Program Overview

Professional Academy Diploma in Graphic Design

The Professional Academy Diploma in Graphic Design is a comprehensive course designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge required to succeed in the field of graphic design. This interactive and practical course introduces students to the golden triad of graphic design: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.

Course Overview

The course is structured to provide students with a deep understanding of the latest AI tools and industry insights. Students will learn to use Adobe's industry-standard design tools to create icons, graphics, logos, documents, and more, as they build out their professional portfolio. The course covers various aspects of graphic design, including layout, typography, and color theory.

Course Modules

The course consists of 12 modules, each focusing on a specific aspect of graphic design:

1. Adobe Illustrator - The World Of Vectors: Become comfortable with the application's layout and navigation, create vector-based shapes, and learn to organize assets.
2. Adobe Illustrator - Let's Get Creative: Understand how layers are used for creative element control, learn to align and distribute objects, and create a brand color folder.
3. Adobe Illustrator - Colours, Logos & Icons: Learn how to create and manage brand colors, convert pixel-based images into editable vector shapes, and use cutting tools to create a vector-based logo.
4. Adobe Photoshop - The World Of Pixels: Learn to optimize images for digital and print output, discover transformations and layers, and start using selection tools.
5. Adobe Photoshop - Creative Montage: Deepen your knowledge of selection tools, create a design poster with text design, and explore Photoshop's generative AI fill.
6. Adobe Photoshop - Photoshop Magic: Master Photoshop's powerful repair brush tools, discover the AI-powered content-aware fill, and learn to create colors and gradients.
7. Adobe Photoshop - Behind The Mask: Learn to use masking techniques, smart objects, and adjustment layers to enhance images.
8. Adobe InDesign - The World Of Layout Design: Discover how to create vector shapes and outlines for displays, work with images for layout design, and use layers for workflow creativity.
9. Adobe InDesign - Magazine Cover: Learn how to lay out a magazine cover for professional print and digital distribution.
10. Adobe InDesign - Brand Guidelines & Colours: Learn to ensure correct color applications across documents, create multiple text page documents, and work on brand guidelines.
11. Adobe InDesign - Getting Interactive: Learn how to speed up workflow using master pages, add creative visuals to text pages, and make an interactive PDF.
12. A Day At The Office - Advertisement Project Design: Interpret a design brief, make a layout plan, and use Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign together in a final exercise.

Assessment

The course assessment includes working on three in-course personal projects and one final master project. Each project, along with a written essay of 1,000 words, will be assessed as evidence of learning.

Benefits of the Professional Academy Diploma

UCD Professional Academy Diplomas are designed to give your career an advantage. Developed in conjunction with industry thought leaders, these courses teach practical, applied skills to support you in achieving your career and business goals.

Career Opportunities

Every organization needs visual assets to communicate, and this course gives professionals with design capabilities a distinct edge with potential employers. The course prepares students for a rewarding career in graphic design, either as a freelancer, in a dedicated in-house role, or at an agency.

Student Experience

Student care is a high priority at UCD Professional Academy. The Student Services team is on hand to support students throughout their time with the academy. All students are given access to the Student Portal, where they can see their timetable, access study materials, and manage their account.

Online Learning Experience

The online experience is designed to be interactive, supportive, and inspiring. Live lectures are delivered using Zoom, and students are encouraged to activate their microphones to ask questions and communicate with other students.

Technical Requirements

To take this course, students will need a computer capable of running Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign, along with the relevant licenses for these applications. The minimum PC/laptop requirements include Windows 10 (64bit), 8 GB RAM, and at least 4 GB of available space. For Mac users, the minimum requirements include macOS Mojave (version 10.14) or later, 8 GB RAM, and at least 4 GB of available space.

Payment Options

Students can secure their spot on the course with a low 30% deposit, with the remaining balance paid in two equal installments (30 and 60 days later). For full-time Bootcamp courses, a 50% deposit secures the spot, with the remaining balance due prior to the start of the course.