Overview
The design fast track course is perfect for those that are starting their design journey and are looking to gain skills in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.
This course will be delivered through our Accelerated learning approach, allowing you to learn more information, easier and more efficiently than standard training approaches.
Target Audience
This course is for designers, marketers, developers or anyone looking to learn how create professional looking documents, images and illustrations.
Upon completion, you'll be able to:
InDesign
- Navigate the InDesign interface and understand the core features
- Design a variety of marketing materials for print, web and mobile
- Use layers, paragraph styles, frames and more will become second nature
- Take advantage of the core features that enhance productivity, managing data and more
Photoshop
- Navigate the Photoshop interface and understand the core features
- Understand how layers and layer masks work and how to adjust accordingly
- Take advantage of the various export options, whether that's for web, print or other intents
- Crop, create a composition, work with type, colour correction and lots more
Illustrator
- Navigate the Illustrator interface and understand the core features
- Master colour, basic shapes and how to get the most out of the layers panel
- Take advantage of artboards, paths, the pen tool, graphic styles and more
- Create documents for web or print and learn best practises for saving, printing and exporting
Accelerated learning
Our Accelerated learning approach at Certitec is unique within the Adobe training industry. Our focus is not on what you learn, but how you learn. Referred to as ‘Accelerated Learning’, this process allows you to digest a significant amount of information more quickly, and more easily than through other methods.
- Establish a firm understanding on the learning process before embarking
- Overcoming any learned helplessness by reframing what will be learnt upon completion
- Sessions no longer than 60 minutes each to maximise how we learn
- The use of course workbooks to strengthen memory retention (classroom)
- Finding a balance between new and recap learning
- Kinaesthetic (‘hands-on’) techniques
- Video of entire course upon completion (remote)
Find out more about our Accelerated learning process.
Outline
What to expect from this course
This six day design masterclass will begin with two days of InDesign training, where you'll get to grips with the InDesign interface, before learning how to design a variety of documents, format with paragraph styles, work with layers, object styles and more.
Part two of the design masterclass is centred around Photoshop. You'll begin your journey by understanding the Photoshop interface and learn how to create new images, adjust colour on existing images, combine text and imagery, plus more.
The final two days are focused Illustrator. Like InDesign and Photoshop, you'll begin by mastering the Illustrator interface and learn how to create new images, adjust colour on existing images, combine text and imagery and more.
After the six days of training you'll be in the position to take full advantage of what InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator have to offer.
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Day one – Laying down a firm InDesign foundation
Introduction to the workspace
- Main menu bar
- Workspaces
- Control panel
- Tool panel
- Panels - pages, layers and links
- Strokes and swatches
- Document status
- Page navigation, preflight profile and preflight menu
Designing documents
- Creating a new document
- Print, mobile or web
- Number of pages
- Facing pages
- Columns
- Margins
- Bleed and slug
- What type of document - intent
- Setting up for print
- Setting for web
- Setting for mobile
- Adding colours
- Rgb and cmyk
Working with frames
- What are frames?
- The types of frames - text, graphic and unassigned
- Creating text frames
- Creating graphic frames
- Creating unassigned frames
- Working with frames
- Creating text wrap
Using type and styles
- Selecting type
- Creating type frames
- Selecting type
- Insert place holder
- Placeholder text
- Formatting type
- Paragraph styles
- Character styles
- Import styles from another InDesign document
- Introduction to CC libraries
Working with graphics
- Placing graphics into InDesign
- Basic placement methods
- Raster images (pixel based)
- Vector images (mathamatically based)
- Linked graphics
- Embed graphics
- Images for print
- Images for screen/web
- Positioning and resizing
- Autofit graphics into an existing frame
- Change size and position within a frame
- Changing frame sizes
- Transparency
Day two – Building on that foundation
Creating a multi page document
- Create a new document
- Margins and columns
- For printed output
- For PDF production
- For delivery on the web or mobile devices
- Page sizes
- Orientation - landscape or portrait
- Page format
- Facing or non-facing
- Bleed and slug
- Master pages
- Repeating content
- Automatic page numbering
Working with layers
- Why use layers
- Locking layers
- Creating layers
- Layers panel
- Moving content to different layers
- Hide layer
- Lock layers
Working with threaded text
- Importing text
- Formats of text
- Copy and paste text
- Import Microsoft Word text without style sheets
- Import Microsoft Word text with style sheets
- Placeholder text
- Overset text
- Threading text
- Threading options
Links and output
- Linking graphics
- re-linking graphics
- Links panel
- Preflight panel
- PDF for email and web
- PDF/X-1a
- PDF for print
- Create profiles for different printers
Day three – The key concepts of Adobe Photoshop
Introduction - basic concepts
- Pixel resolution
- Colour RGB v CMYK
- Preferences - light or dark
- Interface - panels, option bar and toolbox
- Workspaces - saving
- Concept of anti-aliasing
Opening and closing
- File formats available
- Navigation - zoom, pan and shortcuts
Digital Fundamentals
- Brush basics
- Resolution
- Resizing and interpolation
Introduction to selections
- Geometric marque tool
- Create new layers
- Concept of masking
- Layers and layer masks
- Lasso and polygon lasso
Cropping and straightening
- Crop tool
- Non-destructive cropping
- Straighten tool
- Basic retouching
Blur, sharpen and noise
- Smart filtering for blur
- Smart filters for sharpening
- High pass
Day four – Understanding the bigger picture
Colour basics
- Colour wheel
- Compare RGB - CMYK
- Colour settings
- Proof colours
Basic Colour Correction
- Assessing images
- Auto correction
- Adjustment layers
Creating a composition
- Selections
- Drag and drop
- Story of silly leaf and smart leaf
- Adjustment layers and masks
- Place - link or embedded
Working with Type
- Adobe type
- Type 101
- Point and area type
Export options
- Understanding a PSD
- Save-as or export
- For web
- For print
- For other intents
Create panorama
Day five – Understanding basic Illustrator concepts
Essential Illustrator concepts
- What are vector graphics?
The Illustrator interface
- Exploring panels and workspaces
- Using the control panel
- Navigation
- Preview options
- Setting up your document
- Managing a custom workspace
Creating new documents for print or web
- Advanced document controls
- Modifying your document
- Changing units of measurement
- Working with grids
- Working with guides
- Smart guides
Working with colour
- Adjusting Illustrator colour settings
- Process or global swatches
- Basics of the colour guide panel
- The colour panel
- RGB v CMYK
- Defining swatches
- Working with gradients
Selection essentials
- The selection, direct and group selection tools
- The lasso tool
- Magic wand
- Select same
- Editing anchor points
- The bounding box
Basic Shapes
- Exploring the various shape tools
- Understanding fills and strokes
- Compound shapes
- Pathfinder options
- Duplicate objects
- Fill and stroke attributes
- Grouping
Transformation Tools
- Scale
- Rotate
- Shear
- Reflect
Alignment, distribution and spacing
- Aligning, distribution and spacing to selected objects
- Aligning, distribution and spacing to artboard
- Aligning, distribution and spacing to key object
Understanding the layers panel
- Visibility and locking
- Selecting via the layers panel
- Sub-layers
- Deleting layers
- Grouping and naming layers
- Changing the stacking order
- Moving objects from one layer to another
- Copying objects from one layer to another
- Adjusting layer previews
Object transformations and duplicating
- Moving and copying objects
- Rotating and scaling objects
- The transform panel
Basic text editing
- Creating point text
- Creating area text
- Text formatting
- Creating text threads
Day six – Developing the understanding
Placing images
- Working with images
- Using the links panel
- The basics of image trace
- An introduction to live paint
Working with artboards
- Working with different page sizes
- Re-sizing and modifying artboards
- Creating new artboards and copying artboards
- The artboard panel
Working with paths and the pen tool
- Understanding vectors - paths and anchors
- Drawing straight segments
- Adding curvature
- Working with open and closed paths
- Joining and averaging paths
- Adjusting control handles
- Using pathfinder
Working with brushes
- The calligraphic brush
- The scatter brush
- The art brush
- The pattern brush
- The bristle brushes
Graphic styles
- Exploring the appearance panel
- Creating graphic styles
Working with symbols
- What are symbols?
- Using the symbols libraries
- Using the symbol sprayer tool
- Creating new symbols
- Breaking the symbol link
- Redefining symbols
Working with type
- Creating a grid with guides
- Working with point type
- Working with area type
- Formatting text
- Tracking and kerning
- Saving time with keyboard shortcuts
Working with images
- Embedding images into Illustrator
- Masking images
- Deeper into image trace
- Using live paint and fixing problems
- Clipping masks
Saving, printing and exporting
- Saving to legacy formats
- Saving templates
- Saving for the web
- Creating bitmap images
- Using Illustrator files in InDesign and Photoshop
- Creating PDF files
Classroom trainint
Advantages of classroom training
Classroom training has many advantages over other formats of training since in-person interaction and communication plays an extremely important part to absorbing information.
Classroom training allows you to get trained in a safe, quiet, clean environment, away from the noise and pressures of the office or home. The classroom environment provides the important “human touch,” which is often missing in technology-based training.
You can’t beat real life interaction when asking important questions and receiving immediate feedback.
Other benefits of classroom training include:
- Group interaction. People learn from one another as well as from the trainer
- Training groups can be large or small
- Classroom training also teaches us how to interact with one another in a professional, productive, cooperative way, which is something that other forms of training often don’t provide
Remote training
Advantages of remote training
Remote training introduces a virtually no-limits training option since it's extremely flexible. You can attend a remote training session anywhere in the world and has become increasingly popular over the last few years.
Remote training plays itself into your hands and you can harness technology to enable you to use traditional computers, tablets and even phones for complete flexibility.
You can see your trainer (webcam) and they will take you through the training session like you're actually attending a classroom training event.
Other benefits of remote training include:
- No travel to the classroom - you can attend remote training in your pj's if you wish!
- Training groups can be large or small and even split over multiple locations and even multiple countries at the same time
- You have the ability to interact with your trainer by talking, electronically raising your hand and even allow for them to see your screen (if you authorise)
- All remote training sessions are recorded - so you can play-back at anytime in the future and enhance your learning experience
More details
Adobe certification
Adobe certified professional. Build a unique portfolio and gain a professional certification that communicates your advanced knowledge- that is what becoming Adobe certified is about.
Adobe certification masterclass
Become an Adobe certified professional. Save up to £1,000 with our Adobe certification masterclass. It will increase your chances of landing your dream job!
Discounts for self funders and charities
You will save 15% off the course price if you’re a non-business delegate and includes the following:
- Self funding individual
- Charity
- Student
- Educational establishment
Flexipay over 6 months
With the option to split the cost of your 5 day Adobe certified training course, our Flexipay payment plan allows you to develop your skills, without breaking the bank.
Post course support
After your course, we don’t leave you high-and-dry. Our technical support is provided for a lifetime.
Course computers
When it comes to classroom training - our training facility computers are better and faster than ever.
All our modern 27-inch computers have faster processors, expanded memory, larger storage and enhanced audio and video capabilities for an even better experience in the classroom.
Free course retake
We understand that before booking your course, knowing that you can have a free course refresher gives you that added insurance.
London training facility
Located in the heart of London's West end ... our training facility at 60 St. Martin's Lane ensures the location is as exciting as our training!
Lunch and refreshments
We provide healthy snacks (high quality dark chocolate, walnuts, fresh fruit) and coffee, all of which have been suggested to improve focus in the sessions.
For lunch, we give you the flexibility to eat what you want and introduced a lunch voucher scheme that can be used at nearby outlets.
Adobe Creative Cloud software
You can either subscribe to the entire suite (that’s all the applications) or just one application on a monthly basis. Adobe offers a free 7-day trial for each application if you wish to try before you subscribe.
Just visit the Adobe Creative Cloud page and see what might be the best option for you.
FAQs
What happens if I am unwell on the morning of my course?
This is just fine from a course perspective since you can re-arrange again (according to our course schedule) for no fee.
How do I actually book my course?
Find the course you wish and then click on the ‘book now’ button and complete the form.
Can I jump immediately to an Advanced course?
Delegates attending an Advanced course must already possess at least 80% of the knowledge of the (previous) Introduction course. This is so you are not out of your depth in the Advanced course and also so other delegates are not affected.
Do I need to bring my own computer (classroom training)?
We supply all computers (macOS and Windows) at our training facility. You can bring your laptop along if you wish for anything work related but due to Adobe guidelines - delegates must use our computers to ensure the software meets our requirements.
What are the training times?
We start at 9.30 and finish at 4.30pm with plenty of breaks and 40 minutes for lunch.
Are refreshments and lunch provided (classroom training)?
Yes - we provide all refreshments (tea, coffee, water, biscuits etc) and also lunch (in the format of a voucher which can be spent at many nearby locations).
What if I fail my ACP exam?
- Start 9.30am - Finish 3.30pm.
- Exam 2pm
You will undertake a practice exam just before lunch, then undertake the certification exam in the afternoon.
Should you not pass the first time, you can retake the exam for no charge when the course runs again in our schedule.
Will I get a certificate for attending?
Yes - your Adobe authorised training centre certificate of attendance will be emailed after your training course.
What is the dress format for attending training (classroom training)?
Anything goes since our training caters for the creative industry - so wear what you like (although please consider the training rooms are air conditioned).
Will I be able to work to my own agenda in the training?
Our courses are scheduled and run with the same outline and aims. Whilst our trainers can field some ad hoc questions along the way we are unable to provide specific information on your project.
If you did wish to cover your own agenda why not arrange a private training course.
Can I park at the training facility (classroom training)?
There are numerous NCP car parks close to the facility although you might find it more cost effective parking further afield and travelling into the city centre on public transport.
Course Enquiry
Interested in one of our courses but need a couple of questions answered first?
Use our simple form below to send a message directly to our consultant trainers. We value great customer service and will endeavour to get back to you within the hour inside normal business hours.
If you require an immediate response then please do not hesitate to call 0845 527 0768.
