Graphic Design for Beginners

Managing the Adobe Photoshop Environment

• Exploring default Workspace and Bridge


• Introduction to the Toolbar


• Palette management and Screen real estate


• History Palette and Undoing Actions


• Navigation shortcuts

Working with Selections

• Creating Selections using Magic Wand


• Adjusting Selections


• Quick Selection and Lasso tools


• Combining Selection tools for complex objects


• Saving and Reloading a Selection

Enhancing an Image

• Using Levels and Curves


• Compensate for flash with Shadow and Highlight


• Variations to quickly decide about a colour cast


• Hue and Saturation controls


• Blurring and sharpening using


• Filters

Painting and Retouching Images

• Digital darkroom techniques


• Clone Stamp and Heal tools


• Creating


• saving and loading custom colours


• Painting with Paintbrush


• Pencil or Paint Bucket tool


• Introduction to Gradients and painting with Gradients


• Working with Quick Mask mode and Layer Masks

Working with Layers

• Importing images


• Layers and Selections


• Transforming Layer Objects and using the Smart Objects


• Starting to build layered compositions


• Applying Transparency


• Basic Blending Modes


• Other goodies as Text Layers


• Adjustment Layers and Layer Styles

Outputting your artwork

• Colour modes


• Resolution and Image Size


• Cropping an image Vs Extending the Canvas


• File formats and optimising artwork for Web

Setting Up Your Document

• Be precise with Rulers and Guides


• Add, move and shuffle Pages in your Document


• Paginate Spread Pages


• Using Bridge to organise your creative assets


• InDesign Libraries to share them

Working with Frames

• Place Text and Graphics on the Document Pages


• Applying Colours


• Tints and Gradients


• Get creative with the Stroke panel


• Shapes and Corner options inside of InDesign


• Transforming Frames Content


• Changing the default Transparency


• Share the Appearance attributes with Object Styles

Importing and Editing Text

• Flowing Text and multiple Columns design


• Formatting with Character and Paragraph Styles


• Leading


• Spacing


• Tracking and Kerning


• Create Bulleted and Numbered lists


• Explore decorative Fonts and special Characters with Glyphs panel

Working with Graphics

• Image quality and Display options


• Fitting or Clipping graphics with Frames


• Share Colours across the with Swatch Exchange Format


• Manage linked files and automate updating of your content


• Vector artworks inside of InDesign


• Goddies inside of the Effects panel

Page Layout tools

• Using Placeholders Eyedropper and Master Pages for different workflow


• Aligning multiple Objects and working with Object Groups


• Wrap text around inline Objects while making use of Alpha Channels


• Be a professional with Baseline Grid alignment

Outputting and PDF Export

• Understanding Bleed and Slug


• Differentiate between Spot and Process colours


• Create a Package to share InDesign Documents


• Manage missing Fonts


• Preflight for Prepress

Creating basic Documents

• Explore the prebuilt Document Profiles


• Shortcuts to navigate the Artboard effectively


• Create custom Workspaces

Drawing in Illustrator

• Draw Paths with the Pen tool


• Add, delete or adjust points along a path


• Understand how BÈzier Curves work


• Freeform Drawing tools


• Live Trace to transform images or hand drawn sketches into vector artworks that can be further adjusted Create Logo using simple Shapes


• Discovering basic Blends


• Symbols in Illustrator and Symbol Sprayer options

Modifying Objects

• Lasso select and the other goodies in the Select Menu


• Be precise using Smart Guides


• Grids and Guidelines


• Align, Group and Duplicate to achieve better results


• Transform objects with Twirl


• Bloat and other Warp tools


• Layers palette: Hide and Lock Objects


• Intro to Isolation Mode for effective editing

Working with Colours in Illustrator

• Difference between Swatches and Colour palette


• Applying colour to Stroke and/or Fill


• Adjusting Stroke attributes with Stroke panel


• Introducing Gradients and Patterns

Text in Illustrator

• Point


• Area and Type on a path


• Import Body Type and fix Spelling Errors


• Find and Replace Text or Insert Typographic Characters


• Create Text Outlines to design your own fancy headlines

Outputting your Artwork

• Defining cropping area


• Saving your artwork in vector formats


• Save for Web and Devices