Graphic Design

This course will show you how effective graphic design is essential to daily life as it informs, instructs, warns, and entertains us. You will also discover that design is a complex process involving research and analysis, concept development, critical evaluation, refinement, and execution. Hone your critical thinking strategies for effective graphic design by practicing what you learn in relation to print- and web-based communications. This is accomplished by creating a compelling concept for an ad, assessing a brand, building a visual identity around the persona, and producing a memorable promotional piece for an event campaign. You will draw and sketch concepts by hand as this skill development is paramount for advancing into creating digital content.

In this hands-on course, you will create and design content with Adobe InDesign using creative and typographic tools. You will create your document for single and multiple pages using tools, drop-down menus, and panels, set up columns, use select and direct selection tools, create layers, create colours from different libraries, create paragraph and character styles, create picture frames, apply text wraps around pictures, and check links. You will create a series of projects using all of the above tools and techniques.

Visual composition and layout focuses on the process of creating ideas and learning how to effectively place elements in a design to produce balanced, creative, design solutions. You will develop design ideas through applying the principles of composition and layout (the organization of visual elements). This course emphasizes the development and application of skills through research, analysis, hands-on projects, and exercises. In-class presentations will introduce creative and psychology principles and their application in the design process. Conceptual skills will be developed through projects and exercises, which will be done both in-class and as homework. You will analyze and evaluate design work through group critiques and individual written and verbal deconstruction of designs. Instructor feedback will be given during group and/or individual critiques.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1049

In this course you will explore the various aspects of colour and identify many ways of integrating colour for effective communication in design layouts. You will see the significance of colour application through numerous research and design samples. This will enable you to apply your understanding of various colour modes, colour functions, colour attributes, colour psychology, and colour physiology in your own work. The classes will also let you analyze how others solve visual colour challenges in an effective manner so you can be inspired to be creative in generating designs that have a unique and outstanding use of colour.

This course introduces students to the creative world of photo editing using Adobe Photoshop. The course starts with an overview of raster based applications, including image resolution and the co-relation between pixel dimensions, color depth, and image quality. Students will customize the Photoshop workspace, use the quick selection tool, use the quick mask selection tool, manipulate selections, save selections to channels, and perform tonal corrections with the spot healing brush tool and the content-aware fill. Students will create point type, create a clipping mask from type, create vector paths, use layers and adjustment layers, and paint with the mixer brush tool.

Digital Darkroom explores the fundamentals of working with digital images acquired from capture, with a focus on the image optimization process within Adobe Photoshop CC. This course will demonstrate how to produce a high quality image that can be reproduced for multiple purposes. Topics include colour theory as it relates to digital images, processing camera RAW files, non-destructive workflow within Photoshop CC, making selections, and working with layer masks. Course delivery is a lecture/lab format with in-class exercises providing hands-on experience.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1180

This hands-on course expands on the skills and knowledge that you gained in Adobe InDesign 1 by using different tools, drop-down menus, and panels to create a more complex series of projects. You will create multiple master pages with different columns and grids, create a digital imposition, add video with sound controls, precisely position pictures, text, and graphics, and transform digital graphics. As well, you will use step and repeat to create a background pattern, span text columns, and smart link InDesign with Photoshop. You will use a pen tool to create advanced computer graphics with compound paths.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1049

This course covers advanced compositing techniques, including painting with the mixer brush, adding a background, matching colour schemes across images, and blending multiple pictures to create a panorama. Students will select different brush settings and create a custom brush preset. The course also covers applying layer styles, adding adjustment layers, using layer effects and blending modes. Students will manipulate an image with Puppet Warp, create type on a path, warp point type, design with paragraphs of type and work with type styles. Other topics covered in the course include straightening and cropping images, using the spot healing and brush tools, repairing areas of an image using the clone stamp tool, applying gradients to layers, and working with masks and channels. Students will also prepare files for the web by creating slices and export HTML and images.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1180

In this course students convert documents to PDF format, to bridge the gap between paper and digital workflow. This includes converting small volumes of paper documents to searchable Adobe PDF files and to e-mail graphics files that were previously too large, and modifying PDF's to include advance functions such as high level security, video/audio files and electronic forms. Students also prepare files for professional print, through to posting PDF files on the web for online distribution.

This course takes a practical approach to real world colour management implementation for common devices including iPhones, iPads, laptops, desktop monitors, and inkjet printers. You will use X-rite Display Pro’s and X-rite Color Munki devices to profile both displays and printers. You will explore the basics of colour theory, how to apply ICC Profiles to achieve colour accurate results in your workflows, and simulate a proofing or printing process on screen and on a local inkjet printer. You will use standard software, such as Photoshop, Acrobat, and InDesign on Windows or Macintosh.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1170 or MDIA 1180

In this hands-on course, you will create and design scalable computer graphics with Adobe Illustrator that require creativity and imagination. You will use multiple art boards, layers, and sub-layers to organize your artwork. As well, you will use drawing tools, drop down menus, and floating panels to create a series of projects. You will use the pen tool to draw precise, offset paths, and different path widths. We will emphasize both linear and radial gradients, gradient meshes and blends for visual effects, and the effective use of colour. You will use both horizontal and vertical alignment tools and distribute your artwork evenly. You will create canisters using 3D revolve, symbols, and mapping tools.

Typography is the art of designing with type. Good typography is essential to graphic design. Learning the history of language and the development of type will give you a greater understanding of type and how to use it successfully within design layouts. You will learn the terms and measurements that form the basis of typographic vocabulary. We will deconstruct fonts to show the working components. We will discuss rules and conventions so that you can compose balanced documents. You will use a pica measurement system in your document construction. InDesign preferences will be dissected to show their dramatic impact on typography. You will create typographic projects for communicating designs and layouts that are compelling through a series of projects that demonstrate your typographic abilities. You will control type aesthetics and optimize optical and metric kerning. Through what you learn in this course, you will be able to clearly communicate your ideas and work confidently and effectively with type.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1049 and MDIA 2049

In today’s changing creative environment designers must do more than simply ‘design things’. Graphic designers apply principles of visual communication to express their client's message, but must also work within the context of a business strategy and goals to be fully successful. This course examines how design supports and reinforces the business goals of a client through application of critical components of the design process: research, analysis, concept development and evaluation. You will also explore standard business practices and working effectively with clients. Principles, concepts, and techniques will be applied through the comprehensive development of a large and major campaign project. You will also analyze and evaluate work through discussion, critiques, and verbal and written presentations.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1040 and MDIA 1105 and MDIA 1160 and MDIA 1180 and MDIA 1049

This hands-on course expands on the skills and knowledge that gained in Adobe Illustrator 1 by using different tools, drop-down menus, and panels to create a more complex series of projects. To complete the projects, you will use a perspective grid for creating 3D artwork that fades to a vanishing point. You will create a clipping mask, rotate objects around a fixed point, create patterns, use different drawing modes, use the scissors tool to cut and join paths, use pathfinder tools to divide graphics, and transform and move objects precisely on both a horizontal and vertical axis point. You will work with live corners, use key objects for aligning graphics, create colour groups, and use brushes to paint and spray graphics for visual effects.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1160

This class focusses on creating a digital portfolio to showcase your work. Your designs should highlight your creative abilities, concepts and ideas that you have developed, and your personality. You will design and create a series of tightly-defined webpage layouts, phone app mockups, landing pages, icons, info-graphics, and digital print layouts for presentation to prospective employers. The instructor will provide input and guidance for the portfolio content as well as the proper methodologies and techniques on how to achieve effective results. Your portfolio is your gateway to reaching out to potential employers. This course is required to be the last course in the Graphic Design Associate Certificate.
Prerequisite(s): MDIA 1040 and MDIA 1049 and MDIA 1105 and MDIA 1140 and MDIA 1180 and MDIA 2012 and MDIA 2049 and MDIA 2180