Digital Design - Apprenticeship Style

Program Overview

The Digital Design – Apprenticeship Style program prepares students for careers in design through a unique apprenticeship model. Learners gain practical industry experience by working part-time on real-world projects while completing a college diploma. Graduates are skilled in digital and print media design, including websites, e-publications, and interactive products. The program emphasizes creative design, project strategy, and brand guidelines.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Digital Design – Apprenticeship Style program prepares learners for related employment in the design industry. Learners in the program will gain practical experience in industry by working-part time in a company on real world projects while completing an accredited college diploma. Graduates of the program are capable of the creative aspects of designing and producing flexible digital and print media, including websites, e-publications, applications, and interactive/multimedia products for public, non-profit, and corporate clients. Working individually or as part of a project team, graduates have the skills to present, defend, and critique digital media projects meeting client need, project scope, and available resources.

Outline:

Term 1

• DESN1151 - Principles and Tools of Digital Design (6 Credits): This introductory course takes learners through the double diamond design process.
Learners will be introduced to ideation techniques and principles of visual and interactive design through hands-on exercises and scenarios using software from the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. Through this work, learners will engage in the process of design critique.
• DESN1152 - Typesetting (3 Credits): This course introduces learners to the craft of typography through the study of professional typographic terms, definitions, and texts.
In addition, learners will evaluate the fundamentals of typesetting (selection, size, spacing, and hierarchy) and the relationship between typeface and intended contextual meaning.
• DESN1351 - UI/UX - Research and Wireframing (3 Credits): In this introductory UI/UX Design course, learners will explore the fundamentals of User Interface and User Experience Design.
Learners conduct user research and create personas based on user behavior. They also use competitive research and data to construct a project plan that meets stakeholder needs. Finally, learners construct visual representations of their design solutions, including user flow diagrams, wireframes, and mockups.
• DESN1451 - The Digital Design Profession (3 Credits): The profession of digital design is fast-moving, creative, and client-focused.
It closes the gap between increasingly demanding design challenges and the necessary technical expertise. In this course learners will be introduced to the profession of digital design. Students will be introduced to approaches to professional communication, feedback processes, and best practices needed to start their new career. This course will culminate with the creation of a personal branding package that can be presented to prospective clients and employers.

Term 2

• DESN1352 - UI/UX - Prototyping and Usability Testing (6 Credits): In this intermediate UI UX Design course, learners will expand their skills in User Interface and User Experience Design.
Learners will build rich interactivity into their prototypes. They then engage in usability testing and improve their designs based on collected data. Finally, learners prepare their designs for a smooth handoff to developers and produce MVP (Minimum Viable Product) documentation.
• DESN1353 - Design Concept Creation (3 Credits): This course takes learners through the first part of a visual design project workflow: the creation of a design concept.
Learners will review and develop a creative brief, learn how to conduct research when generating ideas and create a rough draft of their visual design. Finally, learners will have the opportunity to present their designs and receive feedback.
• MKTG1351 - Brand Positioning (3 Credits): In this introductory Brand Strategy course, learners will investigate essential branding documentation, including market reports, market distribution channels, target demographics, and competitive advantages.
Students create price strategies, target markets, and market distribution channels for a new product. They also create buyer personas from target audience information. Finally, students present their recommendations to gain stakeholder approval.
• DESN1951 - Digital Design Immersive Industry Experience - I (3 Credits): On-the-job training provides learners with professional work experience during which they apply the practical skills, knowledge, and attitudes developed in the program.
In consultation with a faculty advisor, each learner conducts a job search and secures a part-time position in the industry. Learners will work 3 days per/week as part of a team and continue to develop their technical skills as a junior designer.

Term 3

• DESN2351 - Design Development (3 Credits): This course takes learners through the second part of a visual design project workflow: the development of a design.
Learners will create illustrations from their sketches, create digital illustrations using Adobe Illustrator, and prepare rationales to support their design choices. Finally, learners will have the opportunity to present their designs and receive feedback.
• DESN2352 - Design Completion (3 Credits): This course takes learners through the third part of a visual design project workflow: finalizing a design.
Learners will revise their design based on technical specifications and optimize their design according to the intended application and delivery format. Learners will also create a design standards document to accompany their final design.
• DESN2353 - Video Production (3 Credits): In this course, learners will begin by exploring all aspects of audio-video pre-production needs, including reviewing, creating, and gaining approval for all required documents.
On-set production principles are explained in full, including equipment set-up and testing, capturing video, recording audio, and tear-down. Modern audio-video editing techniques and workflows are also addressed. When editing is complete, learners will prepare their projects for export and render their work for a variety of media applications.
• DESN2354 - Introductory 2D Motion Design (3 Credits): In this introductory Motion Design course, learners will create exciting animations for social media applications.
Working from a clear creative direction, students follow best workflow practices by organizing and preparing project assets, animating assets using established principles of animation, and editing their work using an iterative feedback process. Once creative work is approved, motion designs are rendered to meet specific social media technical specifications.
• DESN2951 - Digital Design Immersive Industry Experience - II (3 Credits): On-the-job training provides learners with professional work experience during which they apply the practical skills, knowledge, and attitudes developed in the program.
In consultation with a faculty advisor, each learner conducts a job search and secures a part-time position in the industry. Learners will work 3 days per/week as part of a team and continue to develop their technical skills as a junior designer.

Term 4

• DESN2251 - Project Strategy (6 Credits): Learners will create a design strategy for the business requirements and user goals of a product for an organization.
Learners will translate and apply business objectives and user needs to the design strategy lifecycle, including research, project scoping, designing project assets, and testing and validating the solution. Learners will consider the role of the brand (design system) in this process.
• DESN2355 - Advanced 2D Motion Design (3 Credits): In this course, learners will explore advanced features and functionality when animating objects and text.
Topics covered include expression-driven animation, effects-driven animation, planar tracking, compositing, rotoscoping, and keyframe assistants. Students start with a creative brief and follow all workflow steps, from sketches, storyboarding, animatics, editing, and rendering, to the delivery of the final product.
• MKTG2351 - Brand Standards Guidelines (3 Credits): In this intermediate Brand Strategy course, learners will create brand standards guidelines documentation, including colour palettes, typography, photography, illustration, tone of voice, personality, and other sensory brand elements.
Once the brand identity is established and approved, learners will build a complete set of usage tools, including print layout, digital layout, and audio/video guides. The creation of a consulting and approval process for the purpose of documentation updating is also explained in this course. Finally, tutorials are created for end users to utilize as a reference when using the branding in different scenarios.
• DESN2952 - Digital Design Immersive Industry Experience - III (3 Credits): On-the-job training provides learners with professional work experience during which they apply the practical skills, knowledge, and attitudes developed in the program.
In consultation with a faculty advisor, each learner conducts a job search and secures a part-time position in the industry. Learners will work 3 days per/week as part of a team and continue to develop their technical skills as a junior designer.

Careers:

Graduates of the program are capable of the creative aspects of designing and producing flexible digital and print media, including websites, e-publications, applications, and interactive/multimedia products for public, non-profit, and corporate clients. Working individually or as part of a project team, graduates have the skills to present, defend, and critique digital media projects meeting client need, project scope, and available resources.

Other:

We have collaborated with industry partners to create a unique diploma program in the fields of Digital Design, to equip learners with the essential skills and competencies. The apprenticeship learning model allows students to engage in real-world projects alongside employers starting from Term 2. Please note that meeting the requirements of each term is essential for a successful progression within the program. To be eligible for the apprenticeship, students must simply register for all courses in a term and achieve a passing grade. It is also important to have a good understanding of the prerequisites and co-requisites for each course in every term. We understand that the apprenticeship program might present its own set of challenges. However, we want to assure students that if they find it too demanding, there is always the option to transition to the regular Digital Design diploma program. We recommend making this decision by the end of Term 1 to minimize any potential disruptions to your academic journey. Remember that completing all remaining courses in the regular program is necessary to meet graduation requirements.