Graphic Design Training

Course details

This course is for you if you are interested in learning how to create graphics for print and graphics for web using industry standard tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator.

Goal oriented approach

This graphic design course is designed to get you started in graphic design and that's why many exercises and projects make the core part of our graphic design training.

Graphic design training overview

The complete course is hands-on. Many practical graphic design projects at the end of the course will ensure that you go through the process of creating newsletter, designing business card, leaflets and website templates.

Course contents 

PART 1. Adobe Photoshop
Introduction

• Introduction to Photoshop and Adobe Creative suit
• Different file formats (PSD, JPG, TIFF, etc)
• Different colour modes (RGB and CMYK)
• Resolution explained (What is DPI?)

The Photoshop Workspace 

• The menus
• Palettes
• Tools

Photoshop Tools

• Rectangular Marquee Tool 
• Move Tool 
• Polygon Lasso Tool 
• Magic Wand Tool 
• Crop Tool 
• Slice Tool 
• Healing Brush Tool 
• Brush Tool 
• Clone Stamp Tool
• History Brush Tool
• Eraser Tool
• Gradient Tool
• Blur Tool
• Dodge Tool
• Path Selection Tool
• Horizontal Type Tool
• Pen Tool
• Rectangle Tool
• Notes Tool
• Eyedropper Tool
• Hand ToolZoom Tool
• Colour Boxes

Photoshop File Menu

• Create a new image
• Open existing image
• Save design for website

Edit Menu in Photoshop

• Fill colour
• Apply stroke

Image menu in Photoshop

• Image adjustment
• Image crop
• Image canvas

Photoshop Layer Menu

• Introduction to layers
• New layer
• Blending options
• Shadows
• Gradient

Photoshop Select Menu

• Select images
• Deselect images
• Inverse selection
• Transform images
• Apply Feathers
• Modify images

Filters in Photoshop

• What are filters?
• Apply different filters
• Download filters

Photoshop View Menu

• Zoom in and out
• Grid
• Ruler
• Slices for website

Projects in Photoshop

• Retouching and repairing an image using Photoshop
• Creating a poster using Photoshop
• Create a website template using Photoshop
• Create your own business card using Photoshop

PART 2. Adobe Indesign 
Basic Concepts

• Indesign Basics
• How to create a new document in Indesign
• Concepts of Layers in Indesign
• Creating frames and selecting its contents

Indesign interface

• Tools
• Palettes
• Menus
• Zooming and scrolling
• Navigator palette
• Control palette
• Changing view and creating custom workspaces

Setup an Indesign Page

• Page Layout
• Use of Rulers guides in page layout
• Preferences
• Printer and margin setup
• Guidelines
• How to create grid lines
• Master page
• Using the page palette

Setup multi-page documents

• The Pages palette
• Targeting pages and spreads

Master Page concept in Indesign

• Creating master pages
• Editing master pages
• Applying master pages
• Auto numbering pages
• Override master objects
• Text in Indesign
• Adding text
• How to edit text
• Text fonts
• Drag and drop text
• Glyphs
• Text frame properties

Text level Formatting

• How to handle open type fonts
• Optical kerning

Paragraph level formatting

• Drop caps
• Choosing a composer
• H&J options
• Tabs and tables 
• Hyphenation and justification 
• Bullet List
• Numbered list

Graphics in Indesign

• Import graphics
• Edit graphics
• Fitting options
• PSD, Illustrator and Pdf files
• Wrapping text around graphics
• What are Indesign snippets
• Managing links to images
• Create a clipping path
• Edit clipping paths
• Remove clipping paths

Styles in Indesign

• Create a style
• Apply a style
• Remove a style
• Edit a style
• Reusability of styles
• What are nested styles?

Styles in Indesign

• Create a style
• Apply a style
• Remove a style
• Edit a style
• Reusability of styles
• What are nested styles?

Effects and Transparency

• Feathering edges in Indesign
• How to create drop shadows
• The Flattener Preview palette

Editing a copy

• Find text
• Replace text easily
• What is the Story Editor
• Spell Checker in Indesign

Export and Print Indesign documents

• Export and Print options
• Printing Spot colour 
• Printing Process colour 
• Performing a pre-flight check
• Packaging files for handoff
• Export an indesign file as a PDF

Projects in Adobe Indesign

• Create a leaflet using Indesign
• Work on a professional newsletter

PART 3. Adobe Illustrator 
Basic Concepts

• What are vector graphics?
• Anatomy of a vector illustration: objects, paths, line segments and anchor points
• Different formats explained (AI, EPS, etc)

Illustrator's Main Features 

• The main illustrator menus, tools and palettes explained 
• Pencil tool 
• Pen tool and settings 
• Draw with an anchor point
• Stroke and fill
• Gradients
• Layers palettes

Projects in Adobe Illustrator

• Create a logo using Illustrator
• Transform your photo into a self-portrait vector based image
• Transform a landscape photo into a dramatic vector based image