Digital Designer Certifications

As you prepare for a new career in digital design, you may come across the term “design certification” and have some questions. This fancy verbiage refers to a credential that attests to your proficiency with a particular digital design skill (such as Photoshop). In contrast to certificates (which are more like high-school credits), you earn certifications by passing a standardized exam. To learn the ins and outs of digital design certification, keep reading.

What is a Digital Designer?

The simplest way to describe a Digital Designer is as a visual media creator who emphasizes interactivity. These designers are distinguished from other classes of designers by their focus on how people experience their designs. Rather than focusing solely on what their designs communicate visually, Digital Designers spend considerable time perfecting components like information architecture and accessibility. To improve user-friendliness even more, digital design projects often include prototyping and preparatory phases that include demographic research. 

Digital Designers are best known for their digitally generated graphics, animations, and visual effects, but many Digital Designers also create full-scale websites and apps. If one type of project piques their interest more than others, a Digital Designer can specialize in a unique aspect of digital design. Some Digital Designers choose to highlight primarily digital projects, while others work exclusively on preparing interactive print designs for marketing. 

Because digital design is an umbrella term that includes many different design niches, most digital design professionals collaborate with a team. Their team may include fellow Designers, Project Managers, Product Designers, and IT professionals. 

Do I Need a Degree to Become a Digital Designer?

By and large, most hiring managers expect digital design job candidates to hold a Bachelor of Art (B.F.A.) degree in a design subject (such as digital design, UX/UI design, graphic design, or web design). However, a degree won’t mean anything if not accompanied by real skills. For this reason, many aspiring designers find it valuable to attend a design bootcamp or certificate class. In these career-focused classes, students learn practical skills by applying them to hands-on projects. With the right digital design bootcamp, it’s possible to start building experience for a design career before completing an expensive college program.

After completing your initial training, be prepared to continue learning throughout your career. Like any industry, digital design changes over time, and it pays to stay up-to-date on the latest design trends, tools, and techniques. 

Some digital design jobs may require specialist certifications that can be attained through a proctored exam. Regardless of whether your job requires certification, however, getting certified can reward you with more opportunities and a higher salary. Throughout the United States, certified workers earn almost $400 more per week than they would without a certification. Following the same market rules, college graduates also earned an additional $500 each week and saw less unemployment as of 2020. 

Do Certifications Matter for Digital Designers?

The short answer is both yes and no, but let’s break that down. Many designers get by for decades without ever earning a certification, meaning that it’s possible to establish a career without one. Meanwhile, certificates aren’t usually adequate for career-builders on their own. 

The reasons for this are simple. Certifications mainly cover technical skills, and while digital design requires substantial technical ability, it’s equally grounded in soft skills like:

• Applied design theory.
• Creative problem-solving.
• Communication.
• Time management.

These soft skills are what transform average video games into truly mesmerizing experiences. It’s what makes the difference between a website that’s user-friendly and one that’s not. Almost anyone can master a technical skill such as Photoshop, but without design soft skills, your designs may not have the effect you desire. The fact is that these skills take a long time to develop, and this is why most jobs require two years of experience. 

When it comes down to it, the quality of your portfolio is much more important for your job application than any certification. With all that said, certifications still have a place in digital design. 

Are Digital Design Certifications Worth It?

Even if they’re not absolutely necessary, earning a certification comes with many benefits. For instance, data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that certified workers collect higher salaries. Across all industries, certified workers also see less unemployment, and that’s not all. 

The study you undertake in preparation for a certification exam will ultimately increase your expertise and transform you into a more competent professional. While simply taking a class may allow you to slack off on some aspects of a subject, certification forces you to fully master each component of the skill. In addition, certifications are frequently updated to reflect ongoing changes in digital design practices. As a result, passing a certification exam is one way to show employers that your skill set is current and comprehensive. Taking the time to regularly recertify is also a great way to keep up with fast-paced changes in the digital design industry. 

Certifications vs. Certificates: What’s the Difference?

You wouldn’t want to accidentally spend thousands of dollars (or hours) on the wrong training or test would you? Well, that can happen if you mix up the words “certification” and “certificate.” In similar words, certifications and certificates are easy to mistake for the same thing, but in fact, they play unique roles in the professional world. 

Certificates play a similar function to credits in a college or high school course. Generally, a certificate is awarded at the culmination of a digital design course to signify that you completed the course in full. Unlike a GPA or grade, these completion-based awards don’t measure your performance but can indicate what training you’ve received. Rather than treating the certificate as your primary goal, it may be more useful to strive toward the goal they symbolize—completing the training that produces them. 

Certifications can be compared to an SAT or GRE score. In contrast to certificates, which can be obtained from many different schools and classes, passing a specific skills exam is the only way to earn a certification. These exams cover technical design skills (such as Photoshop or Figma) and are proctored by industry-approved organizations. They offer a qualitative assessment of your skills, which can then be used as decisive proof of your expertise. With incontestable proof at your side, you’ll qualify for better opportunities. 

In Summation

Certificates:

• Measure class completion.
• Obtained as a byproduct of education.
• Symbolize the goal of learning. 

Certifications:

• Measure skill and performance.
• Obtained via proctored testing. 
• Can qualify you for better jobs. 

How to Get Certified as a Digital Designer

There’s no single way to prepare for digital design certification, but most students generally follow the same general route. 

First, decide what type of certification you want to pursue. 

From providers like Adobe and Autodesk, you can obtain certification in numerous design tools. The tool(s) you choose to master via certification will be unique to your particular career path. For instance, if you’re a Motion Graphics Designer or Animator, you may find it valuable to get certified in After Effects. As a Game Designer, you may alternatively find it useful to become certified in the game engine software, Unity. 

Prepare for your exam.

Either on your own or with the help of a class, study the material that will be covered in your exam. Certiport, the proctor for most design certification exams, offers practice tests. Like your real exam, these tests are composed of both multiple-choice and software tasks. Participating in a certificate-granting bootcamp is also an ideal way to learn the same material, and many classes provide practice tests as a complimentary service.

Sign up and take your test.

When you’re ready, sign on to the Certiport platform and pay the examination fee. Your payment goes toward arranging the services associated with the exam and may be discounted under some circumstances. From there, you’ll have 50 minutes to complete your exam, and at the finish, your score will be available immediately. 

Top Certifications & Certificates for Digital Designers

Because every certification focuses on a different design tool or skill, you can really use certifications to build expertise and create a persuasive list of credentials. The most popular design certificates are available from two major providers but are also offered through some smaller venues as well. 

Certifications from Adobe Certified Professional

Adobe Certified Professional exams are open to anyone over the age of 13 and come in three levels. The first is designed for entry-level designers, while the second is suited for mid-level workers. Meanwhile, their level three exams are ideal for the most experienced professionals. 

Through Adobe, you can get certified in many different tools relevant to digital design. These include classics like:

• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• InDesign
• Adobe XD
• After Effects
• Premiere Pro
• Animate
• Dreamweaver

Certifications from Autodesk

Autodesk offers four levels of certification in a variety of software tools. Unlike Adobe certifications, Autodesk Certified Associate exams require 150 hours of applicable experience. Their certifications include tools like:

• AutoCAD
• CAM

Certifications from Smaller Providers

While Adobe and Autodesk make up the largest software groups in certification, there are also plenty of other places to earn one of these valued credentials. For UX design skills, it’s worth taking a look at the design certifications available through Apple, Microsoft, and Google. 

If you’re interested in game design, consider mastering a highly-rated game engine by pursuing one of these three certificates:

• Unity Certified User
• Unreal Engine Certified Professional
• 3DS Max Certified Professional

For all careers in social media design and digital marketing, you can head straight to the sources we all know:

• ​​Meta Digital Marketing Associate Certification
• TikTok Media Buying Certification
• Google Analytics Certification 

Digital Design Certificate Training from Noble Desktop

Want to learn design in a supportive environment? Noble Desktop offers highly-rated design certificates covering a range of digital design specialties for students at all levels. Each of their career certificates provides comprehensive training complete with one-on-one mentorship and professional experience opportunities. Start your journey now by signing up for training live online or participating in face-to-face classes at the school’s NYC campus. 

With the hands-on training you’ll get in the Digital Design Certificate, preparing for a digital design career isn’t hard. Even if you start with no experience, you can learn the UI design and graphic design skills you need to launch your career in a matter of weeks. Instead of sitting through dull lectures, this program will teach you practical skills through activities and projects. In addition to mastering tools like InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Figma, you’ll gain the expertise necessary to apply design principles for truly stunning results. 

Learn the skills to make websites and apps that are truly user-friendly in UX & UI Design Certificate. Working with a team, you’ll create your own interactive digital interfaces from start to finish, resulting in work you can proudly display in your portfolio. Rather than focusing only on aesthetics, you’ll learn how to research your target users and prototype to improve accessibility. This course also includes a job preparation segment designed to help you workshop your resume and create the perfect portfolio website. 

If websites are your jam, you can make it into a career by joining Noble Desktop’s Web Design Certificate program. Work toward an impressive portfolio with hands-on assignments that will help you learn a combination of design, coding, and software skills. Quicker than you know, you’ll acquire a versatile skill set that includes UI design theory, Figma, WordPress, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Before you’re through, you’ll also have the chance to build a high-quality portfolio website with help from your expert mentor.