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.
Illustrator is an industry-leading vector graphics software that provides users with the necessary tools to create Illustrations, charts, graphs, logos, and diagrams. It is especially useful for combining text and graphics together. Designers can work with the tools, shapes, color, effects, and typography, import a photo and trace or recolor it, and even freehand draw. The feature that sets Illustrator aside from the competition is that it is vector-based, which means the artwork stays clear at any size. Designers can scale to mobile size or billboard size without losing image quality.
Illustrator is mostly used by Designers, though it is a useful tool for Video Editors, Photographers, Web Designers, and Animators. While knowledge of Illustrator alone is not enough to secure a job in design, as it integrates seamlessly with other Adobe applications such as Photoshop and InDesign, it is a logical choice for those seeking a career in the visual arts. For those looking to add to their skill set, taking an Illustrator course will provide the skills to help make them an asset to their organization.
Houston provides many opportunities for those seeking careers in design. The area’s top industries include gas and oil, finance, health services, and aerospace. Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and is considered one of the country’s top cities for job creation. This, coupled with a cost of living much lower than New York or even Austin, makes Houston a fantastic home base for any freelance designer. There is a demand for design work in all fields that require print and digital materials.
According to the Greater Houston Partnership, of the largest metro areas in the United States, Houston is the second-most affordable city. It reports, “Houston’s living costs are 7.9 percent below the nationwide average and 34.1 percent below the average of the nation’s most populous metropolitan areas.”
Houston’s energy and engineering sectors rely heavily on Adobe Illustrator to support technical communication, branding, and visual documentation. Major companies such as Chevron, Shell, and Halliburton use Illustrator to create clean, precise diagrams, infographics, safety illustrations, and technical schematics that help explain complex processes to employees, stakeholders, and the public. Engineering firms and environmental agencies also depend on Illustrator to design detailed vector graphics for presentations, project proposals, and regulatory reports.
Houston’s vibrant medical, aerospace, and creative industries also integrate Illustrator into their daily operations. Healthcare institutions like Houston Methodist and MD Anderson Cancer Center use Illustrator for educational materials, patient brochures, and internal training visuals. Meanwhile, aerospace organizations such as NASA’s Johnson Space Center rely on Illustrator for mission graphics, research visuals, and digital assets used in public outreach. In the city’s growing creative sector—including advertising agencies, marketing firms, and design studios—Illustrator is indispensable for logo design, brand development, and polished marketing collateral.
In Houston, design jobs depend on the area of expertise and experience. According to salary information reported by Glassdoor, while a Graphic Designer might earn around $55,000 per year in Houston, a designer who specializes in user interface (UI), concerned with what an application or web page looks and feels like, can make close to $100,000 per year. Digital Designers, who specialize in visual effects, graphics, and animations, make about $80,000 per year, as do Visual Designers.
Noble Desktop offers a variety of live online Illustrator courses in Houston. Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp is a multi-day course and an excellent option for those looking for a comprehensive Illustrator course. The course covers Illustrator fundamentals and builds on these to provide participants with practice using the more advanced tools as well. It can also be taken as part of a Graphic Design Certificate or a Digital Design Certificate.
Noble also offers Illustrator in a Day, a short course that covers fundamental Illustrator skills, including creating shapes and using the Pen tool to draw vector graphics. Like all Noble classes, this one includes the option of a free retake within a year. Another option is the Illustrator for Fashion Design Bootcamp, which is focused on vector-based fashion graphics.
NYIM Training offers a variety of live online Illustrator classes, including Illustrator in a Day. Career Centers also offers live online Illustrator classes, such as bootcamps and shorter classes, for small groups.
NextGen Bootcamps offers Illustrator training for high school students as part of its Graphic Design Summer Program or UX & UI Design Summer Program. These classes run during the summer months and are a good opportunity for high school students to start building knowledge of vectors before they even graduate from high school.
Employers who are interested in helping their employees learn design skills might consider corporate training, as it benefits both the employer and the employee. It is an excellent professional development opportunity for employees and is a way for companies to bring design costs down by bringing some of the work in-house. Noble Desktop offers corporate Illustrator courses that can be adapted to help meet any company’s goals. Employees can participate in onsite training with a live, experienced instructor. Alternatively, Noble offers virtual training that, like the in-person training, is live and instructor-led but offered through Zoom or another teleconferencing platform.
For companies looking to invest in their employees but not ready to make a time commitment for the entire team at once, a course voucher is an excellent alternative. A company can purchase vouchers for pre-scheduled, open-enrollment group Illustrator classes. There is a discount available for companies that purchase multiple vouchers. For more information about offering Illustrator classes for employees, contact Noble Desktop.