employees of graphic design firms, may be assigned a variety of projects, such as a magazine cover layout or a product’s packaging design. A Graphic Designer is sometimes hired as part of a team to provide design support for a larger project, such as a new product’s design or a publicity campaign. Alternatively, Graphic Designers may be employed directly to invent and maintain their employer’s overall visual style, applying that design across multiple media like advertisements, merchandise, products, and websites. An entry-level Graphic Designer in Washington, DC, whether freelance or directly hired, typically earns between $59,500 and $76,000 per year. With experience, additional skill training, and a more diverse portfolio, this average salary increases to $69,000 to $86,000 for a mid-level Graphic Designer. A senior Graphic Designer averages around $87,000 per year, with significantly higher salaries for jobs with greater responsibilities.
Visual artists often combine graphic design skills with their artistic abilities when creating design components like custom fonts, drawn images, photographs, or 3D models. When working as part of a design team, a visual artist must also meet the needs of the overall project. Some visual artists fulfill both roles, creating both individual parts and full designs. For example, the creator of an independently published graphic novel might draw individual frames and pages, add text, design their cover, and assemble the complete book ready for printing. A visual artist in Washington, DC earns around $95,000 per year on average, though the majority will earn less, especially at the beginning of their career. By comparison, a graphic art director, who coordinates the work of multiple artists collaborating on large projects, earns around $186,000 to $228,000 per year. Visual art jobs are often further distinguished by their artistic field. For example, the greatest current demand for visual artists in Washington, DC is for motion graphics artists (averaging $94,000 per year), who create animated elements and features, and 3D artists (averaging $93,000 per year at entry, increasing to over $100,000 with experience), who build three-dimensional models and animations.
A Product Designer often applies the principles of graphic design to shape the appearance of a product, which is usually a physical object but might be a virtual object like a digital avatar. Product Designers create greeting cards, packaging for fast food restaurants and food products, album covers and interior notes, the shape and interface for electronic devices, and the appearance of board games. Some Product Designers also have an expert background in their specific area, such as food science, electrical engineering, creative writing, or software engineering. Other designers work alongside subject experts as part of a product team. The range of salaries for product designers is correspondingly wide, averaging around $120,000 per year in Washington, DC, and ranging from $89,000 to $145,000 for the majority of these professionals.
In contrast to a Product Designer, who focuses on one or more specific offerings, a brand Designer combines sales and marketing knowledge with design skills to create a complete public image for a product, company, person, or concept. Graphic design is a major component of brand creation, as communicating a brand’s identity relies significantly on imagery. A brand Designer also needs wide-ranging expertise in marketing, sales, economics, and creative writing. Among their tasks, they must create a brand story (a verbal explanation of the history and value of that brand), plan a marketing strategy for the brand as a whole, and manage their brand’s public relations. Salaries for Brand Designers are typically high, between $80,000 and $165,000 per year in Washington, DC.
Web design, the creation of custom webpages and websites, is a career in high demand, though the requirements and compensation can vary between jobs. Some Web Designers are freelance, contracting to create or update individual pages or sites for diverse clients. These designers need both graphic design and web programming abilities, and their incomes can fluctuate depending on their ability to attract and retain clients via personal marketing. Other Web Designers are employees of a web design firm, where they might be more specialized in design versus implementation roles. Still other Web Designers are full-time employees of businesses or other organizations, hired to maintain their web presence and expected to maintain a complete, current repertoire of relevant skills. A Web Designer generally earns between $60,500 and $90,500 per year in Washington, DC, averaged across all employment types. With more experience and an established portfolio, a more senior position like Web Designer II could increase this salary to $81,500 to $101,000 per year.
As part of a software design team, a user interface (UI) Designer is employed to create the visible format of a program, including the shapes and placements of its control and output elements and the arrangement and appearance of their framing structure. For a desktop application, this design might include the appearance of a program’s workspace and the structure of elements like buttons, sliders, menus, internal frames, and pop-up boxes. Mobile applications include similar elements, though in a smaller workspace and usually arranged into multiple frames or pages. A UI Designer might also work on a video game by devising its interactive elements, like menus, controls, and informational displays. A UI Designer in Washington, DC will usually earn between $70,000 and $82,000, but can easily increase their salary to $90,000 or more with established results.
A user experience (UX) Designer is similar to a UI Designer but considers each program’s design as a whole to increase its appeal and utility for users. In addition to UI design, a UX Designer determines the interactions between multiple interfaces, the transitions between screens, and a program’s holistic appearance and coherence. Though often supported by software engineers, UX Designers also need considerable technical knowledge, if only to devise plausible, functional structures. This additional training and the high demand for these professionals result in strong earning power: A UX Designer can typically earn between $111,000 and $136,000 per year in Washington, DC. UI and UX design are often combined into a single position with a similar salary range: $97,500 to $154,000 per year for a UI/UX Designer.
Noble Desktop offers live online courses available anywhere, with a variety of scheduling options. Their Graphic Design Portfolio Bootcamp is intended for students with prior graphic design knowledge and familiarity with Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. Through multiple practical projects, students create new designs to add to their professional portfolios while also broadening their knowledge of design principles and tools. In addition to live class sessions and project materials, students receive supplemental class workbooks, can access recordings of their classes for review, and can retake the class once, if needed, for up to one year after first completion. Upon finishing this course, students also receive a digital certificate of completion.
Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate is a live online certificate course that can take students from design basics to certified skills with multiple design techniques and programs. Over multiple class sessions with a live instructor, students first learn the fundamental concepts of graphic design, then practice these ideas while gaining familiarity with popular programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. This course includes and incorporates the lessons and practical projects from Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Portfolio Bootcamp, Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp, and Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp. The course also includes an introduction to the principles of User Interface (UI) design. This combined course also includes the supplemental workbooks and recordings for each bootcamp and offers the same one-year retake policy. Further, students can schedule six 1-on-1 mentoring sessions with an instructor to address personal questions like portfolio work, job applications, and study problems. Finally, at course completion, students receive an official certificate confirming their accomplishments.
You could also choose to take courses and bootcamps individually. Noble Desktop has an Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp, Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp, After Effects Bootcamp, and Premiere Pro Bootcamp, as well as several short courses and courses that range in subject, length, and specialization.
Does your business need to add graphic design skills to your employees’ repertoire? Do you need to upgrade or update the abilities of existing design staff? If so, your company can arrange live training classes with Noble Desktop to be presented in person at your offices or scheduled for live online sessions. Course scheduling is flexible for both in-person and online offerings. You can even purchase class vouchers in bulk at a discount, selecting which courses your employees can take with these vouchers and then allowing them to book the class sessions that best fit their schedule. With each class, students also receive supplemental handouts and access to additional training videos to reinforce their live lessons.
Any of Noble Desktop’s existing graphic design courses can be booked, including individual application training classes for programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite as well as Figma (a software design tool), general portfolio and certificate courses, or instruction for specialized design skills like motion graphics, web design, and UI/UX design. Alternatively, you can create a custom instructional program to meet your specific needs. Contact Noble Desktop at corporate@nobledesktop.com for a free consultation session to discuss your custom course requirements, ask questions about course offerings, schedule class sessions, or purchase course vouchers.
As the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., is a hub for government, public service, and major organizations, which means there’s ample opportunity for professional development. If you’re looking to expand your knowledge in the field of tech, data, business, or design, you can explore training options available to both individuals and federal professionals. Classes are right in the heart of the city, offering knowledgeable instructors with decades of combined training and a wide range of specializations. From their real-world experience in the field, these instructors provide valuable insights that help students get comfortable while learning the material. Not to mention, the skills they develop in the classroom are practical and transferable, meaning students can put their newfound knowledge right to work.
Training with Noble Desktop’s team is easy with the modern facilities located at 600 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, D.C., 20024. It’s mere steps away from L’Enfant Plaza and offers an array of benefits, like a professional yet welcoming environment and a modern workspace. Getting there from anywhere in D.C. is straightforward, whether by Metro, bus, or car. L’Enfant Plaza is served by multiple Metro lines, and there are several bus routes that stop nearby. Those driving can also access parking garages that are easily within walking distance.
Graphic design plays a key role in communicating complex ideas clearly, whether for public-facing campaigns or internal initiatives. Students who take classes with Noble will learn from experienced designers who show how to turn visual principles into polished, professional materials. Learning at this school also offers a wide range of professional development opportunities, with classes led by expert instructors who can help you acquire skills that get you ready for the real world.
Brian is an educator and training leader passionate about helping professionals grow in fields like project management and AI. He designs adaptive learning programs that combine instructor-led sessions, live online experiences, and self-paced study, making training practical and within reach for anyone. Brian’s work also centers heavily around AI integration, particularly in training situations to show organizations how easy it can be applied to the workplace, showing ways to tackle real-world problems, enhance leadership, streamline projects, and support better decision-making. Beyond teaching, he has also developed curricula and led training on a massive scale. Brian’s blend of talents and interests makes him well-positioned to train others and help them navigate the complexities of the subject matter.
With more than 25 years of experience, Clarissa is a seasoned corporate trainer, Project Manager, and Business Consultant and has helped professionals and organizations alike achieve tangible results around the world. Her work has taken her to amazing places around the world, from China to Africa, training over 10,000 participants in leadership, project management, business analysis, and emerging technologies. Clarissa has worked with teams at NASA, Microsoft, Citibank, and FEMA, just to name a few, and is known for designing interactive yet practical sessions where her listeners can apply their skills immediately. At Graduate School USA, she played a pivotal role and contributed to numerous programs, including the Managing for Results course. She’s a quality instructor, focusing on subjects like project management, AI, and even Adobe, and has a heavy commitment to professionalism, innovation, and student success.
Michele’s professional record in Human Resources, organizational development, and leadership training has been acquired over 25 years in the field. She is a Business Strategist and HR innovator who has helped public, private, federal, and higher education organizations on their path to success. In particular, Michele excels in organizational assessment, project and performance management, workforce development, change management, conflict resolution, and AI initiatives. She prides herself on guiding individuals to leverage their strengths while fulfilling their professional lives. Her consulting work includes leading the DC Courts HR Division’s Five-Year Strategic Plan and Workforce Development Program, “Fulfilling Our Future.” She’s also held senior executive positions at Howard University, the Air Line Pilots Association, and Executive Transitions International. She’s currently working as an adjunct faculty at Graduate School USA and Anne Arundel Community College.
Alan Zucker brings real-world expertise from both the federal government and Fortune 100 companies to the classroom. With more than 25 years of professional work in project management, he makes for an ideal instructor. He has managed the project execution organization of 175 professionals, led high-visibility strategic initiatives, and delivered thousands of successful projects. His education began at George Washington University, where he earned his Bachelor’s, before progressing to earn a Master's in Economics from the University of Maryland. Moreover, he holds a wide variety of certifications, such as the Project Management Professional Certification (PMP), PMI-ACP, Disciplined Agile Coach, SAFe Program Consultant, Certified Scrum Professional, and Agile Leadership Academy Trainer. Alan is an active member of the project management community, having served as a keynote speaker, frequent industry commentator, and author of nearly 150 articles on project management.
Tashea is a Human Resources Executive and Federal Consultant, holding over 23 years of experience across multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury, State, and Health and Human Services. Known for her ability to strategize and take the lead, Tahsea has transformed HR policies to align with mission strategies and outcomes, influencing government-wide procedures such as onboarding and pay equity. Tashea is a staunch advocate for ethical leadership, inclusivity, and organizational success. In addition, she prides herself on her authenticity and purpose-driven spirit, which translates into her work as an educator as well. In addition to teaching subjects like AI. She’s an author and entrepreneur, and is always looking for ways to help organizations and individuals alike.
With a strong foundation in federal human resources management and legal counseling, Charles is a highly knowledgeable Employee and Labor Relations Consultant in Washington, D.C. He began his education at Loyola University, earning his B.A. in Business Administration and Political Science, before graduating from the University of Baltimore School of Law. Throughout his career, Charles has guided agencies through complex HR and labor-related challenges, managed HR programs, and represented organizations in legal proceedings. He has also designed and delivered specialized training in human resources, project management, and marketing. Charles’ professional background has led to numerous accolades and awards, showcasing his impact in the field.
Dr. David E. McCullin, better known as Dr. Mac, specializes in strategic communication, homeland security, data analytics, and accurate decision-making. Prior to his work at Graduate School USA, Dr. Mac obtained his Bachelor’s in Engineering, his Master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies, and a Doctorate in Management of Complex Adaptive Systems. He served 24 years in the U.S. Army, including 13 in Special Operations. He later worked at the Department of Homeland Security as an Intelligence and Infrastructure Security Analyst for nearly a decade. Through his education and solid professional career, he has been able to teach students a variety of important skills and has also developed innovative learning tools and games that help improve decision-making and analytical thinking skills.
As a part-time instructor at Graduate School USA for over 15 years, Natalya’s expertise cannot go unnoticed. She’s an educator and has developed curricula for the school, including the Change Management Workshops and several project management courses. Not to mention, she’s also served as a learning coach, facilitator, and instructor for government leadership programs and has developed the Define and Achieve Your Goals Process. Natalya earned her Master’s in Project Management and her Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, making her a well-qualified and effective educator, project manager, coach, and consultant.
Alan is a retired combat veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Navy with over 30 years of experience in federal and commercial budgeting, auditing, programming, operations, supply chain management, and IT acquisitions. He holds an MBA from George Washington University and a Teaching Certification from Harvard’s Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Throughout his career across federal, state, and local government agencies, Alan has worked for numerous departments, such as the Department of State and Defense, as well as the Office of the Mayor of D.C. Alan is also an accomplished consultant and business strategist, having aided in the development of organizational projects at Lockheed Martin and PwC, to name a few. His background and lengthy career make him an ideal instructor for those looking to learn more about finance, accounting, and project management.
As a skilled instructor and business leader, Derk Mattocks possesses the skills and career experience to bolster his credibility. He gained his B.S. in Organization Management from Nyack College and his Master’s in Leadership and Military Installation Management, as well as an MBA in Financial Management and Analysis from the University of Maryland. He is a licensed Certified Advanced Professional Business Coach and trained mediator, with the certification to facilitate the “Five Practices of Leadership” workshops. Derk has also served as a Senior Advisor and Instructor for the U.S. Army. Overall, he has the credentials to serve as an accomplished and well-versed instructor, often covering topics related to project management and marketing.
Melanie is a federal acquisition and contracting expert with over 30 years of professional experience in Washington, D.C., spanning both government and education sectors. She has served as the Vice President of Acquisition Policy at SAIC and as the Managing Editor of the Federal Contracts Report at Bloomberg BNA. She’s currently an instructor at Graduate School USA, often teaching classes related to the marketing realm. She’s a Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM) and a Fellow of the National Contract Management Association, positioning her as a person with incredible leadership skills and knowledge of her field. She earned her MBA from Georgetown University and is known as a clear, trusted instructor who consistently challenges students to take their skills to the next level.