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Graphic Design Certificate
The Graphic Design Certificate at American Graphics Institute is a hands-on program that teaches both strategic design principles along with practical skills using modern digital design tools. Participants learn the graphic design process and apply newly learned techniques and skills through significant hands-on work in small group classes. With each course section in the graphic design certificate program limited to 10, students receive individualized attention and work collaboratively with their instructors through the certificate program. If you prefer, you can choose to attend individual graphic design courses or most of the Graphic Design Certificate courses are available without job placement assistance as part of the Graphic Design Bootcamp.
The Graphic Design Certificate provides a foundation in graphic design skills using modern digital tools and prepares you for work creating illustrations, retouching images, and creating layouts for distribution in digital and print formats. Attend the Graphic Design Certificate online or in-person in Boston. Both formats of the certificate program provide classes and workshops led by live instructors. You can start your graphic design certificate program at any time with the rolling-admission program, with new classes starting monthly. All certificate courses in both formats are led by live instructors with personalized attention from our instructors and staff.
Graphic Design Certificate Online
Attend the Graphic Design Certificate online or in Boston. Both formats include graphic design courses led by a live instructor, with the ability to repeat any course for a full year if technology changes or you need to refresh your skills. You can elect to attend some classes online and others in-person, or attend all classes in either format.
Graphic Design Certificate Program - Full Time
Clock Hours: 112
Weeks: 4
Course Days: Monday through Friday
Format: Live online or in-person
Next Start date: June 05, 2023
Live online or in-person at American Graphics Institute's Boston location
Part-Time Graphic Design Certificate Program
Clock Hours: 112
Course Days: Flexible with a minimum of two days per month
Format: Live online or in-person; weekday, evening, or weekend
Next Start date: June 05, 2023
Live online at American Graphics Institute's Boston, MA location.
Application and Tuition for Graphic Design Certificate - Online or In Person
Admission for the Graphic Design Certificate program is rolling. Applications are accepted at any time. You can start your application online by clicking the Apply Now option on this page. Prior to applying we encourage you to speak to an admissions representative. Complete the form on this page to inquire, or call 781-376-6044 to contact our admissions team.
Tuition for Graphic Design Certificate - Online or In Person
Tuition for the Graphic Design Certificate program is $3,600. Payment plans are available; call or submit an inquiry for details.
Career Services for Graphic Design Certificate
Participants in the Graphic Design Certificate have access to a dedicated career counselor. Whether you are seeking a new role, or want assistance to advance your career with your current employer, our career counseling staff helps you. Receive assistance with interview preparation, how to best present your experience, and locating opportunities. You can attend in-person or from any location and receive these services.
Using VA Education Benefits for the Graphic Design Certificate
American Graphics Institute and the Graphic Design Certificate have been approved for GI Bill benefits. Eligible participants can use their Veterans Affairs (VA) funds for the Graphic Design Certificate program.
Courses in this Graphic Design Certificate
Course information for the Graphic Design Certificate
Graphic Design Course
Learn design concepts and principles to increase your confidence in designs that you create while making certain they follow best practices and principles in this intensive graphic design course. Discover how guidelines and theories impact layout, type and color in this one-day graphic design course that teaches fundamental skills that are practical for users across various roles and functions.
Photoshop Bootcamp
This four-day comprehensive Photoshop bootcamp provides introductory through intermediate photo editing skills. This bootcamp combines our introductory through intermediate Photoshop classes into four consecutive days, providing you with an intensive workshop. The material covered is identical to the introductory and intermediate Photoshop courses, but is delivered in a single week. You start by learning essential Photoshop skills and end the week with a full set of experience creating images for use across a variety of platforms and uses.
Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp
This four-day comprehensive Adobe Illustrator course provides you with comprehensive illustrator skills. This Illustrator bootcamp combines our introductory through advanced Illustrator classes into four consecutive days, providing you with an intensive workshop. The material covered is identical to the introductory and advanced Illustrator courses but is delivered in a single week. Start by learning essential Illustrator skills and end the week with a full set of experience creating designs, logos, layouts, using graphic styles, the blend tool, understanding gradients, and much more.
InDesign Bootcamp
This four-day comprehensive InDesign bootcamp training provides introductory through advanced digital publishing skills using Adobe InDesign. This InDesign bootcamp combines our introductory through intermediate InDesign classes into four consecutive days, providing you with a comprehensive workshop that starts with introductory skills and the foundations for creating documents, and progresses into working with more complex layouts and longer format publications. Whether you are looking to create documents for print or digital distribution, the InDesign bootcamp provides the skills needed to work efficiently. The material covered is identical to the introductory and intermediate InDesign courses, but is delivered in a single week. You start by learning essential InDesign skills for creating pages, importing text and graphics, and building layouts, and end the week with a full set of experience using productivity enhancing capabilities such as text and object styles, as well as adding interactivity, and creating digital documents. This InDesign course provides a solid foundation for anyone who needs to work regularly with InDesign, or is creating longer documents such as books, magazines, and catalogs, as well as anyone working with more complex layouts that require consistency. This course is also useful for anyone who wants to make sure they are working the most efficiently with InDesign, as it emphasizes functionality that makes you more productive and automates repetitive work.
Graphic Design Project
This course consists of a practical graphic design project in which students apply the design skills they have learned into a project that is selected by the student and reviewed by their instructor. The graphic design project starts with planning, meeting with the client, creating a creative brief, developing the product, client review and feedback, final delivery, and project review by their peers and instructor. This graphic design course is available as part of the Graphic Design Certificate program.
Graphic Design Portfolio
In this portfolio course, graphic design certificate program participants work with their instructor to select projects to showcase, create a portfolio showcasing their talents, and discuss which works to show and how to present them. This class involved developing an online portfolio to show and share work that has been developed both as part of the program and independently. This workshop is designed to help you both create your online portfolio and to showcase skills and capabilities.
Graphic Design Certificate Locations
You can attend the Graphic Design Certificate online or in-person. Additionally, a hybrid option is available, with some classes in-person, and others online. In-person courses are available in Boston, while online Graphic Design Certificate participants can attend from anywhere with a broadband Internet connection.
All Graphic Design Certificate courses are delivered by live instructors in small-group sessions, with most classes limited to 10 participants. This provides the opportunity to get questions answered, and work on projects with input and personalized attention from instructors.
The instructors teaching Graphic Design Certificate courses at AGI average more than a decade of experience that they bring to each class.
Graphic Design Certificate Prerequisites
No previous experience with the software tools is required to enroll in the Graphic Design Certificate. For enrollment, the admissions team evaluates existing skills that are generally necessary for a professional career. These include communications skills and general computer skills.
If attending the Graphic Design Certificate in-person, computers are provided at AGI’s classroom. If enrolling in the Graphic Design Certificate and attending courses online, a computer capable of running the Adobe Creative Cloud apps is needed.
Course materials for Graphic Design Certificate
All course curriculum materials are included with the program. The instructors teaching the Graphic Design Certificate courses have authored more than 50 training books and use this extensive curriculum development experience to develop practical and detailed training curriculum and project files that are part of the program. The materials are designed to serve as a reference for use after class completion and include detailed notes, definitions, best practices and practical advice.
Night and Weekend Graphic Design Certificate
American Graphics Institute offers some weekend and night courses within the Graphic Design Certificate. These options are listed within the course schedules listed above, or contact us for a schedule of upcoming night and weekend dates. While some classes are available nights and weekends, other classes require weekday class attendance.
Choosing the right Graphic Design Certificate
Although there are many Graphic Design Certificate options, there’s a reason that American Graphics Institute is considered a top school for receiving a Graphic Design Certificate. This includes expert instructors with many years of practical experience who have authored books, and have extensive teaching experience. Along with this, career services provided by a dedicated and experienced career counselor can help make the difference in securing an interview an landing a graphic design job. As part of the Graphic Design Certificate there are required courses, most of which are two days or four nights in duration.
Courses in the Graphic Design Certificate start with a foundational, introductory training before progressing into advanced topics. Even if you have previous experience, the introductory classes serve as a cornerstone for the future skills you learn. From there, you can move on to learn more advanced skills and concepts.
The delivery format for classes in the Graphic Design Certificate should also be considered as you decide which course to attend. Both in-person and online courses are led by a live instructor. AGI offers regularly scheduled live online courses which allow you to see the instructor’s screen, ask questions, and share your screen if you need assistance. You can also retake any course in the Graphic Design Certificate program at no cost if you need additional practice or if you don't end up using your new skills right away. All courses in the Graphic Design Certificate are offered at regularly scheduled dates, with most available every 30 to 45 days.
If you have questions or wish to talk with our staff regarding the Graphic Design Certificate, you can call us at 781-376-6044, reach us using online chat, or visit our Contact page for all options to reach AGI.
How a graphic design certificate is useful
Obtaining a graphic design certificate is useful because it prepares you for a role as a graphic designer or one of the many fields that use and benefit from design, including marketing communications and design roles. The skills from learning graphic design can be applied when creating visual communications such as flyers, brochures, and magazines along with layouts for print or online use. You should learn graphic design if you need to create professional communications including:
Web pages
Advertisements
Magazines
Brochures
Flyers
Newsletters
Marketing Collateral
Using a graphic design certificate for a new career
Obtaining a graphic design certificate can serve as a starting point for a design career, although design skills are only one part of what is needed for a graphic design career. Design careers require a well-rounded set of skills including an understanding of graphic design principles, along with related skills with tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Marketing and communications roles that use graphic design also require skills in communications and analytics.
Graphic design is the art of visual communication for sharing information, meaning, and emotion. A graphic design certificate provides the foundational skills for working in this field. Those who learn graphic design are able to define the aesthetics for projects using various elements including color, shape, size, form, space, and typography. Projects created by graphic designers range from store displays and advertisements to on-screen visuals used online, in television and broadcast.
A professional skilled in graphic design can create media that supports a brand, build recognition, and creates an identity. Graphic designers produce posters, bus wraps, billboards, logos, infographics, pamphlets, advertisements, window displays, menus, advertisements, and digital content.To work on these projects, learning graphic design is an essential skill. Along with learning graphic design skills, it is also necessary to learn the related tools and apps listed above to help secure a graphic design job.
Careers that use graphic design
There are many jobs and careers that use graphic design including:
Graphic Designer
Graphic Artist
Multimedia Designer
Visual Designer
Marketing Manager
Corporate Communications Manager
Public Relations Professional
Book Designer
Catalog Designer
Because graphic design skills are used for creating such a wide variety of projects, you may wish to read more regarding how to become a graphic designer.
Becoming a designer by learning graphic design
Learning graphic design is one of the skills needed to become a professional in most design fields. A graphic designer uses their skills to produce posters, flyers, advertisements, window displays, menus, advertisements, and a range of content that visually shares meaning and ideas.
Graphic designers also have the responsibility of preparing ideas and refining them through collaboration with clients. The graphic design process is iterative and requires collaboration, and as such graphic designers must have strong communication skills and work well with teams and clients.
Graphic designers must be able to assist clients achieve objectives, such as communicate a specific message, present a brand identity, or sell a concept or product. Successful graphic designers translate a client’s vision into visual presentations to meet their objectives.
Graphic designers have an average salary between $45,000 and $49,000 annually, or wages of $24.05 per hour. Information about graphic design salaries in specific markets is available from indeed.com and glassdoor.com.
Along with a graphic design certificate, AGI also offers a graphic design fundamentals course which teaches foundational graphic design skills to non-designers and designers. This course helps make designs such as presentations, signs, and documents look great and clearly communicate the intended message. You can also learn more about becoming a graphic designer.
Graphic design certificate program for high school students
There are specific graphic design programs for high school students interested in pursuing studies or a career in a design-related field. The graphic design programs for high school students offers the opportunity to learn graphic design concepts and gain skills with common graphic design tools in a program specifically geared towards high school students. The program described on this page is not intended for high school students.
Graphic Design Careers and Job Outlook
Graphic Design is used in roles across many different industries and in a variety of job roles nationally and locally. Creative service firms, digital agencies, and in-house marketing departments all hire skilled Graphic Design professionals. Obtaining a graphic design certificate provides a foundational skill for working in many of the careers across these organizations.
Skills with Graphic Design are also transferable to a variety of other roles. Those with strong Graphic Design skills may consider gaining more specialized skills and working in the fields of user experience (UX) design or user interface (UI) design. Both of these are growing fields nationally, with job growth of nearly 6% expected over the next decade according to national projections from the U.S. Labor Department. With specialized skills and higher than average growth prospects, jobs in these fields command above-average compensation.
Because Graphic Design skills are used in digital agencies, advertising, marketing, and media, they are essential for anyone wanting to work in these fields. A graphic design certificate provides a foundation for working in creative roles, many of which are available as remote positions. These roles provide a solid career opportunity, with average earnings of $55,000 annually.
Graphic design certificate program FAQ
We have assembled a list of frequently asked questions about the graphic design certificate along with answers:
Can you learn graphic design on your own?
While you can teach yourself graphic design using graphic design tutorials and graphic design books, the fastest way to learn graphic design is through graphic design classes. For more details on individual courses instead of the entire certificate program read about the best graphic design courses.
How do I become certified in graphic design?
You can obtain a graphic design certificate by successfully completing the 112 hour certificate program offered by American Graphics Institute. This independent certification program is available in-person or online.
How long does it take to learn graphic design?
You can learn the basic principles of graphic design in a single course, although more in-depth training is required to work in the field of graphic design. A professional graphic designer needs more than 100 hours of training in a certificate or bootcamp program, and may benefit from an associate's or bachelor’s degree. Graphic designers need to continue learning and gain new skills to design for emerging mediums and formats.
Are online graphic design certificates better than in-person graphic design certificate programs?
The live online graphic design certificate program is led by the same instructors that lead in-person courses at American Graphics Institute. The online class format allows participants to join into a live class that they might not be able to otherwise attend due to distance or travel time and cost.
If I’ve work in the graphic design field previously, do I still need an introductory class?
For those with no formal training, the introductory graphic design fundamentals course is the best place to start learning. The introduction class provides a foundation in core design skills and principles for creating effective designs.
When can I take graphic design classes
You can attend graphic design classes any month, with new classes offered every 30 to 45 days, with both live online and live in-person courses available.
Will a graphic design certificate help me get a job
Graphic design is an important skill for gaining work in a design, communications, or marketing role. Although other skills are also required, a strong foundation of graphic design principles along with skills using graphic design tools are required for most roles. These skills should be learned as part of the coordinated learning needed to obtain a graphic design job or work in a visual design or communications role. Along with the certificate, a portfolio, resume, and interview preparation are all critical to getting a job. A career counselor at American Graphics Institute works with graphic design certificate participants on all these necessary skills.
How much do graphic design courses cost
Individual graphic design courses cost between $495 and $695, while the comprehensive graphic design certificate program is $3,600. These fees are for courses led by a live instructor from American Graphics Institute.
Can I try a single course before enrolling in the graphic design certificate program?
You can attend individual Graphic Design courses and later apply the full tuition towards the Graphic Design Certificate program.