Graphic Design: Elevate

› 12 weeks› Part-time

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Graphic Design is the process of crafting effective visual communications that resolve specific brand or user challenges while also being aesthetically pleasing. Its key focus is to convey information, value and “reasons to care” in an eye-catching way.

Graphic Designers are visual problem solvers. Through the use of graphic assets, symbols, images and text, they display information logically and harmoniously to meet a brand and its audience’s specific needs, striking the right chord with users from first glance. Combining business and creative objectives, Graphic Design goes way beyond just aesthetics, serving the purpose of selling a product or idea.

What is Graphic Design?

Hello and welcome to Academy Xi! Our mission is to transform the world through education by empowering a community of changemakers with the knowledge and skills to create their own positive waves of change.

Academy Xi is our answer to the insatiable demand for design and technology capabilities across all industries. We run short, practical and industry relevant courses in Human-Centred Design, Business & Marketing and Tech & Data.

Designed and taught by passionate industry experts, our courses empower people and teams with the skills and confidence to stay ahead of the industry curve, build a future-ready career and transform their lives.

Academy Xi: Our story

Graphic Design is considered a subset of visual communication and is sometimes used as its synonym. Common uses and specialisations of Graphic Design include advertising, web design, User Interface, User Experience, product packaging, editorial design, corporate design, motion design and more.

“Design is a solution to a problem. Art is a question to a problem.”

—John Maeda, President of Rhode Island School of Design

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EARN INDUSTRY- RECOGNISED CREDENTIALS

Our courses are trusted by industry leaders, including organisations and recruiters across Australia. Add our industry-recognised digital credential and Certificate of Completion to your CV and LinkedIn profile to boost your employment prospects.

LEARN BY DOING

Practical skills are key to succeed and stand out in a competitive market. In addition to learning the core theoretical concepts of Graphic Design, you’ll implement your skills by working on practical activities throughout each topic. After all, the best way to learn is by doing.

HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT

Our courses are created exclusively in-house by learning designers, in partnership with practitioners, industry experts, recruiters and students, referencing local and global best practices. What you’ll learn is always current, and industry applicable, ensuring you stay ahead of the curve in a fast changing industry.

MENTOR ON-DEMAND

Book up to two 1:1 sessions with your Mentor to seek clarity and receive personalised feedback about your work throughout the course.

COHORT-BASED

Never feel like you’re studying alone as you start the course and go through the topics at the same pace as all other students. Regularly interact with your Mentor and classmates to discuss current

topics and work collaboratively on activities, replicating the collaborative approach required in real-life.

LEARN FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Our course is supported by leading industry experts who have spent years practising Graphic Design. To ensure you’re learning from the best, we hand-pick our course mentors to guarantee their extensive experience, both in the field and in the online classroom.

SOCIAL-FIRST LEARNING PLATFORM

Absorb course content on our slick and easy, custom learning platform powered by NovoEd. Think of it as your online campus, with gamified content encouraging classmate interaction and rewarding your efforts. There’s also an app to make learning on-the-go super convenient and accessible, 24/7.

FORTNIGHTLY LIVE SESSIONS WITH Q&A

Access exclusive live content not found anywhere else, discuss projects, unpick design challenges with your Mentor and classmates, as well as listen to live presentations from leading industry experts.

ALUMNI BENEFITS

Gain access to our alumni exclusive events and Slack channel with job offers, career guidance and networking opportunities. Receive discounts on your future courses and a credit when you refer a friend.

Why study with us online

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Upskilling in Graphic Design opens a career path full of opportunities, rewards and personal fulfillment. It’s a passion job where you can solve problems you care about, shifting perspectives through powerful visual communications.

Enjoy true flexibility by choosing how, where and when you work. As industry, tools and specialisations constantly evolve, strengthen your growth mindset and never stop learning.

It’s a future proof career that will remain in-demand, as creativity can never be automated. Companies across all industries are constantly on the hunt for people with Graphic Design skills to help them craft thoughtfully designed assets that build brand recognition and loyalty.

This course is ideal if you want to complement your existing professional expertise and boost your career with a practical course in Graphic Design.

Working with industry-standard software*, you’ll:

• learn the technical and conceptual skills required to execute ideas, producing effective and inspirational work

• explore the design process, idea generation, and problem solving techniques to solve briefs

• gain an appreciation of what makes good design above and beyond the aesthetics

• create a portfolio, magazine and brand book, demonstrating your practical skills to a current or future employer.

This intake-based online course is a social

METHOD OF STUDY

Online with weekly live video sessions

TIME COMMITMENT

72-84 hours over 12 weeks

LEARNING OUTCOMES

12 modules

COURSE OUTCOMES

A portfolio project A magazine/multi-paged document project A brand book project

LEVEL OF STUDY

No prerequisites

Why choose this course?

COURSE SNAPSHOT:

and interactive learning environment. You’ll start the course and go through the topics at the same time and pace as all other students.

Thanks to regular classmate interactions, fortnightly live video sessions, and on-demand private consultations with your mentor, you’ll never feel like you’re studying alone.

*Throughout this course, you’ll need to use Adobe Creative Cloud. Please refer to Adobe’s subscription price, which is not included in our course fees.

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This Graphic Design Elevate course takes approximately 72-84 hours over 12 weeks. This timeframe includes getting through the learning materials, attending live sessions, participating in 1:1 mentoring sessions, completing the course activities and projects, as well as communicating with peers and your Mentor.

From the time of enrolment, you’ll have 6 months access to the course content.

Course timeframe

PHASE 1: PHASE 2: PHASE 3:

LEARN THE TOOLS

HONE AND DEVELOP

PROBLEM SOLVE AND DELIVER

WEEK 1 TO 4 WEEK 5 TO 8 WEEK 9 TO 12

Your commitment: 6 hrs/ week (total 24 hours)

Be introduced to the key elements and principles of Graphic Design, complete practical activities and interact with peers and Mentor.

Your commitment: 6 hrs/ week (total 24 hours)

Understand the elements that make a successful brand and create a brand identity and visual assets.

Your commitment: 6 hrs/ week (total 24 hours)

Define your strategy and approach to solve the brief,

creating powerful design solutions and brand collaterals with

a strong rationale.

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INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN

Familiarise yourself with the background, core concepts, terminology, and applications of graphic design.

What you’ll learn

• Introduction to Graphic Design (gestalt theory)

• Digital skills building

• Module 1 activities (major assessment 1)

GRAPHIC DESIGN CORE ELEMENTS (PART 1 )

Get introduced to Graphic Design elements that help organise and structure the visual content.

• Introduction to colour

• Colour theory

• Module 2 activities (major assessment 1)

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GRAPHIC DESIGN CORE ELEMENTS (PART 2)

• Hierarchy

• Scale and proportion

• Space

Learn composition rules to create a cohesive design.

• Balance and symmetry

• Rule of thirds

• Golden ratio

Further explore other Graphic Design elements and their impact on user psychology, design perception and creating a sharper, clearer outcome.

• Repetition

• Module 3 activities (major assessment 1)

GRAPHIC DESIGN CORE ELEMENTS (PART 3)

• Module 4 activities and major assessment 1 submission

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SYMBOLS AND LOGOS

Explore the history and role of symbols. Learn to use them as logos (branded symbols) to prompt a response in the audience’s mind.

• Exploring symbols

• Branded symbols - logos

• Designing logos

EXPLORING TYPOGRAPHYLearn the fundamental principles and vocabulary of typography.

• Introduction to typography

• Font choices and styles

• Module 6 activities (major assessment 2)

• Module 5 activities (major assessment 2)

CREATING AND CONTEXTUALISING MEANINGExplore culture jamming in Graphic Design; design as parody, protest, advertising and propaganda. Review examples of contemporary design activism - ‘subvertising’, antilogos, and labelling.

• Culture jamming in Graphic Design

• Module 7 activities (major assessment 2)

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PHOTOMONTAGE AND COLL AGE

Learn how photomontage and collage is used in advertising, marketing, Graphic Design and in other areas of design. Discover how to create powerful designs using these mediums.

• Module 8 activities and major assessment 2 submission

• Photomontage and collage

INTRODUCTION TO DESIGNING A BRAND IDENTITYLearn how to create a brand identity, including both the tangible and intangible visual elements of your brand. Learn how to frame this proposition and design for it.

• Introduction to brands and branding

• Brand identity

• Mood boards

• Module 9 activities (major assessment 3)

BRAND STYLE GUIDESFurther define the visual language of your brand with a style guide.

• Creating style guides

• Module 10 activities (major assessment 3)

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BRAND COLL ATERAL AND BRAND BOOK

Creating brand collateral, all the tangible elements of a brand - the collection of materials and media that create awareness and promote it, presenting a brand identity.

• Designing brand collateral

• Brand collateral and brand books

• Module 11 activities (major assessment 3)

BRAND BOOK

Continue the work of modules 9-11 to design and submit your brand book. Designing a brand book and brand identity.

• Module 12 activities and major assessment 3 submission

1. Create a design portfolio of digital and print visual media* applying the principles and elements of Graphic Design.**

*including postcards, magazine covers, posters, advertisements, logos, web page mock-ups **includes gestalt and colour theories, hierarchy, scale and proportion, space, repetition, balance and symmetry, rules of composition and ratio.

2. Design a basic magazine (a multi-paged document) that employs a common visual style.*

*Design of logo, symbols, icons, monogram and use of a complementary font family.

3. Design a brand book* that showcases a cohesive visual identity.

*includes mood board, style guide, brand posters, visual elements and devices.

LEARNERS ASSESSED AS COMPETENT IN GRAPHIC DESIGN ELEVATE WILL BE ABLE TO:

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Our Graphic Design Online Elevate course is ideal for:

• Anyone looking for a mentor-led professional development course with in-depth coverage of the theory and practice of Graphic Design

• Students who want to understand the visual communication and Graphic Design mindset and toolkit

• A range of learners seeking to visually communicate in their professional environment or introduce Graphic Design best practice to their job

• Anyone looking for a practical online course where they can develop a Graphic Design project, delivered to scheduled deadlines and in line with industry-standards

• Working professionals who want to enrich their career and experience with in-demand skills

But don’t worry, there are no prerequisites to enrol. We welcome students from all levels and professional backgrounds. Simply turn up with passion, curiosity, and commitment to complete this 12-week schedule.

If you’d like to network and further your Graphic Design knowledge and involvement with the community, feel free to attend meetups in your local area or join an online Graphic Design community, such as Graphic Design Forum, Behance, or Dribble.

By the end of this Graphic Design Online Elevate course, you will:

• Gain a holistic, end-to-end understanding of Graphic Design principles and core elements

• Apply techniques to create visual messages that convey information and ideas across multiple formats and channels

• Design brand collaterals that elicit emotional connections and responses from target audience

• Apply colour, typography, and composition fundamentals to practical exercises

• Create a visual language using symbols and typography

• Create a style guide for a brand

• Develop a portfolio of design assets to display your learning

Learning outcomes Who this course is for

Project assessment

Our graduates are recognised by the industry to possess the essential knowledge and skills required in the Graphic Design field. To ensure you achieve the specified outcomes, this course includes a course-wide project assessment—an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate your competency in critical Graphic Design skills and your hands-on experience with projects.

Throughout the course, you will be required to solve challenges, create a brand identity and collaterals using Graphic Design best practice and tools. At the end of weeks 4, 8 and 12, you’ll need to submit your solutions in the form of assessment tasks to graduate from the course.

Our Tribe will support you from enrolment to graduation, helping you achieve your goals every step of the way:

• The Experience Team: Your go-to for any day-to-day questions to ensure a seamless online experience.

• Your Mentor: Through regular live video sessions, private mentor on-demand sessions and the in-platform chat function, your mentor will guide you throughout the course and share their wealth of experience.

• Your classmates: To brainstorm, bounce ideas off and make lifelong friends. You can reach your peers through the discussion tool embedded in our online learning portal.

Support and feedback

GET IN TOUCHSpeak to one of our Course Advisors to clear up any questions:

admissions@academyxi.com

1300 683 923

Next steps

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