This course is a software mastery course for students seriously interested in the field of graphic design.

But why this course for graphic designers? Photoshop is the industry standard for many design careers that your student may be interested in such as graphic design, marketing, social media management, animation, film, game design, photography, etc. It will also give your student a strong foundation to learn other Adobe programs as well as the confidence that he or she can tackle other complicated software in future jobs or college programs. Learning to use it well is something that will add value to college applications as well as resumes. Most college art and design programs (as well as some others) will require knowledge and a subscription to the Adobe products as requirements for the classes. Many colleges will expect students to have a good understanding of the software on entering college (including community colleges) so the more understanding your student has, the better they will be able to get off on a good foot. While the Adobe product is an investment, we feel this is the most authentic and meaningful way to prepare graphic design students for what colleges will expect.

For this class we will work on getting the foundations of the program, understanding digital file formats and their uses, gaining fluency in the tools and processes of Photoshop, touching on art and design principles and practices as well as introducing the concept of an art portfolio. We will also be using best practices for file management and working with files as though in a work environment.

Some student examples can be seen here.

Students can expect to submit assignments each week to show they understand the technical aspects and there will be two large projects to incorporate their understanding of the technology, design principles, and craftsmanship in a creative format. This online photoshop class is intended to give students a broad overview of this powerful industry-standard software. The format of live sessions and accountability will help them feel encouraged and empowered to accomplish this difficult task.

By the end of class, they should have mastered the basic layout and functions of Photoshop and begun to incorporate workflow habits that are essential to efficient and effective design. Projects include creating a post card, partially colored photo, removing backgrounds, masking, typography, photo correction, book covers, movie posters and much more! These are great things for building your arts portfolio.