Learning path
Designer
From design principles to print, photographs and video.
- Who it is for
- Students and anyone who makes posters, cards, social posts and videos
- Where it ends
- Design for screen and print, from a social post in Canva to a print-ready poster in CorelDRAW, with your own photographs and short videos.
- Stages
- 5 courses, in this order
About this path
Design work starts with principles, alignment, contrast, hierarchy and colour, and then tools: Canva for quick screen work, CorelDRAW and DTP for anything that goes to a printer, a camera for your own pictures, and a video editor for the clips every business now needs.
This path takes those in order. If you already know Canva, start at CorelDRAW. Your centre gives the schedule for each course.
Your centre gives the schedule for each stage. This page does not quote durations or fees.
The stages, in order
Stage 1: Graphic design with Canva and Photoshop basics
The principles of design, then quick results in Canva and the basics of editing a photograph in Photoshop.
After this stage you can
- Apply alignment, contrast, hierarchy, colour and font choices
- Design a poster, a social post and a visiting card in Canva
- Use layers, selections, crop and adjustments in Photoshop
Course pageStudy book and practice test (student login)
Free ebooks for this stage
Design & DTP
Photo Editing Basics with Photoshop
Crop, retouch, adjust colour and make simple designs in Adobe Photoshop
Stage 2: CorelDRAW
Vector drawing for logos, banners and cards that print sharply at any size.
After this stage you can
- Draw with the Rectangle, Ellipse and Text tools and edit nodes with the Shape tool
- Group, combine, weld, trim and PowerClip objects, and convert text to curves
- Set up a visiting card and a poster with bleed and export a print-ready PDF
Course pageStudy book and practice test (student login)
Free ebooks for this stage
Design & DTP
Getting Files Ready for the Printer
Paper sizes, bleed, CMYK, resolution and print-ready PDFs
Design & DTP
DTP and CorelDRAW Study Book
The complete study notes, practice questions and glossary for DTP and CorelDRAW
Stage 3: DTP, desktop publishing
Page layout for print: grids, type, CMYK and the files a print shop accepts.
After this stage you can
- Lay out a page with margins, grids, alignment and white space
- Choose and pair typefaces and set sizes and spacing for print
- Know when to use RGB or CMYK and the resolution print needs
Course pageStudy book and practice test (student login)Career guide: graphic designer and DTP operator
Free ebooks for this stage
Design & DTP
DTP and CorelDRAW Study Book
The complete study notes, practice questions and glossary for DTP and CorelDRAW
Design & DTP
Desktop Publishing Practical
Make newsletters, forms, books and certificates with a DTP layout
Design & DTP
Getting Files Ready for the Printer
Paper sizes, bleed, CMYK, resolution and print-ready PDFs
Stage 4: Photography and photo editing
Your own pictures instead of stock images: light, exposure, composition and honest editing.
After this stage you can
- Use the direction and quality of light and balance aperture, shutter speed and ISO
- Compose with the rule of thirds, lines, framing and a clear subject
- Edit with crop, exposure, white balance and colour, and save the right format and size
Course pageStudy book and practice test (student login)Free project: pinhole camera
Free ebooks for this stage
Design & DTP
Photo Editing Basics with Photoshop
Crop, retouch, adjust colour and make simple designs in Adobe Photoshop
Stage 5: Video editing
Short videos for social media, events and business, planned, cut and finished.
After this stage you can
- Plan a video with a storyboard and a shot list
- Trim, cut and join on the timeline and add transitions, titles and captions
- Balance dialogue, music and sound, and export at the right resolution and format
Course pageStudy book and practice test (student login)
Free ebooks for this stage
Ready to start?
Tell the head office where you are now and they will suggest the first stage and the nearest centre.