Professional Diploma in Advertising & Design Fee Central Area, Central

Course details

Visual Communication

The visual communication module acts as an orientation programme for students to embark on their journey of discovery into what it takes to become a successful designer. Students in the course will be exposed to the various forms of design, as well as understanding fundamentals such as design principles, symbols, colours etc. This module will focus mainly on the following areas:


- Design appreciation and communication
- Fundamentals and Principles of design
- Colour fundamentals and theories
- Idea development
- Research development
- Protocols and processes

Digital Studio I
(Photoshop ® & Illustrator ®)
In this module, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of computer-aided-design with industry standard applications - Adobe ® Photoshop ® and Adobe ® Illustrator ®. The objective of this module is to equip students with the skills necessary to stay relevant in the digital age. This course module is divided into two equal parts, with 6 sessions for each application.

ADOBE ® PHOTOSHOP ®

- Understanding Adobe ® Photoshop ® tools and
work area
- Working with Adobe ® Photoshop ® layers and masking features
- Understanding colour modes, color correction
- Working with transparencies, blending mode, paths and clipping paths
- Filters and plug ins
- File formats, smart objects, etc

ADOBE ® ILLUSTRATOR ®

- Understanding the workspace of a
vector-based environment
- Basic layout techniques
- Drawing with Adobe ® Illustrator ®
- Working with layers, transparencies,
graphic styles
- Precision drawing with Adobe ® Illustrator ®
- Path operations, masking and filters
- Creating proofs (draft, print, press)

Creative Thinking
The creative thinking module focuses on how the human mind thinks and how we can think creatively through a series of lectures and assignments that investigate different methods of getting the big idea through exciting assignments.

It discusses the development of creative concepts that are designed to meet advertising and promotional objectives. Ways of generating the big idea across the media (below-the-line, above-the-line and new media) and how to evaluate those ideas strategically will be emphasized in the course. Students will learn to understand the difference between effectiveness and creativity.
Typography & Communication Design
The typography & communication design module will gear students to the next level of design driven skills with a greater emphasis in graphic design and typography. Students will learn how typography forms a visual unit, utilising graphic design to create an outstanding piece of work delivering accurate information with communication design. This course module will focus mainly on the following areas:


- Type evolution and history
- The graphic designers' layout grid
- Typography as a visual language
- Working within a given space and a body
of information
- How typography affects graphic design
- Type anatomy, measurements, classifications, styles, weights
- Type spaces (kerning, tracking, leading, etc)
- Applying variations in layouts and identifying common mistakes
- Creative research, how to get inspiring ideas and applying through Art Direction
- Choosing the right photo or cropping the
wrong photo
- File Formats

Corporate Identity and Design
This module will provide students the science behind every corporation's 'persona'. Besides creating the corporate personality, the module also explores the components of a corporate identity programme that will promote consistency in both discipline and application. This module will focus mainly on the following areas:


- The coming of corporate communications
- The story, the visual, the package
- The science of symbols and colors
- The logotype and the semiotics
- Supporting devices/ applications
- The corporate design mandatories
- The corporate identity system, why is it
so important?

This module is further complemented by the Branding module later in the course, allowing students to fully comprehend the science and visual behind brands and identity.

Packaging and Print Technology

This module introduces the technologies and procedures of modern lithography and packaging studies to students, equipping them with real industrial knowledge of managing the studio workflow through a visit to a printing plant. This module will focus mainly on the following areas:


- Understanding colors and inks for press
- Understanding dpi, ppi and lpi.
- The different forms of lithography with emphasis on offset lithography
- Pre and post press. Managing the workflow
- Color separation
- Understanding packaging as an extension
of a brand
- The corporate identity system, why is it
so important?
- Choosing the right stock
- Creating prototypes for packaging
- Techniques in performing really nice mockups

The research development aspect of this module's project will be complemented through the Marketing Overview module later in the course.
Editorial Design
This editorial design module covers important aspects on how to structure a set of cohesive editorial content, grids and components through the use of Adobe InDesign as the technical aspects. Students not only will learn content gathering, they will also understand how to create personalities and tone for publication. This course module is divided into 6 sessions for Editorial Design and 6 sessions on Adobe InDesign. This module will focus mainly on the following areas :

EDITORIAL DESIGN

- Editorial design and its objectives
- Anatomy of a publication
- Creating layouts
- Essential layout skills

ADOBE ® INDESIGN ®

- Working with Adobe InDesign's ® features such as master pages and section markers
- Creating paragraphs and character styles
- Working with Adobe InDesign's table feature

Online Media Design
This online media design module allows students to integrate communication design with realism through rich media, with studies focusing on web criteria, restrictions and how to use Adobe Dreamweaver for dynamic web presentations. This course module will focus mainly on the following areas:


- Understanding what is the internet, worldwide web and the progress
- The internet and communication design
- Fundamentals of Dreamweaver
- Flowchart
- Understanding tables in Dreamweaver
- Navigating the site with buttons
- Consistency with CSS styles
- Technical skills such as image quality, file format, color space, etc

Television Commercial
The television commercial module is an introduction to the TV advertising medium. Understanding what it's best for, how has it developed and how it has evolved. Students will be taught how to write a television commercial script; the importance of the brief; understanding AIDA and how to apply AIDA; as well as how to get it right and use it to decide on a film approach.

Additional studies such as the Ten commonly used approaches, their merits and pitfalls will be taught. Students will benefit from practical assignments such as making a storyboard and presenting it effectively; developing a shooting board; and finally making a great television commercial with great ideas.

Additional technical studies will be complemented by Apple's iMovie and the Online Media Design Module earlier in the course.
MAD INTEGRATED PROJECT (MAJOR PROJECT)
Students embark on their final journey for advertising & design through integrating the modules learnt through a real-world inspired MAD integrated campaign project. This major project will allow students to CREATE A NEW IDEA, apply Marketing strategies, Media planning, Advertising Strategy and translate them into a final visual assembly through graphic and visual communication.

In this final lap, students' final work will gain further value through expert critics from our highly esteemed External Panel Assessors (EPA) from the industry in a pitch-inspired presentation at the end of the course.

Entry Requirement: Applicants with GCE 'N' level with minimum 3 credits or equivalents may register. Applicant not meeting the entry requirement may need to undergo an interview.