Graphic Design Essentials Course - Short Courses Sydney

Graphic Design Essentials Course

What you'll learn

Learn graphic design skills with our Adobe training courses in Sydney!

Graphic designers are visual communicators - their ideas inspire, inform and captivate consumers through imagery, typography and graphics. This graphic design essentials course will give you a solid foundation in the principles and software that help to make ideas and designs recognisable and prominent. You will work with a variety of media and software so you can enhance your design competency. You will be given the tools to communicate effectively with the fast-paced visually literate society we all live in today. 

If you want a quick, easy and affordable introduction to graphic design then this graphic design essentials course is for you!

Learning outcomes

By the end of this graphic design course, you should be able to:

  • Recall an overview of the history of design, colour theory, typography and layout to inform the design process
  • Develop basic skills in the Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop programs in Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Exercise communication and critical analysis of design
  • Gain an understanding of the overall design process and how it can be used for creative purposes

Course content

What will be covered in this graphic design course?

The topics covered will include the history of graphic design, colour theory, typography and composition as well as touching on the basics of the three main industry-standard design software programs: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop in Adobe Creative Cloud. The theory elements in class will be comprehensive and initiate a process of personal enquiry and research to discover what participants find appealing to them individually.

Lesson 1: History of graphic design and branding

  • Overview of topics
  • Principles and Elements of design
  • History of Graphic Design
  • Show work of successful Graphic Designers from the late 20th and 21st Century
  • Discuss the importance of Graphic Design in brand recognition
  • Show examples of successful branding exercises
  • Homework activity: to select two pieces of graphic design with a focus on brand for discussion in lesson two

Lesson 2: Colour

  • Discuss homework activity from lesson one
  • Tie back into principals and elements of design
  • Discuss colour in the context of branding
  • Discuss how colour is used in software (overview of RGB, CMYK and web colour)
  • Demonstrate where colours are chosen in software packages
  • Homework task: finding two pieces of Graphic Design with a focus on typography for discussion in lesson three

Lesson 3: Typography

  • Discuss homework activity from lesson two
  • Introduce typography
  • Cover history of typography
  • Introduce students to prominent typographers and fonts
  • Introduce software and where the typography is set in each program
  • Homework task: begin to think of a product or service for which they would like to create an advertisement

Lesson 4: Adobe Photoshop

  • Overview of what the different software packages are for?
  • Discuss areas of the industry that utilise different software packages
  • Introduce Adobe Photoshop
  • Search for images for advertisement
  • Photoshop tutorial: Introduce colour alteration and enhancement, cloning, transform functions, selecting and masking, layers and painting tools

Lesson 5: Adobe Illustrator

  • Introduce Adobe Illustrator
  • Discuss its predominant uses
  • Illustrator tutorial: Introduce tools, colours, pathfinder, and stroke
  • Illustrator activity: Draw a logo

Lesson 6: Adobe InDesign

  • Introduce Adobe InDesign
  • Discuss its uses
  • InDesign tutorial: Introduce tools, colour, typesetting, page layout, and layers
  • InDesign activity: Begin to layout advertisement

Lesson 7: Project workshop

  • Work on advertisement for rest of class assisting students
  • Roup critique
  • Review topics covered

Intended audience

Who is this graphic design course for?

This course is for those looking to develop their design skillset, business owners wanting to be more creative with their advertising, or artists looking to expand into digital mediums. 

Basic computer literacy is assumed as part of this course.

Course materials

What to bring to class

  • An 8GB USB
  • Pen & paper, or a tablet for writing notes
  • Feel free to bring any drawing material that you have at home but not essential. Black felt tip Artline pen will suffice for most sketching exercises

Additional information

Please note the following:

This Graphic design training course runs in our computer lab, fitted with 27-inch Apple computers as well as Dell computers running the Windows operating system. Adobe products function in the same way on both Windows and Apple computers except for minor differences with keyboard usage and where files are located within the computer.

Course testimonials

Course tutors

Melissa started her career in the mid-90s working in both healthcare and mainstream advertising. She was taught by the highest standard of industry leaders to craft work on high profile brands...

Great reasons to enrol in a short course with us

Small classes

A personal approach means quality learning, so you can enjoy plenty of interaction with your instructor and the chance to ask questions.

Short & sweet

Our short courses & workshops get straight to the point, providing the skills you need with minimal commitment of your precious time.

Facilities & equipment

Our range of venues suit every type of course, are easy to get to, and have the equipment and tech needed to support your learning.

Easy, secure enrolment

Enrol online 24/7 with a safe, convenient 3-step process, and you can change your mind up to 7 days before class starts.

Quality instructors

Our educators bring first-hand experience and knowledge, with up-to-the-minute practices from diverse industries.

Business or pleasure

Our courses help you rapidly increase your skills and knowledge, for professional development or personal interest.

4.7 starsaverage rating on Google

1,400+courses to choose from

99%customer support rating

Classes Online Courses

Graphic Design Essentials Course

<p>Learn graphic design skills with our <a href="https://www.sydneycommunitycollege.edu.au/courses/design-technology/adobe">Adobe training courses</a> in Sydney!</p>

<p>Graphic designers are visual

...
$550 $495 Limited GST free / $440 / $467.50 / $495 / $550
Graphic Design Essentials Course

<p>Learn graphic design skills with our <a href="https://www.sydneycommunitycollege.edu.au/courses/design-technology/adobe">Adobe training courses</a> in Sydney!</p>

<p>Graphic designers are visual

...
$550 $495 Limited GST free / $440 / $467.50 / $495 / $550
Graphic Design Essentials Course

<p>Learn graphic design skills with our <a href="https://www.sydneycommunitycollege.edu.au/courses/design-technology/adobe">Adobe training courses</a> in Sydney!</p>

<p>Graphic designers are visual

...
$550 $495 Limited GST free / $440 / $467.50 / $495 / $550
Graphic Design Essentials Course

<p>Learn graphic design skills with our <a href="https://www.sydneycommunitycollege.edu.au/courses/design-technology/adobe">Adobe training courses</a> in Sydney!</p>

<p>Graphic designers are visual

...
$550 $495 Limited GST free / $440 / $467.50 / $495 / $550

If there isn't a class to suit you, please join our waitlist and we will notify you when we have places available. Join waitlist for Graphic Design Essentials Course

If there isn't a class to suit you, please join our waitlist and we will notify you when we have places available. Join waitlist for Graphic Design Essentials Course