Graphic design incorporates images and text into visual designs that communicate complex, emotional, and persuasive concepts to viewers. Whether prepared as elements for a striking website or print products for a client, graphic design is incredibly important to ensure a product or brand is visually appealing from the get-go. Design is one of the most potent factors in an audience’s first impression of a product; as a result, good design can often make or break the success of a project.
For instance, a simple logo can quickly convey a brand's overall tone, theme, and values while drawing consumers in with vivid visual details that speak to the part of us that ogles over pretty things. Like logos, most graphic designs are intended for consumer audiences and are often generated using digital design applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
Learning graphic design skills makes creating that good first impression much easier. Using their training in harmonious color and dynamic composition, graphic designers ensure that graphics have the right mix of images, illustrations, and text to maximize impact. Taking advantage of design apps, graphic designers are also instrumental in determining a brand’s distinct visual identity.
In addition to logos and brand-related graphics such as product packaging, graphic designs are versatile enough to feature in a variety of other areas. To name just a few, they are often critical to the success of beloved video games, useful apps and websites, print media, and even stickers plastered over water bottles and laptops everywhere. In addition, digital graphics are key components of many advertisements, flyers, social media images, and other marketing campaigns that businesses use to sell products and services both on the web and in-person. The versatility of graphic design ultimately makes these skills an asset to almost every industry today, especially as the world grows more clustered around technology and the web.
Why Learn Graphic Design
Because of design’s relevance in every field, learning graphic design is one of the most valuable skills anyone can add to their resume and has immense benefits, even for those who don’t plan to use it in the workplace. Regardless of their work industry or hobbies, brushing up on your graphic design skills will help your projects stand out.
Learning graphic design can set the scene for several exciting design careers, including titles like Graphic Designer, User Interface Designer (UI), Visual Designer, and Digital Designer. However, graphic design’s versatility also makes it applicable even for professionals who aren’t working in one of these roles. Creating their own logos, business cards, packaging, advertising, and other brand materials can be a huge money-saver for small business owners or entrepreneurs.
Even for hobby graphic designers who have no interest in selling their skills, learning graphic design has plenty of perks. Activists, nonprofit organizers, and politicians can also use graphic designs to create convincing designs or infographics that they can feature on posters and flyers. In addition, crafters can create custom stickers, stationery, cut-outs, and vinyl heat transfers for their Cricut or Silhouette cutting machines.
Graphic Design Careers in Minneapolis
Given its importance in virtually every industry, graphic design is a key skill for professionals in Minneapolis. With startup companies and established industry giants relying on graphic designers to help them establish, redesign, and market their brands, learning graphic design skills can be the foundation for a well-paying graphic design career in Minneapolis.
At its core, graphic design focuses on the creation of graphics by combining illustrations, photographs, and text. As a result, learning graphic design is central to becoming a Designer for advertising firms, publishers, or any business looking to make an impact in print or on the web. In Minneapolis, these careers often pay between $60,000 and $90,000 per year, with variations depending on experience and qualifications.
Because the fundamental pillars of graphic design are remarkably versatile, learning additional skills beyond just graphic design can set the stage for more advanced careers in design. Such occupations include UI Designer, which focuses on how a website or app looks and feels, and Motion Graphics Designer, which involves creating graphics for video. A third option is Digital Designer, a path that explores the intersection of animation, graphics, and visual effects.
In Minneapolis, UI-focused web design careers are in exceptionally high demand. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development estimates an 8 percent growth in-demand for UI Designers over the next ten years. Moreover, these careers often pay higher salaries in exchange for the additional skills required of job candidates. Typically, Motion Graphics Designers in Minneapolis earn about $75,000 per year on average, while Digital Designers earn roughly $85,000, and UI Designers make up to $100,000.
In-Person Graphic Design Careers in Minneapolis
Students looking to brush up on their graphic design skills have plenty of Minneapolis-based courses to choose from. To help students decide the best learning options for them, Noble Desktop has created a tool that searches and compares graphic design courses in Minneapolis. This makes it easy for prospective students to see all their options in one place, including details like prices, course lengths, and scheduling options.
In-person training in a traditional classroom setting is a great way to learn because it allows students to make friends with fellow graphic designers while receiving mentorship from talented expert instructors. Local in-person courses include a variety of immersive bootcamps designed to cover all the graphic design bases as well as a few options for shorter day-classes on niche topics like design apps.
In Minneapolis, companies providing in-person class service include Prime Digital Academy, General Assembly, and New Horizons. Beginner bootcamp courses include General Assembly’s ||CPN867||, while more intensive experiences include Prime Digital Academy’s User Experience Design course. Students can also enroll in an in-person UX/UI Bootcamp at the University of Minnesota. For shorter classes, students will find a variety of options through New Horizons, covering Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
Other organizations, including ONLC and Certstaffix, offer a hybrid model for learning graphic design. In these courses, students can access the computer labs and equipment needed for their lessons while learning from remote instructors.
Virtual Graphic Design Classes
Virtual courses are the most flexible way for aspiring graphic designers to hone their craft. They give students the same top-notch education as in-person classes without the time-suck that comes from commuting through Minneapolis. In these courses, interactive instruction is available live online, allowing students to work from the comfort of their home or office while receiving real-time feedback.
Noble Desktop’s graphic design courses are the industry standard in online learning. Between classes introducing the fundamentals of graphic design to bootcamps focusing on specific design software tools, Noble Desktop hosts options for every level of learner. Popular graphic design bootcamps help students quickly get up to speed with the most popular Adobe Creative Cloud Apps, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Adobe XD, as well as other design software such as Figma and Sketch.
Students looking to take their skills to the next level can also enroll in a career certification course such as the ||CPN548||, which gives learners the tools and expert mentorship needed to jump-start their professional portfolios. Noble also offers certification for related careers, like the Digital Design Certificate, which covers a mix of graphic design and UI design, or the UX and UI Design Certificate, designed to prepare students for long-term careers in UX/UI design careers. Alternatively, Noble’s Motion Graphics Certificate explores video editing and animation with apps like After Effects and Premiere Pro.
Noble Desktop’s affiliate organizations, NYIM Training and NYC Career Centers, offer equally exciting options for graphic design students. NYIM Training’s graphic design courses include boot camps on design basics and more advanced topics such as user experience (UX). Students can find similar offerings in the form of NYC Career Centers’ graphic design classes, including software-specific workshops on programs like Adobe Illustrator.
Learning graphic design is also an excellent skill for high school students interested in exploring what the hobby has to offer on the crafting front. High school students who are curious about graphic design can consider enrolling in NextGen Bootcamp’s summer high school graphic design classes, where they’ll explore a variety of graphic design skills, including app skills such as Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
Corporate & Onsite Graphic Design Training in Minneapolis
Companies that invest in teaching their employees the basics of graphic design can refine their brand’s visual impact and even increase the marketability of their products. Designed to meet this need, Noble Desktop offers customizable corporate training in graphic design, both onsite and online.
Depending on the preferences of each company, classes are available at the company headquarters or office space, or employees can attend virtual sessions through a teleconferencing platform such as Zoom. As another option, employers can buy group vouchers for their employees to attend Noble Desktop’s graphic design courses at a discount. With these vouchers, employees can choose the format of their classes and take on graphic design education outside of work hours.
To learn more about getting the whole team up to speed on graphic design, please send an email to Noble Desktop.
hello@nobledesktop.com.